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"Augh! The door's alive!" Corona shrieks as the thing suddenly animates and stabs Bask. She tries to remember if she's heard anything about evil angry doors before...
...as she utters a simple prayer to the Man in the Moon to bolster herself and her friends.
If the mimic lands another hit on an ally, Corona will make use of her Misfortune revelation:
At 1st level, as an immediate action, you can force a creature within 30 feet to reroll any one d20 roll that it has just made before the results of the roll are revealed. The creature must take the result of the reroll, even if it’s worse than the original roll. Once a creature has suffered from your misfortune, it cannot be the target of this revelation again for 1 day.
______________
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Zarnel isn't as surprised as everyone else when something does happen, though he is surprised by what exactly it is. He didn't really expect the door itself to come alive. But then again, it was a very evil looking door.
He briefly covers his eyes and then touches his battered breastplate as he intones Vildeis' mantra, "See no Evil, Abide no Evil." Sword already in hand, he steps into the gap Bask left and summons the goodness of the Cardinal Martyr that he might protect his allies and the pilgrims.
Merisiel is again surprised that what she believes is wrong. Though frustrated, she attacks and back off.
Corona recognizes that this is a fiendish creature. They are corruptions of a creature that can smite good and also usually have DR that is only overcome by good-aligned weapons. She prays for her allies' success.
Zarnel calls upon his god to give him extra strength against this foe. His greatsword slashes into the creature, but when the aasimar draws back to make another blow, the sword remains stuck to the mimic.
Bask, after recovering his composure after the door attacked, unleashes a mighty sing at the creature. The scimitar cuts deeply into it, but also refuses to return to its owner's hand.
Merisiel tries to stab it as well, but misses. Perhaps that was for the best, all things considered.
The mimic calls upon the opposite power to Zarnel's, then casts a spell.
Merisiel is commanded to fall to the ground.
Round 2 - bolded may go
Merisiel (Will save)
Zarnel (greatsword stuck, smite mimic)
Bask (-20 HP, scimitar stuck)
Corona
Fiendish Mimic (-58 HP, smite Zarnel)
Seeing Zarnel and Bask's weapon stuck on the mimic, somehow Merisiel feels a sense of relief for missing the target. Just at this moment, an urge seddenly appears in Merisiel's mind.
She can't help but drop prone. She knows it must be the mimic's trick, but all she can do is staring at it in resentment.
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Zarnel falls prone.
Greater Command says "At the start of each commanded creature's action after the first, it gets another Will save to attempt to break free from the spell." That's after each "action", not each "turn." Command says under Fall: "...remains prone for 1 round. It may act normally while prone, but takes any appropriate penalties."
So we drop prone, which is a free action per CRB, then still be able to take actions, getting another save after each action, but we may not stand until the beginning of the next round.
Merisiel falls to the floor.
Zarnel pulls out a hammer and smashes it into the mimic. He is able to pull it free, but the strange creature's flesh resists part of the hit.
Bask draws and fires a bow, but he has not had nearly enough practice with this weapon.
Corona unleashes a flash of light at the creature.
The light washes over the mimic without effect.
Round 2 - bolded may go
Merisiel (prone)
Zarnel (-3 HP, greatsword stuck, smite mimic)
Bask (-20 HP, scimitar stuck)
Corona
Fiendish Mimic (-83 HP, smite Zarnel)
Merisiel manages to draw an acid flask from her belt and hurls at the mimic.
Merisiel slams a flask of acid at the mimic. It seems completely unharmed.
The monster slowly advances on the Pathfinders and slams a door into Zarnel.
Round 3 - bolded may go
Merisiel (prone)
Zarnel (-29 HP, greatsword stuck, smite mimic, grappled)
Bask (-20 HP, scimitar stuck)
Corona
Fiendish Mimic (-83 HP, smite Zarnel, grappling)
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Zarnel is unfazed by the slam, but then he realizes he's stuck fast to the creature. He groans in frustration and struggles briefly to free himself or even use his hammer, but quickly gives up and draws his ceremonial dagger. Ceremonial not in the sense of a dull, useless blade left atop an altar for show, but for a worshipper of Vildeis it is the blade one uses to add to and embellish their collection of scars.
