Turiik grapples the Morrowkin and Jayma casts Hideous Laughter.
The Morrowkin giggles uncontrollably, and hisses, "I'm jussst consssidering how deliciousss it will be to ssssuck your futuressss dry."
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
CONDITIONS: RALLYING BANNER
You gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls and a +1 status bonus to saves against fear, emotion effects that inflict despair, and effects that would impose the confused or controlled condition. When the bearer of the banner would gain the fleeing condition, they can choose to stand their ground and be stunned for the effect's duration instead.
Dr. Lazarus (invisible, hasted)
Jayma (invisible, hasted)
Meadow (invisible, hasted, prey hunted, doomed 1, guidanced, -24)
Silence (30 ft up)
Turiik (-11, doomed 2)
Morrowkin (sickened 6, grappled, 2 tethers gone, -284)
Tarcog + Amvolwatt (-36, doomed 2)
With the morrowkin momentarily captured, the bear tries to drive the creature to its knees while positioning in a fashion that will make it easier for Meadow to strike.
Seeing what is happening, Tarcog takes out an elixir of life and quaffs it.
Amvolwatt does their best to help restrain the creature so that Meadow can untether it.
THUMP!
Turiik trips the grappled morrowkin, landing it flat on its back. Then he critically aids Meadow's first tether attempt.
Amvolwatt fails to aid Meadow's second tether attempt while Tarcog drinks a healing potion.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
CONDITIONS: RALLYING BANNER
You gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls and a +1 status bonus to saves against fear, emotion effects that inflict despair, and effects that would impose the confused or controlled condition. When the bearer of the banner would gain the fleeing condition, they can choose to stand their ground and be stunned for the effect's duration instead.
Dr. Lazarus (invisible, hasted)
Jayma (invisible, hasted)
Meadow (invisible, hasted, prey hunted, doomed 1, guidanced, -24)
Silence (30 ft up)
Turiik (-11, doomed 2)
Morrowkin (sickened 6, grappled, tripped, 2 tethers gone, -284)
Tarcog + Amvolwatt (-19, doomed 2)
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Dr. Lazarus waits for the all-clear from Meadow. When he doesn't hear anything, he considers providing her some magical Guidance. He calls out long-windedly, "Meadow dear, wherever you are, in case you're having trouble with the Knife, perhaps I could offer you some ..." Just then, Jayma beats him to the punch. He says to himself, "Alas, it's been said I'm far too verbose. And that I go on ... and on ... ad nauseum ... I don't see it." In the meantime, the action is going on all around him as he ponders aloud.
Instead, he casts Guidance on himself, and then studies the morrowkin for remaining tethers.
Finally, he activates his Bracelet of Dashing to make his long elven strides even more efficient.
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Meadow moves back to the morrowkin and slashes at the tethers.
The ranger leans in close and whispers in the morrowkin's ear.
"I told you we'd kill you, you भोसड़ी के बा, monster."
Dr. Lazarus examines the spirit world with his Occustism and notices there is but one tether left holding the Morrowkin to this time loop.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Meanwhile, the Morrowkin attempts to spot the knife wielder once more.
Then he slashes viciously out at the bear holding him.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
But Meadow comes in and slices away the last tether. Hunger feels the Morrowkin get sucked out of his arms. The morrowkin is pulled through a black hole in the fabric of reality, hissing about all the fates it wanted to devour as it goes. The tear heals as quickly as it formed. A few breaths later, the Knife of Trouble Elimination shudders for a moment before letting raw temporal energy spiral forth. Reality is rewritten as scenery goes back into place, people return to their positions, and damage is reversed. The knife fades away into nothing. Everything is as it once was... except for Rui Longlai, who has aged at least thirty years.
There is a large crowd of delighted diners on this boat, all ooh and ahhing as fireworks go off overhead, and Hwarang and Banjau start bringing out the last fabulous dishes of the feast, along with dessert ices made from green tea, mango and lychee. Most of the diners don't seem to remember anything about their ordeals. Instead, they laugh and sing as they drink and watch the fireworks.
Last, a little gnome named Jiudu, now alive, comes on to the deck and starts performing a beautiful light show of her own for the guests. When she is done, she comes up to those wearing Hope talismans and says, "You did it. You gave us all our futures back. All of us!"
Grandma Wu hugs Meadow and asks, "Are you sure you don't want to meet my Grandson? I'm so optimistic for the future, and he would be very fortunate indeed if he got the chance to meet you."
