Strongjaw drops his cards, as the alluring look of the effigy steals the goblin's heart!
Fascinated by its charm and structure, the Witchjust stares at it longingly....
The White Rabbit and Tanngrisnir seem to be pointing and laughing at the newly made puddle underneath the goblin's position.
HP 28/28
AC 18
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Hero points: 0
Effects: Frightened 1
Using his bell to ward his weapon, Kadosh batters at the rusty blade attacking him to little effect, his gaze constantly straying back toward the effigy.
Hakana's eyes are glued to the effigy. His resolve is shaken, but he continues his attack.
and and 1 persistent 1
for
Valda cries out in fear as her blade cuts naught but empty air.
Veshka continues scourging the area with lightning, as Catamoch tries to stiffen his resolve by killing the wounded.
With no organs to root out or blood to leak out, Catamoch swings his tusks wide, tearing and cutting rather than burrowing them deep.
Kadosh fails to remember anything about the animated weapon in front of him. His second strike smashes the rusty blade down to the ground.
Valda swings at the effigy, but continues to miss her target.
Hakata's fire continues to burn away at the effigy, compounded by the new fire spell he just cast.
Veshka's spell takes down the remaining animated weapons, allowing Catamoch to charge ahead and strike the effigy. Though he injures it, his attacks are not as effective as Hakata's fire is and is partially resisted.
The effigy steps forward and moves up north of Valda some, leaving Hakata's lava behind it. Once it place, it strikes Valda twice.
29
Valda continues to shudder with fear as she slashes and slashes and slashes, screaming in impotent fury! Bloody wounds adorn her body.
"Fall to earth, spirit!" Hakata repeats his effective tactics.
and and 1 persistent fire
for
HP 28/28
AC 18
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Hero points: 0
Effects: Frightened 1
Kadosh moves past the effigy to help Valda and the rest of his fellow scouts, holding up a quick talisman to ward off fear, as he swings his ax at the effigy. He's so focused on his companions though that his blade simply bounces off the effigy.
Veshka chokes down her fear, trying to drown it with the rage that floods her bond with Catamoch.
Catamoch pursues his fleeing prey, and since the slashes of his tusks were blunted by the effigy, this time he drives them deep instead.
turn[/ooc]
With all the ruckus being caused by the Effigy, the Goblin's Fascination seems to be....
Well endowed by the evidence of drool dripping down the Witch's chinny chin chin!
Source Core Rulebook pg. 619 4.0
You are compelled to focus your attention on something, distracting you from whatever else is going on around you. You take a –2 status penalty to Perception and skill checks, and you can't use actions with the concentrate trait unless they or their intended consequences are related to the subject of your fascination (as determined by the GM). For instance, you might be able to Seek and Recall Knowledge about the subject, but you likely couldn't cast a spell targeting a different creature. This condition ends if a creature uses hostile actions against you or any of your allies.
The White Rabbit shakes the starring stupidly Goblin!
It wants you to hug it with ice!
Strongjaw nods stupidly performing all the proper gestures, verbiage, and magics!
The fear from the effigy begins to creep into the minds of some of the scouts, causing them to lose focus. Their actions all come up short and the effigy looks ready to capitalize on this...
... only it doesn't for some reason!
Attacking Valda three times, the creature cannot connect with the exemplar!
Valda finally overcomes her fear as she strikes the effigy!
Hakata also overcomes his fear.
He coats his hand in fire and slaps at the creature.
for
He continues to blow up some ground, safely away from his allies.
Well endowed by the evidence of drool dripping down the Witch's chinny chin again!
The White Rabbit shakes the starring stupidly Goblin!
Damn it, man! You're a Winter Witch not a drooling teenager!
Strongjaw nods stupidly performing all the proper gestures, verbiage, and magics!
Trusting to others to bring the fire, Veshka keeps pouring rage into Catamoch as she stays clear of the fray.
**EDIT**
Catamoch though is completely stymied by the effigy's defenses and trots off to make way for more fire.
HP 28/28
AC 18
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Hero points: 0
Effects: Frightened 1
Kadosh chops again at the effigy with his axe before moving to a new position. He looks away, trying to avoid meeting its eyes as he continues to suffer the results of its unnerving stare.
