An elven woman had been curled up into a soft chair, with not one but four cats lazily lounging in her lap. They have been spilling out of her room of late. At the intrusion, she hops up dislodging her charges with hisses and squeaks as she hurries over to a staff left leaning against the wall.
The plain woman falls into a stance of stout staff and curled hand, as if suddenly about to rain fire and death from no where. A contrast to the casual sleepy skirt and frumpy sweater she is wearing.
She doesn't say anything, since her companions does that most of the time.
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"Well I don't know any princes with wolves but I know a-Woah!"
Before he could say anything more; the Tiefling was suddenly back on his feet and he was being held in a grip that he hadn't felt since his father hugged him. He was pretty sure he could probably fight back but that would require reloading his gun. The bad news was that his bullets were in his bandolier around his chest and he couldn't reach them with his shoulders in the Kholo's vice grip.
As they got closer and sniffed him; the Tiefling's nostrils flared and scrunched up yet he remained stalwart and faced down the Gnoll with barely a flinch as they sniffed him. What was said about him was...interesting.
"Pomegranate Seeds?" he parroted, confused by the warrior's remarks whilst also trying his best not to say anything about how their breath smelt like aged meat and rosemary. "That's new. You sure you can't smell brimstone at all?" he remarked cheekily.
"Why are you here?" the elf asks plainly, still standing ready to end a threat. Her cats destroy the image a little but rubbing against her legs. And a tiny winged elephant poking out of her hair.
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Eyes quickly flick towards the woman who addressed him.
Internally, The Tiefling's mind was caculating numbers. The risk to reward ratio. How much could he bet and how much he could gain to lose.
"Look lady!" he exclaims; raising his voice in frustration, staring at the elf woman who looked like she was primed to shoot him with a fireball if he said the wrong words. "Do I look like I know I have the slightest idea about how I got here or why I'm even here in the first place?! All I know is that I was being chased by some really bad people and then; boom! A portal is there! So I took a chance and here I am!" he exclaimed, staring at the Elf as if he had been slapped for no good reason.
He glanced between the Kholo, the Human and the Elf. Another chance, another card to deal for this game. "Look, Perhaps we should start over? That okay? Okay. So, I'm Belmont. My friends call me Bel" He introduces himself with an unintentionally wicked grin. "And I'm not here to cause trouble." His glowing red eyes glanced at each member of the party, trying to hide the fact that the Kholo's vice like grip on his arms was growing uncomfortable.
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Briar gave a shrug, her grip relaxing a bit as he says he doesn't know of any wolf princes, now just becoming a firm hand resting on his shoulder, as she turns to open up towards the rest of the group.
"Not one to judge based on upbringing." Seems to be her response to the brimstone comment.
"If he hasn't come on the Wolf prince's order then I think we all know what that means."
She looks down to Belmont again, "Any special lucky card you happened to come across recently, looks from a tarot deck, Mr. Belmont? If you did then perhaps we could offer you a lot more explaination than you've gotten. If not, haven't got a clue."
Pen nods are Briar's estimations. Her friend is much better at reading people than she would ever be. Her staff lowers and she gives a former bow "I am Pen" she trades her name for his. Then moves back over to her seat to collect a notebook, which she opens and starts jotting down notes.
"A more direct hand than hwaet fate often takes, Belmont Ill-Dealt," Visna has been slow to respond as she had been in her orca-skin for Belmont's sudden arrival. Shrinking down to her merely herculean human-skin, she steps forward to clasp Belmonth's forearm in greeting. "I am Visna Freydisdottir, staver of Gorum's garb, well-sharpened blade through the resounding field of the skerry, and sure-wielder of the headlands of forearm's fire."
Her hand drifts down her rune-inscribed plate towards a collection of talismans, scrolls, and miscellany that surround her short-hafted axe.
"Need you aid in ending your villains' pursuit? Was it the card that they sought, or was it instead the means of your flight?"
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Belmont couldn't help but let a sly smile fall across his face. The situation was calming down and names were being exchanged.
However, with so many words coming out, there were equally as many questions being dropped.