Salim tries to duck and weave into place
He then smites and bites!
Seeing those stuck weapon, Merisiel stands up while she draws her dagger. "Glad I have a dozen." She tries to tumble through the door mimic.
The mimic's luck is not bad enough for Zarnel to avoid capture.
Merisiel stands and tries to pass the mimic, but its body is too large to easily get by.
Zarnel pulls a dagger and swings it at the door. Apparently he needs to participate in more ceremonies - or fewer - as he cannot make contact.
Bask tries to retrieve his weapon, but cannot muster the strength to do so.
Salim tries to get past the mimic himself, but has trouble finding room in the narrow corridor.
Only the distraction of Zarnel keeps it safe. The lion then takes a huge bite out of it, ripping the creature in half. Beyond you can now see another door, this one more plain-looking.
Over the course of the next minute, the adhesive wears off, and both Zarnel and the Pathfinders' weapons are released.
Merisiel again checks if there is any trap on the "real" door.
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Even as Zarnel roars in frustration at the loss of his weapons and how useless he feels in this battle, he hears another, louder, deeper roar - Salim tearing apart the demon-door. He looks over with new appreciation at the nice lion. Wasn't he smaller before? he thinks to himself, and though confused, he's also relieved that the big cat finished off the fight.
Zarnel extricates himself from the goopy, gluey mess of dissolving mimic. While he waits for his sword and hammer to get loose enough to pull free, he applies a wand to his own wounds.
He offers his wand to Bask with a nod and smile of thanks to Salim before securing his hammer and hefting his sword. He glances shyly at Corona as a means of checking on her, then asks "Are we good, Merisiel?"
Merisiel finds nothing unusual about the door. Of course, that was true the last time...
”Safe here, I guess” Merisiel is a bit unsure, so she decided to open the door herself… as a final checkout.
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Bask waves Zarnel's wand away graciously.
"Thank you, but I have my own. This one tends to get into scrapes"
He laughs as he scritches Salim's ears and inspects him for injuries.
He cleans his scimitar off and holds it ready while Merisial inspects the door.
"At least this one doesn't have any abyssal runes! Salim, come"
The second door is, in fact, a door, and Merisiel can open it easily (if warily).
Murals on either side of this long hallway feature ragged looking humans bowing before a powerfully built humanoid male with horns protruding from his head, arms, and down his spine. Patches of red flesh with pustules cover most of the mural, obscuring a line of spiky script.
Merisiel, who has become all concerned about traps, immediately looks for it in the hallway before her as soon as she opens the door.
"Traps ahead," somehow excited, Merisiel tells the party about the threat in a raised tone, and she tries to disable it.
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Noticing Zarnel's glance, Corona smiles and gives him a thumbs up. "I'm fine. I'm just glad you and New Friend Bask are okay! And that that door didn't...like...dissolve your weapons or anything. I've heard of some nasty things that can do that."
She moves up behind the rest of the group as Merisiel begins to canvass the real door and hallway beyond. "Good job, New Friend Salim! Good kitty! Um...New Friend Bask, is it okay if I pet him or does he not like that?"
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Salim makes it clear that pets are very much liked and wanted by pushing his head forcefully into Corona's hand.
Bask just watches and smiles while inspecting his blade for damage
Merisiel locates the trigger for the trap and easily sets it to never notice anything again.
She replies, “memories that are not my own.” She seems uninclined to say more.
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"I'm sorry."
Corona seems to realize that Valais doesn't want to pursue the topic further and so other than a few sincere words, she doesn't say anything more. Instead, she smiles at the enormous lion and obliges him with some head pats and ear scritches.
"That was good work with that trap, New Friend Merisiel! I guess the people that built this place didn't want strangers dropping by to say hello."
"This is what I'm supposed to be good at, though today is a bit... unusual." Merisiel replies to Corona. "But this place is clear now, I'm pretty sure." She says as she takes the lead to advance further into the hallway.
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Memories not her own. Those of the demon bound to he - body, mind and spirit it seems, Zarnel muses as he surveys the room. He looks back once more at Valais. There but for the Power of Vidleis, go I.
He refocuses from his reverie and considers the room with its image of a demonic being being worshiped and the "spiky script."