Tai Fong beams at Amvolwatt and says to one of the other passengers, "A first cruise for a restaurant, and we have a dragon on board! How lucky we all are!"
As Turiik's hair is transitioning back from white to black, he says, "So can we eat now?"
"Please, eat all you want!" Rui snaps his fingers for his waiters to bring you more food.
Last, a little gnome named Jiudu, now alive, comes on to the deck and starts performing a beautiful light show of her own for the guests. When she is done, she comes up to those wearing Hope talismans and says, "You did it. You gave us all our futures back. All of us!"
“It fills me with joy seeing that you are in such good health, Jiudu! The fireworks were beautiful.”
Tarcog grabs another skewer of the spicy shrimp and starts eating it.
Tai Fong beams at Amvolwatt and says to one of the other passengers, "A first cruise for a restaurant, and we have a dragon on board! How lucky we all are!"
“True, good fortune has smiled upon this cruise. May your future be filled with hope and joy.”
Tarcog watches Dr. Lazarus and Maika, wondering who would get to the cooks first. It is obvious that at the moment he is much more interested in the food the cooks are preparing than any crimes they may have committed in the past.
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Jayma watches apprehensively as Meadow goes to town on the tethers and breathes a sigh of relief when the last of them are cut. She prepares another spell to finish off what remains of the Morrowkin, but apparently the knife takes care of the final cleanup, leaving everything as it should be.
A little at a loss as to what to do now, she sits down in stunned silence. "Is it really over? I suppose it is." Her mind can't help reliving her multiple deaths at the hands of the Morrowkin. It would be a while before those memories faded.
Twyl pokes his head out of her sleeve, and seeing a lack of bodies being violently rent apart, slips out to the tray of dumplings on the table. He grabs a couple and drags them back to his mistress who absentmindedly reaches out and takes one. They both munch away in silence.
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As he imagines an invisible Meadow making the final cuts, Dr. Lazarus helpfully points out, "Yes, Meadow dear, keep at it. With my mastery of the occult, based on years of study, and reading countless books on the subject, I can confirm there is exactly a single teth..." Sometime in the middle of his soliloquy, the Morrowkin is sucked away through the black hole. Quickly recovering, the Doctor continues, "...ahhh yes, as I was saying, one tether left. Very glad that my tutelage was invaluable." He adds, "As I find it so often is."
With the threat gone and the diners appearing out of nowhere, enjoying themselves, Dr. Lazarus is about to stow his hammer. But he is quick to remember Maika. And the "cooks". He asks the group, "Should we still be concerned with the assassins?" As he looks around, the investigator spends a minute to pursue a lead on Kuen, as well as Fa.
Before heading downstairs, he partakes in a dumpling. After all, might as well serve law and order on a full stomach.
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He asks the group, "Should we still be concerned with the assassins?" As he looks around, the investigator spends a minute to pursue a lead on Kuen, as well as Fa.
Before heading downstairs, he partakes in a dumpling. After all, might as well serve law and order on a full stomach.
Tarcog finishes the crab cake on his plate and asks “Wouldn’t it be terrible manners, disrupting the dinner like that?”
He reaches for another skewer of the spicy shrimp.
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Dr. Lazarus considers Tarcog's comment. "Ahh, you could be right, my boy." He clears his throat and admits, "Alas, manners were never among my countless other strong suits." He finds a seat next to the dragon and tries a crab cake. "This is delicious. Yes, the investigation can wait till after our meal."
"Screech!" Silence flaps his wings atop the mast.
"Can't you wait until we get the tables set back up?"
The ranger sighs. "Probably not. I should know that by now."
She picks up a dumpling that has miraculously survived the melee unscathed and hurls it high into the air. "There you go, Silence. Catch!"
True to his name, the owl soundlessly unfurls his wings and drops from his perch, effortlessly snatching the prize from the air in an impressive display of acrobatic prowess. He lands next to his friend and promptly devours his treat.
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Meadow helps the staff clean and set up in order to finish the meal. She sits with Maika and quizzes her on law-enforcement and asks for tips on catching smugglers and corrupt officials. She will outline the case she's been working on with her friend Zaza and ask for advice on how to proceed. She will be very careful to not let the servers or other restaurant staff hear any of this conversation since she plans to help the assistant magistrate apprehend the assassins after the meal.
Grandma Wu hugs Meadow and asks, "Are you sure you don't want to meet my Grandson? I'm so optimistic for the future, and he would be very fortunate indeed if he got the chance to meet you."