"Hang on, card? Wolf Prince? The heck are you talking-"
The Tiefling's face quickly turned into a look of realization of the Kholo's words. His eyes briefly widen and he leans back his head. "Oooooooooh. Oh." he peers up towards the celing then raises his hand up. "Wait a moment." he reached into his inside pocket and pulling out a glowing card in his hand. He spins it to show the face of it as well as the back. "Do you mean this thing?" he asked, his tone flat as if he realised the worst kept secret in the whole of Golarion.
Belmont spins the card a few more times between his fingers before he looked at it. "I found it inside an old hut in an abandoned village. Looked like a fortune teller judging from the way the hut was decorated. Did they steal it from some Prince who likes wolves or something? And who the heck is the Wolf Prince? Is he like...what? A werewolf or a literal wolf who can talk?" He asked confused. As he asked his questions and told his story, he slots the pistol in his free hand into his belt holster. He turned his gaze first to Visna. "Well...technically I owe them gold. Like a lot of gold and then some." he shrugged his shoulders and clicked his tongue.
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As the others opened up Briar let go of Belmont fully, "And I am Briarthorn of clan Jamalpajaz of the Central Mwangi jungle. Once life bound to Sanjana, now destiny bound to the Harrowcourt and those who hold dominion over it, which includes all of these fine ladies here. As well as a fair few other members, whom you may see about the keep."
She curls her fist and slaps her chest above her breast with it, causing the many beads, bones, and other adorning jewelry of hers to rattle and clink. "It seems just as well if the court is bringing you here in your time of need that you may also be one of those destined to rule over it."
Cracking her neck and motioning to the serpentine Hajeck Briar continues, "Hajeck was actually just informing us of the Prince of Wolves and forming a plan on how we might end his attempts to steal away our kingdom. All you must know likely is that he employs all manner of greater demons, devils, thugs, and aberrant and we stand to make headway into his own false domain soon." The Kholo begins looking Belmont over to make sure he is uninjured from whatever scuffle took place before.
Once you are ready to enter the Harrowed Realm, you need only travel to the location where the Shadow Prince’s dissolving corpse stained the ground—a stain that has grown into a circle 10 feet in diameter. By standing within this circle, you instinctively realize that several of the cards you own from the Deck of Destiny are now forming links to associated regions within the Harrowed Realm. By focusing on one of these cards while opening the portal, you can transport yourselves into that card’s associated location within the Harrowed Realm.
Visna prepares for the portal, checking runes and wands and other talismans, filling the air at her back with favorable winds.
"A moment friends," She walks from person to person, tracing a rune upon each, on palm, forehead, cheek, or elsewhere. "As the Tangled Briar is what awaits us, let me do what I may to gird you with the might of the eternal green."
You open the portal to the Harrowed Realm, stepping through it. The burned shell of an old theater, its stone walls scorched and no higher than a few feet, jut from briars adorned with scarlet-tipped thorns. Blackened timber piles, intermixed with scorched seats and old theatrical props, litter the area.
You find yourselves standing near the building's old, semicircular front steps. There, the corpse of a small humanoid rabbit hangs in the briars--all that remains of this realm's version of the Rabbit Prince. His ears have been cut off, and both his crown and sword are missing.
Looking up, you can see the sky appears as a literal blue dome. A clockwork moon eclipses the sun, bathing the land in dim light.
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Stepping through the portal Briarthorn checks the area for dangers. Looking at the fallen and tattered Rabbit prince her tiny ears pull back. "Such a gruesome fate did not deserve you sweet rabbit."
Upon looking up to see the dim false moon, Briar's eyes begin to glow an eerie yellow like that when one see's a cat just right in the night and when she looks back down it seems her eyes have indeed taken on a feline perssuasion and dilated fully into large round orbs.
"Have a care, I don't believe this theater will be as kindly as the one we know." Grabbing her blade she moves up to what remains of the theater's door and gives it a push in an attempt to open the way.
"Or maybe we needs go down the road?"
Pen stares at the rabbit, then uses her magic to bring the corpse off of the briars. We should see him laid to rest first. her voice speaks in the other's minds.