United in purpose, the scouts converge on the effigy with a relentless barrage. Strongjaw, his eyes ablaze with determination, finds his mark with his ray of frost. Valda, undeterred by her earlier misses, whirls with a warrior’s grace, her weapon meeting the effigy with a resonant clang. Kadosh, with the precision of a seasoned fighter, delivers a decisive blow with his battleaxe. Together, their concerted efforts culminate in victory; the effigy's structure buckles and shatters, its ominous presence dissipating as it crumbles. The encounter is over, the effigy defeated, and a sense of accomplishment washes over the scouts as they stand triumphant.
The shield atop the battle standards is a low-grade cold iron shield, but perhaps it isn’t the greatest treasure here. Kadosh learns that if they spend the rest of the day studying the apaku, it's possible to learn an animation ritual
"Oh, we should stay and study this area!" Kadosh exclaims. "We found our way here for a reason, and it's got great power."
"Very well. Truth be told, I am far too injured to do much walking at the moment," Valda says. She groans and finds a large rock to sit on, breathing heavily and poking out the bloody furrows the effigy's claws left in her skin.
Veshka nods eagerly. "I only hope the god of that effigy is not too injured, and not too angry to talk."
Her expression sours when she sees how badly Valda is hurt. "I guess I have to put you back together again first. Don't worry, O Shining One, I'm sure none of this will even scar. So tell me, is it a geas upon you to shed blood for every victory? Does the god inside you just want to be free that badly? Or do you think that just because you're a god you can't really be hurt?"
Valda chuckles as Veshka tends to her wounds. "My power gives me strength and endurance, but I know I am mortal yet. My immanence has not reached its full potential yet. I must foster my legend and earn my name-deeds before I can ascend fully to godhood. But I know I cannot do it alone. That is why I am glad you are here to heal me after a fierce fight! I would not be here without your support, and that of our fellow scouts."
Veshka scowls, eyes flat. "An answer lifted from the tales, and creaking with overuse. Faith matters for gods, O Shining One. Try to say words that you at least have belief in."
Blinking back real tears of loss, the weeping Goblin is seen being consoled by The White Rabbit (who is also seen giggling behind the poor goblin's back), but being totally ignored by Tanngrisnir, who is seen chewing yet another tuft of grass.
Hakata examines the area as they wait, having already connected to the spirits of earth and fire.
"You want to be teased into inanimate objects?" He listens carefully to the spirits at the convergence.
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As the dust settles from their confrontation with the effigy, Kadosh's keen intellect cannot be swayed from the mysteries that linger in the atmosphere of the ancient battlefield. With an insatiable curiosity driving him, he asserts the importance of harnessing the arcane energies that dance on the fringes of perception. Giving in to the magnetic pull of the apaku, he plants himself amidst the remnants of rusted weapons and fragmented relics, each piece a silent testament to the battles once waged.
Kadosh's study is methodical, a process of deep meditation and scholarly rigor. He runs his fingers over the runes, his lips moving silently as he deciphers ancient inscriptions. Hours pass like minutes as he cross-references the symbols with memorie slowly transforming the unknown into knowledge. He meticulously performs small, controlled gestures, imitating the flows of energy he suspects are needed to coax life into the inanimate. As twilight approaches, the first signs of success flicker into being: a slight tremor in a blade's rusted edge, a whisper of movement in a discarded shield. It's subtle, yet undeniable—the beginnings of a ritual that might one day breathe motion into the motionless.
Meanwhile, Hakata stands in stark contrast to the intense focus of Kadosh. He reaches out to the spirits of earth and fire, his presence a quiet invitation for communion. The spirits of the old battlefield are restless echoes, memories etched into the very soil and the air, their whispers like the crackling of a long-dead fire. They are wary, vestiges of a tumultuous past, but Hakata's patience is an open channel.
As the sun dips below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of burning orange and fading purple, Hakata's connection deepens. The spirits begin to confide in him, sharing fragmented tales of valor and destruction, each account a thread in the fabric of the place's storied history. In the sigh of the wind, he hears the battle cries of the fallen, in the warmth of the earth, the lingering lifeblood of ancient warriors.
These spirits do not reveal secrets lightly, but to Hakata's respectful entreaty, they offer up wisps of understanding—insights into the animating forces that once bound them to the physical realm, and how those forces might be channeled once again. With every revelation, Hakata's knowledge grows, blending with his innate powers, shaping the foundation of a deeper mastery over the elemental forces at his command.