The murals depict a large tree on a hill with a single piece of spiny purple fruit. The next one shows the fruit grown and unraveled into a creature, roughly man-sized and shaped but with elephantine feet and spikes growing out of its body. The third panel shows humans groveling before the spiked creature, which slits the throat of a man at the base of the tree using his long, sharp claws. The fourth panel shows the spiked creature touching the tree and creating an abundance of fruit bearing plants.
The spiky script in this case is Hallit.
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"Servants shall... Zarnel whispers aloud as he reads the spiky script from the wall. "Ahem, sorry. The words say 'Servants shall' but I cannot see the rest of the inscription."
His eyes scan the wall, studying the tainted and simply wrong growths upon it. "Do you think there a way to clean this ... whatever it is ... off?" he asks his more astute friends.
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"Well, whatever the servants were meant to do, it probably wasn't anything good," Corona frowns. "That big purple spiked guy? That's a kalavakus demon - I've seen lots of pictures of them in books and things. From the look of the murals, he probably asked them for human sacrifices...ugh!"
She takes a look at the fleshy growth on the walls and carefully pokes at it with the end of her longspear. "I dunno...this might need an actual priest or someone to cleanse it off because I don't think water and elbow grease will cut it."
You believe that you could remove the flesh with a Disable Device check, slashing or piercing damage, or with magic with the good description of 3rd level or higher. However, it does not appear that touching it will be safe.
"Well, maybe I can try to, umm... tear it off, but I'll be grateful if you save it as the last resort."
Feeling rather reluctant to touch the flesh, Merisiel hopes if someone can solve it before she has to try.
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Zarnel smiles warmly to Corona. "You are a good person, Corona, no matter the nature of your powers." He pauses as he realizes how that might have sounded. "I mean, you're... Umm..."
He switches his focus to Merisiel and nods in understanding. "You should all leave the room, in case this gets messy," he advises the ladies, letting Bask and Salim decide for themselves what to do. He draws his hammer and checks his grip while he waits for them to leave and then begins to strike the red, wet pustules carefully.
Every time Zarnel strikes the wall, one of the pustules explodes. Luckily, the burst cannot reach the aasimar because of the length of the weapon, so other than the blade being disgusting, it causes no harm.
Shortly after, the Pathfinders reach a split in the hallway. A black marble statue stands at the intersection. It is a hulking humanoid with elephantine feet and large razor-sharp horns covering its body. Spiky script carved into the plinth compounds the sinister nature of the figure.
As she gazes at the statue, Valais winces slightly and raises a hand to the demonic half of her face. “This must be MY GRAND COUNTENANCE. Here’s our proof that we are in the right place. I was thinking that we should TURN LEFT.” Valais’s eyes widen slightly as she continues, “No, we should not turn left. YOU WILL TURN LEFT. What I’m trying to say is that we should look around carefully before proceeding TO THE LEFT, WORMS.” Valais raises her voice, “Before proceeding in whichever direction you choose. The demons have never been this insistent before. We must be close to our destination.”
“Ah, yes, well. It’s another sign we are on the right track. Besides, this gives me a chance to learn what I sound like most of the time. YOU WILL HEAR AND OBEY. I’d heard that demon spoke with an inflated sense of self-importance, but it’s fascinating to observe it myself. YOU WILL REGRET YOUR IMPUDENCE WHEN YOU COWER AT MY FEET.”
Merisiel frowns. The attitude of the demonic voice just makes her want to do the opposite. However, there may be some unknown consequence on Valais this time. "Both directions lead to deeper part of the building, so maybe there's no difference." She says whlie she looks for traps.
Merisiel notices a symbol on the wall to the north that will likely do something unpleasant if it is not handled carefully.
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"Aw, thank you," Corona smiles at Zarnel. "I try my best!"
After the group has proceeded past the splattered pustules Corona listens to Valais' words with great interest. "I don't cower at anyone's feet," she chuckles, but for the first time since you've been traveling together, there's no humor in her eyes. "We'll have to go left at some point anyway so we may as well do it now, right New & Old Friends?"
"Only the path to the left is trapped. There must be something," says Merisiel while she tries to disable it.
"It doesn't seem very successful."