Pen doesn't know the specific rites to perform to do so, humanoid rabbit culture is new to her. But if no one else does, she will perform the basics at least.
Briar explores the building, but it is nothing more than a tangled, overgrown ruin.
As Pen examines the corpse, she notices that the boots he wears are magical. They are greater boots of bounding. What's more, tucked into the left boot is a Harrow card--The Hidden Truth. As she picks it up, the magic of the card fills her mind with the sad truth of the rabbit's fate.
However, none could predict what would happen next. One of the storykin who allied with the dragon Zassrion in the plot to murder Sonnorae ages ago was a merchant known as the Nightpeddler. Unique among the storykin, the Nightpeddler discovered a secret that allowed him to exit the Harrowed Realm for short periods of time, allowing him to engage in trade with all manner of otherworldly entities. Not long after the Deck of Harrowed Tales was lost by the adventurers who defeated Zassrion, the Nightpeddler made a fatal mistake when he tried to treat with a group of velstracs. The violent fiends betrayed the Nightpeddler and used portions of his body to invade the Harrowed Realm, simultaneously ensuring his permanent demise and securing their own foothold in the demiplane.
The velstracs soon became obsessed with the creator of this realm, and by combining their mastery of flesh and tools found in the Harrowed Realm, they brought the murdered Sonnorae back as one of their own, reincarnating her as a unique velstrac. She took her place as mistress of the Harrowed Realm once again, but in her long-tortured state she had forgotten much of who she was and what she’d intended the realm to be.
As further vengeance, she invited velstracs to reshape and join with storykin. Her merciless retribution gave some conspirators the “real” existence they had always wanted, but a tormented one. Others she united with flesh, shadows, and corrupted soulstuff to birth hollow velstrac sacristans and other monsters. The Harrowed Realm is now a dreadful place of dilapidated, harrow-adjacent fairy tales and monstrous suffering under Sonnorae’s influence.
When the velstracs invaded, hiding didn’t help Othobian, and he fell under the growing velstrac influence. His delusions and paranoia grew until he murdered Brambleson, taking the storykin’s crown, ears, and sword. Sonnorae ejected Othobian from the realm to punish him, but she left Brambleson’s corpse here out of pique.
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"Well it's all lovely to meet you but-" However, before Belmont could say anything, something shoved him through the portal and he was stuck with a band of individuals he wasn't sure where he was. All he knew was that they were in some sort of ruined building and there was a dead body of a royal looking rabbit on the throne.
"Oh Callista's blades! what the f-?!" he exclaimed and stared at the Corpse before he looked to Briar, watching them stare at the body and make a solemn point on the fate of the rabbit king. "Yeah, I wouldn't wish that on my archenemy." remarked Belmont, trying to fight back his Nausea.
This felt like a hostile environment to Belmont and he was already gauging how well his luck was. He pulled out both his Hand Crossbow and his Pistol, scanning like a sniper looking for it's mark around before looking at the others. It helped he inherited his parent's Darkvision. It was already activating from how damn dark it was but he starts to follow Briar in ensuring that she had some help. As he moved with the Kholo, his mind was running a thousand questions a pace.
"What in the name of the Gods happened here?" he has to nobody in particular, frowning as Pen's voice wrinkled across his brain and reached his ears.
Pen passed the story of the Rabbit Prince to the others, the sorrow in her mind going with it. "If we find what was stolen from you, we will return them." she promises softly before rising to join the others.
She offers the boots to Visna "I think he would appreciate how you would use these."
Visna nods and accepts the boots with respectful solemnity.
"Some stories are best left to linger on the air and then disappear. What must follow after them should they persist past their close is unkind. Let us see what can be done to bring some glory to his memory that is not found here in his ending."
After burying Brambleson and performing last rites, you look around, spotting a lone peak in the distance—being the one mountain in the demiplane affords it dominance over the skyline. It looks like a storybook volcano, with a ragged, improbably narrow, cartoonish cone from which curls of smoke waft up.