The young half-elf fidgets uncomfortably. "Well we'll be leaving very shortly to go back to Aspenthar. Probably this evening. The Inner Sea's an awfully long way away so a meeting with your grandson is probably not in my immediate future." Not wanting to disappoint to old woman, she leaves her contact information. "Still you never know when the Pathfinder Society might send me back here. If you want, you can write to me and leave the letter with the Lantern Lodge here in Goka. I'm sure Venture-Captain Amara Li or one of the other pathfinders will manage to get it to me."
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Tarcog tells Dr. Lazarus “Thank you for your patience.”
“Before we leave, we should make sure that the deceitful book with the flawed ritual is taken with us. That way we can spread word of it, warn others to be careful of such things.”
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The banquet is delicious, and as the final bits come out, Maika says to Dr. Lazarus, "I've been waiting for these final dishes for a long time. Let's relish them, and then what do you say to a little arrest?"
The final dessert item, fried crispy dessert dumplings with various fruity sorbets inside, gets delivered to great acclaim. Maika steps up and says, "It's time for me to deliver my personal note of appreciation to the chefs!"
With the help of Dr. Lazarus (and anyone else who wishes to come along), Maika shouts as she approaches the kitchen,
Fa and Kuen put up a fight, but eventually are apprehended and handcuffed before the boat docks.
Tarcog takes the deceitful book with him to deliver to the Vigilant Seal with Rui's blessing. "I never want to see that book again. It cost me thirty years of my life, and nearly destroyed the people to whom I wished to deliver blessings. There will be no more shortcuts from now on, I promise."
As the boat disembarks, happy gossiping people spill out on to the docks, eager to spread the word about this new restaurant.
An eclectically dressed tengu disembarked the boat after the others. As he reached the end of the pier he looked back at the restaurant boat and sighed.
"It is a shame and pity that such a meal will not be a novel, new, or fresh experience again or in the future."
In her tent at the Pathfinder basecamp near the ruins at the Inspiriting Wellspring, Meadow is hurriedly scribbling away on a sheet of paper. She bites her lip in concentration as she composes her missive. As she writes she reads aloud to her companion and very best friend, Silence.
Dear Grandma Wu,
It's me, Meadow. How are you? Silence and I are fine. Things have been pretty boring for the last few weeks here at base camp outside Aspenthar. We found a giant robot almost a month ago though! Her name is Star and she is stuck in some rocks. That was actually pretty exciting but it's taking forever to dig her out of the rocks. Silence and I have been over a few times to talk to her. She's soooo old. Maybe thousands of years old even! Anyway Tess's crazy book is starting to whisper to her again. I think we're going to have to go on another mission to investigate some spooky thing or another. I doubt that we'll be going to Goka this time but you never know. Anyway I better stop writing now. Yasmin needs to head out soon and if I want her to deliver this letter I need to wrap it up. Oh yeah! You don't know Yasmin. She's the first friend I made when I moved from deep in the forest to Absalom. She's a former winner of something called the Ruby Phoenix tournament and she's headed to Goka for some reason related to that. She may look scary but don't worry. She's really nice. I'll write again once we get back from our next mission when I get time.
Yours truly,
Meadow.
p.s. Silence says hello.
"Whattaya think? I know it's a little short but we only just got word that Yasmin is headed to Goka after visiting Star and doesn't have any time to wait for me to write a longer letter."
Silence preens his feathers.
The young ranger frowns at the owl. "I know it's short. I just said that didn't I? And what do you mean, 'Who's Grandma Wu?' She's that nice old lady we met when we fought that awful monster on the restaurant boat in Goka."
Silence looks at Meadow for a long moment before hooting softly.
Meadow growls. "No you can't have some of those dumplings from the restaurant. We don't have any. The boat's all the way back in Goka, you featherbrain. It's gotta be at least a hundred miles away. Maybe even further."
Silence resumes preening his feathers.
The half-elf sighs and apologizes. "No you're right. That was mean. I'm sorry I called you a featherbrain. Look I'm gonna go find Tess and see if that crazy book is still talking or singing or whatever. Will you take this to Yasmin for me? She's teleporting out any minute. It must be nice being a seeker. She doesn't have to spend weeks at sea in rickety boats or days in the desert on grumpy camels." She seals the letter with a dollop of wax and hands it to the owl. As he flies off she calls out to him. "Maybe I can get the camp cook to figure out how to make those dumplings. I'll see what I can do." She hurriedly packs up her writing kit and heads out to find her friend Tess.