Together, yet in their own realms of exploration, Kadosh and Hakata weave new threads into the tapestry of their skills, their discoveries on this day promising to echo in their future endeavors.
Valda gives Veshka a pointed look. "Hmph," she grunts, then looks down at the ground. "Very well. I suppose I have been a bit reckless of late. It's just that, after the Burning Mammonths' attack and Grandfather Eiwa's passing, the following has been demoralized. I am trying my best to be the inspiration that everybody expects me to be. But it seems I have been coming up short in that regard. Sometimes I feel like the spark of divinity that dwells within my soul is more of a burden than a gift."
Veshka laughs. It's ugly and dry, like the skin on her calves that wasn't quite scaly enough to go. She laughs. Tears leak out of the eye that's finished twisting into its new shape; she's shaking, her body not big enough to contain what Valda has drawn out. She laughs. Her needle falls to the ground; a roll of bandages tumbles after it into the dirt. She doesn't rage over the waste, over the time it will take to drive out the spirits of pestilence from her tools. She laughs. Her lungs empty so she drags in a wheezing breath that immediately becomes a racking cough until she's finally still, one hand clenched around a horn that's just grown long enough to saw.
"Sorry about your 'curse.'"
Valda's cheeks flush as Veshka laughs. "Perhaps... it may have been a poor choice of words," she says, ashamed. "I did not mean to belittle your own condition."
Packing up and moving on, you continue to scout and lead the way for the following as quickly as they will move. The next few days pass without incident. On the third day you find yourselves arriving at your destination - Gleaming Sun Lake.
Small waves at the center of this large lake reflect the sun and clouds, resulting in a bright mosaic of rippling light. In calmer times, the following would camp for several weeks on the shore, fishing and collecting useful reeds. This time, the Broken Tusks don’t expect to stop here for more than a day before continuing their flight.
When the party arrives at the shore of the lake, they see a wiry Kellid man chest-deep in the water about 30 feet from the shore, fighting against something beneath the surface and crying out for help. Taking note of you he calls out, “Come! Help! Quickly!”
"Help is on the way!" Valda shouts, rushing forward into the water to assist the man unless somebody stops her!
Hakata looks for a branch on the shore to pick up as a rescue aid, then heads for the water.
Spotting only the man struggling, Kadosh pulls out his axe and bell and begins wading into the water. "Spirits preserve us!" he prays.
When the party arrives at the shore of the lake, they see a wiry Kellid man chest-deep in the water about 30 feet from the shore, fighting against something beneath the surface and crying out for help. Taking note of you he calls out, “Come! Help! Quickly!”
Tanngrisnir stops at the water line, as Strongjaw and the White Rabbit look suspiciously at the drowning, or in dire mortal struggle against overwhelming odds in an awful terrain fellow.
It's a trap.
Shrugging their collective shoulders, as his clans folk decide to go for a dip, the Witch decides to Hex the whatever man!
Life Boost
The giggling Goblin then decides to help Valda!
Rousing Splash
Despite Strongjaw's suspicions that the scene unfolding at the shore might be a trap, his warnings go unheard as Valda, Kadosh, Hakata, and Veshka, driven by urgency and concern, rush toward the lake to aid the wiry Kellid man seemingly struggling in the water.
As they near the shoreline, the man in the water exerts a subtle, magical influence. Valda, in particular, finds herself inexplicably drawn to the figure. To her, the creature is no longer a stranger in distress but an alluring presence, an almost hypnotic entity. The world around her fades into a blur, her senses captivated by this mysterious individual.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected and is temporarily immune to Captivating Lure for 24 hours.
Success The creature is stupefied 1 for 1 round and is then temporarily immune to Captivating Lure for 24 hours.
Failure The creature is fascinated, and it must spend each of its actions to move closer to the kelpie as expediently as possible while avoiding obvious dangers. If a captivated creature is adjacent to the kelpie, it either attempts to mount the kelpie (if the kelpie is in equine form) or stays still and doesn't act. If the creature is attacked by the kelpie, or if it can't breathe water and enters an area of water, the creature is freed from captivation at the end of the kelpie's turn.
Critical Failure As failure, but the target doesn't consider water a danger and will enter an area of water even if it can't swim or breathe water. If it is attacked by the kelpie or starts to drown, it can attempt a new save at the start of its next turn, but it isn't freed automatically.