Choosing that as your next destination, you use the Big Sky and open a portal to step through. You arrive in the dormant caldera of the volcano. It shelters a worksite with a disorganized array of tools, materials, anvils, stools, and tables. A stone structure, its walls adorned with dozens of metal pipes, sits at the center of the caldera. The sound of venting steam, piped water, and operating machinery issues from within the structure. A giant-sized door in the southern face of the building has a broken bone painted on it, with a pool of blood between the broken ends.
The east half of the caldera is sheltered by a tall stone wall that’s also festooned with pipes, many of which extend upward to spew smoke and steam into the air, while to the south, a break in the caldera’s wall allows a flight of steps to descend and affords a majestic view of the entire realm below.
A group of shadow giants toils here, constantly adjusting and repairing the numerous pipes and exposed pieces of machinery. The giants bear countless scars and stitched wounds, including numerous scars on their brows. The giants roar in rage as soon as they spot you and reach for their spiked chains!
Pen rarely hesitates in battle. No declaration of intent, or attempts at diplomacy. A threat of significant magnitude coupled with obvious hostility means she reacts. Otherwise people die, and she does not want her companions to die.
Her arcane words flow down her outreached staff, fire erupts from the end and explodes in the middle of the enemies.
These are shadow giants... her calm voice speaks into the other's minds, relating all she knows about their abilities.
Only one of the four giants manages to dodge some of Pen's fireball. Two of them take the full blast while the fourth fails to move at all and is even more badly burnt!
Growling with anger, the giants ready their spiked chains. They then extend the chains to impossible length, slashing at you and trying to pull you through the shadows towards them! Belmot dodges, but the rest of you take hits!
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Portal travel was convenient yet daunting at the same time.
Tugging on the collar of his armour; Belmont let off a 'woof' noise. "Callista's t&*# it's hot." he remarked to the party. Then, there was a roar and a couple of weird giants started approaching them.
"Oh hey! Say do you happen to-WHOA!"
Before Belmont could get a word out, he had to leap into the air as the Giants threw their chains at him and the party. He felt his entire being almost shiver at the sight of the chains. He then lands on the ground and stares at the Giants. "Fine, we're doing this are we?! Alright! let's play!" He drew out his pistol, aimed it at one of the Giants Pen didn't manage to hit and fired a shot at one of the Giants that Pen didn't hit.
As he pulled the trigger on his Clan Pistol, the gun lets off a deafening CRACK that almost sounded like a thunderbolt had exploded right in the Volcano itself! He then darts into any large rockface that could be used as cover, reloading before taking another shot at one of the giants that had Briarthorne in their chains!
Visna barks out a grunt of displeasure as the shadowy chain scrapes hard against the plates of her armor. Perhaps it would have been wiser to allow the giants to bring her within their grasp, but she is far too adamant in her resolve to ever allow them their desire.
Visna surges forward, ignoring the giant that had lashed her with their chain to go after the one that had most nearly escaped Pentella's wrath. With a crack like thunder she batters her way through the giant's guard, tearing her hatchet down the lines of their long torso.
Pain lanced through Pen as the chain slammed into her side, bruising, maybe cracking something, but she resisted the magics that seemed to come with the pain.
The giants seem too much a threat to hold back, so Pen unleashes a searing bolt of lightning that jumps from one heartbeat to another giant, then another, until it smashes into each.
Briar moves in to the most injured giant, grabbing a hold and worrying the wound with her teeth. Belmont fires two shots as he dashes to cover, hitting the least injured giant and scoring a critical hit on the one in Briar's grasp. Visna rushes at the least injured foe, scoring a critical hit and sweeping her axe into Briar's opponent.
Pen blasts the giants with chain lightning. Each of them spasms and jerks, and the one Briar is holding goes limp as they are electrocuted to death!
The three remaining giants pull shadows around themselves to gain concealment, then they lash out at Briar and Visna.
Visna twists aside from the shadowy chain coming at her, Last Coin gleaming as her fated fortune leaves their blow blunted.
Crashing into her foe to get within its reach, she swings away with her Maiden's Smile, putting them down so fast that the momentum of her strikes carries her into the remaining two, where each flick of her short-hafted axe carves across them both!
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One down, Three to go.
Belmont quickly reloads his gun, watching to see the Giants were. His eyes adjusted as best as they could as they slipped into the Shadows. He knew he had to target one of them before-
There!
Belmont raises his pistol and once more, the gun lets off a CRACK as he pulls the trigger. The Bullet flies into one of the Giants. The Tiefling grins slightly as he once more, reloads his gun.
Pen lines up her staff again, concentrates on fire and then three beams of molten flame rips towards all three.
Briar charges another giant. He whips his spiked chain at the kholo, lacerating her, but then she has his neck in his throat, chomping down hard and worrying the wound!
Pen unleashes a trio of scorching rays, but she only manages to hit the giant Briar is holding. Belmont takes careful aim and fires a single, precise shot that finishes off that giant!
Visna swings her axes, snagging the nearest giant before carving him up with a series of critical hits!
Only one giant remains. He moves closer and whips his chain out to try to hit Visna, but she dodges the weapon!
Pen points her staff at the giant, speaks her command word plain and loud, then a shaft of blue light forms, then disappears only to appear right before slamming into the towering wall of muscle.
Visna watches the giant's approach, ready to shield herself or her friends against his strikes if he survives, then ducks the sweep of his chain and tries to see to it that he shall not.
Battered by bullets and lacerated by teeth and axes, the final giant goes down!
Aside from the giants' gear, there doesn't seem to be anything valuable here. The doors to the stone building at the center of the caldera beckon...
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Briar calms once the danger has passed and takes deep steadying breaths.
"I'll be with you all in a moment."
Walking over to the first Giant she killed Briarthorn begins removing the Giant's armor and pulls free her jawbone dagger.
Ritualistically she carves into the Giant's chest and pulls free it's massive stopped heart, offering it up to the sky then kneeling and letting it rest low towards the rocky surface before eating it herself.
Once done and cleaned up from her task she begins searching the area, coming back with what look like a bunch of normal rocks with a few glowing holes in their underside. Scraping off a blackened layer of material from several of them into a cloth she, begins cracking them open and pulling out squirming wriggling slug-like creatures.
"Isn't it amazing what you can find even in these false lands. The kind of wildlife that it replicates without thought?"
She separates the blackened soot onto several clothes carefully wrapping a slug or two into each fine layer, and then using them to dress the wounds of the party. With the cloth and soot acting as an insulating layer, the tiny volcanic slugs warm the wounds and provide a measure of thermal remedy.
Pen is unperturbed with the ritual, but seems very interested in the slugs, asking many questions as they are administered. She does pull out a cloth of her own and wipes a small smudge of blood from her friend's cheek that was missed.
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The Tiefling Gunslinger stepped out of his cover, reloaded his Clan Pistol, watched the four Giant bodies before he kicked one of them and sighed with relief.
There were...a lot of words that Belmont could say regarding the fight.
So he just came up with-
"Holy Moly that was intense! Say is everyone alright? Belmont asked, holstering his pistol into his bandolier "Nobody dead or- but before he could get his question outm he noted Briarthorne quickly stepping over one of the Giants and pulling their Breastplate from their chest "Ah, Briar, I don't know how you plan to wear that but I'm sure you can-OH MY GOODNESS! WHAT THE ?!&# ARE YOU DOING?!"
Of all the things he expected, a Gnoll pulling out and feasting on a Giant's Heart was something he DIDN'T expect to see. He wanted to look away but...he couldn't. It was like watching a carriage accident in slow motion. He slowly turned to look at Visna and Pen before he gestured towards Briar. "You two are alright with this?!" he asked, bewildered and shaken by the sight.
Visna nods in gratitude to Briar's ministrations, laying her hands on the young kholo to finish the work Briar began.
She pointedly does not watch on her friend's dining choices, having come to terms with her ritual, but still not truly comfortable with it.
"The world is wide. She means no desecration by it, and I have seen the spirits of beyond come willingly at her request. It is not my path, but it is an old one, and true."