In a startling and fluid motion, the figure in the water undergoes a dramatic transformation. The wiry Kellid man's form shimmers and warps, his human guise melting away like a mirage. The man's limbs elongate and fuse, morphing into the powerful, sleek body of a horse. His skin takes on a shimmering, greenish hue, reminiscent of seaweed and murky depths. The mane and tail seem to be made of flowing water, constantly moving and rippling as if underwater, even in the open air. Its eyes, once human, are now large and deep, glowing with an eerie, otherworldly light.
The creature's size increases during the transformation, growing to the stature of a large horse, yet its movements are graceful and fluid, betraying a supernatural agility. Where once there were hands, now there are hooves that splash and stir the lake's surface, sending ripples across the water.
As the creature completes its transformation, it lets out a sound that is part neigh, part siren's call, a haunting melody that resonates with the mysterious and dangerous allure of the fey. Now fully revealed in its natural form, the creature stands as a formidable figure, an embodiment of the deceptive and treacherous nature of the fey creatures that dwell in watery realms.
”What a magnificent steed! It must be mine!” Valda declares. She splashes over to the water horse and tries to climb on its back, her wreath blooming with white light.
Strongjaw weeps!
The White Rabbit is seen shaking his cute furry head.
Tanngrisnir is seen chewing some nicely display seed weed that washed ashore (probably from the Large seahorse dude to waylay folks).
The Witch decides to experiment!
Clinging Ice
And zap!
"Valda, stop!"
Hakata recalls what he can about the creature, then flings darts of magic at it, hoping to scare it away from the entranced scout.
for
HP 28/28
AC 18
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Hero points: 1
Effects:
As if he were frozen by Strong Jaw's magic, Kadosh hesitates before realizing the danger.
"Valda!" he shouts, trying to size up the thing in front of him, but too distracted.
He steps forward, and drives his axe home into the evil spirt.
Veshka lets go of Catamoch's flank and the demon boar rushes forward to crash into the strange fey.
Squealing with a hungry joy, Catamoch buries his face in the strange horses flank, trying to trample straight over it, but stopped by its bulk.
Enchanted by the creature's enticing lure, Valda approaches and mounts it with surprising fluidity as if compelled by a force beyond her control.
Strongjaw, realizing the gravity of the situation, quickly conjures a spell. Freezing sleet and heavy snow accumulate around the creature's feet and legs, attempting to hinder its movements. It appears to injure the creature but not hinder it as he had hoped.
Hakata, struggling to identify the nature of this fey creature, decides to take action regardless. He launches needle darts towards the kelpie, but the risk of injuring Valda, who is perilously close to the creature, throws off his aim, causing him to miss the target.
Kadosh, equally puzzled by the creature's true nature, doesn't let his uncertainty stop him. He swings his battleaxe ferociously, landing a critical blow on the creature, his weapon cutting deep into its flesh.
Catamoch charges towards the steed with unbridled vigor. His tusks sink into the equine form of the creature, adding to the injuries inflicted by Kadosh's axe.
The creature seems to focus on keeping Valda captivated and out of the way while it turns its attention to the battleaxe-wielding half-orc who just critically struck it. With tremendous force, its forward legs kick out and embed its hoof critically in Kadosh's chest, cracking ribs and crushing his body.
As Kadosh collapses to the ground in the surf, it turns its attention to Catamoch and attacks twice but misses both times.
With such violent action against her companions, Valda is freed from the enchantment!
35
Snapping back to reality, Valda dismounts the monster and attacks!
Veshka pulls herself out of Catamoch's fury, using her will as a sieve to feed Kadosh the boar god's vitality, without his corruption.
Strongjaw shrieks at the bloody and violent chompping done by the sea horse upon poor minced meat, shredded lettuce, mashed po-ta-toes Kadosh!
Half-orc down!
The White Rabbit taps the goblin on his shoulder.
That's you in this particular situation, asshat.
The Witch calls upon his magics!
Strongjaw then Sustains his Clinging Ice Hex!
Catamoch's power is lessened by Veshka's distraction, but freed from any semblance of control, he's still an engine of destruction all his own.
HP 24/28
AC 18
Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +6
Hero points: 1
Effects: wounded 1
Kadosh groans as he comes to, reaching for his axe and bell as he stands up.