Pen simply nods to Belmont's question.
After healing up, you head through the big doors. This structure contains a single room—one that’s been outfitted to serve as a giant-sized tavern. The chamber features one table and three chairs, a bar, and a gigantic barrel that drips red fluid from its tap. The place smells of raw meat as much as it does alcohol. The twenty-foot-high ceiling is supported by a tangled crisscrossing of soot-stained wooden beams reinforced with bronze fittings.
A creature awaits you here, standing before a shadow giant whose body lies sprawled on the table with the top of its skull missing. The being rising up to its full intimidating 14 foot height. At the core of this multi-limbed monstrosity of claws and blades struggles a glistening mass of veins, organs, and twisted flesh. A one-eyed face peers out at you as bladed arms whir and slash at the air. "Intruders! Lay down your weapons and submit, or I shall flense the flesh from your bones!"
Two slack-jawed shadow giants stand at his side, ready to defend him.
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"I'm not sure which species of lava slug these are, but they are usually native to the planes of fire. Researchers have found then in areas that share strong connections though, like active volcanos. They feed on minerals found in certain rocks like these, as well as other magma dwelling creatures and heat aligned flora. Though I did not research them all quite as much during my time at Nantambu." She reminiscences a bit, "I studied many types of healing, creatures, plants, all manner of procurement, harvest, and application while I was there with Sanjana. Allnin hopes of preventing the plague from returning. I'm glad it has been of such great use in our travels."
She doesn't seem to mind Belmont's bewilderment of her customs, nor does she expect the others to see it in a favorable light given how taboo it is to co sume other sapient beings in other cultures. "If it displeases you, I shall wait for you to not be present. But the spirit is quick to leave cold flesh, and the strong pass on their strength. Though only do greater foes often get such treatment. Suchbis why I do not carve each of them. One from their pack will carry the message and I shall sup on their strength."
Briar immediately shuffles protectively in front of the group. "Abomination of twisted flesh and metal you'll do no such thing with our hides. Not while I yet live."
She eyes the lobotomized shadow giants and gives a low threatening cackle.
"Never, butcher, not while Freydis' daughter draws breath!"
Visna rushes the interlocutor, Maiden's Smile opening up a long slash in the fiend's unholy flesh!
As normal, Pen does not declare battle is joined. Her eyes quickly take in as much detail on the amalgamation of flesh and metal, and then casts a spell to increase her allies reaction time and another quick one to protect herself.
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Success: The target is unaffected.
Failure: The target is dazed and can barely vocalize. It's stunned 1 and its speech is raspy and hard to understand. It must succeed at a DC 11 flat check to use linguistic actions or supply verbal spellcasting components until the end of its next turn.
Critical: Failure As failure, but the creature is stunned 3 instead of stunned 1.
RequirementRequirements You have a creature grabbed or restrained.
You squeeze your opponent in a vicious bear hug, putting intense pressure on their nerves, joints, or other pain points. Attempt an Athletics check to Grapple a creature you have grabbed or restrained, with the following additional effects if you succeed.
Critical Success The target is clumsy 2 until the end of its next turn and then is clumsy 1 for 1 minute.
Success The target is clumsy 1 until the end of its next turn.
Pen speeds the party into battle! Visna leads the way with a battle cry that rattles the velstrac. She then scores a critical hit on the velstrac, slicing one of the nearby giants as well before following up with another chop. Briar moves in to bite the fiend, grabbing a hold and cracking its spine! Belmont opens fire, scoring a critical hit and a second as well.
The velstrac is grievously wounded, but its injuries begin to regenerate. Held in Briar's grasp, it rips at her with its claws, managing a single hit. The giants slash at Visna with their spiked chains, only landing one hit as well.
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While the automaton-like creature scratches and rips at Briar's flesh, the Kholo uses her weight to thrash the thing and reaffirm her grip on the aggressing limb. Pulling the lengthy spear of quicksilver from her back, she manages to jab the thing in the gut. Planting her feet into it and pulling flesh, metal, and sinew away.
"Away gnats, I have business with your master."