Sakura eviscerates the nindoru in front of her! Red butterflies pour from the gaping wound as the creature collapses, and the warrior moves to engage the other fiend. Jing-De's intimidation attempt falls flat. Pagma hits the other nindoru with two frost bombs, then Jing-De moves behind it and trips the foe!
The nindoru gets to its feet before releasing a cloud of thought-stealing butterflies form its body!
Critical Success: The creature is unaffected.
Success: The creature is stupefied 1 until the end of its next turn.
Failure: The creature is stupefied 1 and confused until the end of its next turn.
Critical Failure: The creature is stupefied 1 and confused for 1 minute. It can attempt a new save at the end of each of its turns to end the effects.
Pagma' supply of bombs are almost spent, but so she pulls one more of the crystals, tossing it before joining the melee
Jing calls upon the space between the two divine lovers to give the nindoru a taste of true oblivion.
Sakura hacks away at the creature, trying to end this quickly. She delivers two excellently placed attacks.
◈
◈
◈
◈Dueling Parry: +2 circumstance bonus to AC until the start of your next turn
The swirling butterflies batter Kamo, but he manages to keep his wits about himself. He slashes away at the creature.
for
for
Sakura only manages to hit the nindorus once as it stands. The fiend resists Jing-De's spell, but both of Pagma's bombs hit, and Kamo scores a precise hit that badly wounds it! The monster whirls on the investigator, slicing him with its broken katana! Fortunately, Kamo manages to dodge its follow-up strikes that would have finished him off!
Kamo looks to press his advantage on the attack, then quickly patches up his own wounds.
for
Kamo finds his opening. He drives his blade into the nindrou's heart, a critical hit! The silver weapon sears the monster's impure flesh, and with a groan, the being falls, butterflies pouring from its body until there are no more.
While the library is in a complete state of disrepair, not everything is destroyed. A thorough 10-minute search uncovers a set of blank warding tablets under a layer of ashes.
The light from the secret door beckons...
Kamo sits down heavily as the butterflies swirl around him. He sets his knife on the floor and puts a hand through a large rent in his tunic. "Well, it's going to be a long session with needle and thread to patch this up." He gingerly touches the flesh beneath, "Ah <hiss> this too." He gets out his medical kit and begins patching himself up.
"I don't think I'll ever look at butterflies the same way. Odd. I think of them in terms of the natural cycle, the metamorphosis of nature. So strange that these creatures bucking that cycle are full of them."
Sakura marches over to Kamo, her eyes blazing with anger. She points to the fresh wound on her torso, where his blade had accidentally struck during the chaos of the battle.
"Oh-Oh! Your tunic is cut, is it?!" she growls. "Look at this, Kamo!" she shouts, her voice echoing in the ruined library. "You need to be more careful! Your recklessness nearly got me killed again!"
When Kamo tries to respond and offer healing, Sakura doesn’t wait to hear his words. "I'll heal myself!" She growls again, kicks a ruined book, and sends it flying across the room. With a frustrated huff, she turns on her heel and stomps off, her footsteps heavy with anger and pain.
After some time to rest, heal up, and perhaps cool off, you proceed through the secret door. Shelves line most of this room’s walls, while a low round table sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by sitting cushions. A skeleton lies slumped over the table, a writing quill in hand and an open book under the skull.
Once you are all in the room, a disembodied feminine voice greets you. The voice seems to whisper from all corners of the room at once. "Greetings. Do not be alarmed. I do not harbor any sinister intentions. I am Yen Rui, and I am loyal to the Tan Sugi monastery. I can help you if you tell me what you are here for."
Sakura is alarmed when told to not be alarmed.
She grips her katana tightly, her eyes scanning the room as she circles her companions protectively. Her voice is firm as she addresses the disembodied voice. "Show yourself, spirit! If you mean no harm, then appear before us and speak plainly!"
"Alas, I have no form left," the voice laments. "My spirit infuses every single text here in the library. I've power enough, though, to prevent Kugaptee's faithful from entering my refuge here. My name is Yen Rui."
You recall Zhi Hui's ghost named Yen Rui as a friend of hers.
"Well, this is a welcome spot to rest then," Kamo says as he looks over the volumes in the collection. "Those minions have totally overrun the temple. Any tips on defeating them? We are working on restoring the statues around the place, but we haven't found the missing head of one of them."
Jing sighs in relief when the spirit tells them her name. "It is as my friend Kamo says. The monastery is not as it once was, and it has been overrun by those whose hearts and souls have turned away from the light."
"We could rest?" Pagma perks up, especially as her bag is rather light with bombs and such.
"The nindorus here all share a weakness to silver weapons. They can help you defeat them more swiftly," Yen Rui says. "On a larger scale, purifying the statues will strengthen Zhi Hui's spirit, allowing her to aid you more directly. The head of Pharasma's statue can be found in the branches of the sugi tree, in the northern courtyard. And the final stag statue is located just east of here, in the burial garden.
"In order to fully cleanse the monastery, you will have to descend to the sugi tree's roots and stop Xin Yue from resurrecting Kugaptee. But you must be at full strength to stand a chance. Please, rest here. You may sleep soundly knowing that the evils in the monastery will not trouble you in this chamber. There are several items here that can aid you as well."
Numerous books and scrolls float gently off of the shelves and over to you. These include a lesser tome of restorative cleansing, several scrolls (a scroll of entangel fate, a scroll of life’s fresh bloom, a scroll of prophet’s luck, a scroll of sacred nimbus, a scroll of tomorrow’s dawn, and a scroll of wall of mirrors), and a large book bearing the title Watchers of the Cycle.
The first half of this book contains hundreds of short parables and stories culled from a wide range of religions, each curated for the lessons they can impart to a follower of Sangpotshi.
The second half of the book contains the formulas for several rituals, including gnaw at the moon, last night’s vigil, ransack the night, regale the lost ones, and sweetest solstice. The final pages of the book contain the formula for the ritual reincarnate.
You rest overnight in the secret library. The next morning, after making your preparations, you venture out into the northern courtyard.
A massive, one-hundred-foot-tall sugi tree towers over this overgrown courtyard, bathing the monastery in its shadow. Glistening coils of rot and decay spread up from several of the tree’s roots to wind along its trunk, while many branches above are thick with immense spiderwebs. A large silver-bladed axe lies embedded in the side of the tree trunk about four feet off the ground; crusty rivulets of black sap glisten and run down from the wound.
Pagma notes that the affliction sickening the tree will kill it in a few months, and its source seems to be coming from somewhere underground.
As you approach the tree, Kamo notices something shimmering with a faint blue glow in a clot of spiderwebs about 75 feet up near the tree's trunk. However, before you can investigate further, you'll have to contend with the creatures here.
An enormous ogre spider lurks in the branches 50 feet above the ground, visible but motionless for the moment. Down below, squatting among the tree’s roots as it gnaws and chews at the bark, is an unsettling figure—an undead kitsune dressed in rags. Black smoke rises from his empty eye sockets and mouth. The kistune appears to be chewing on the sugi tree's roots. Once he notices you, he spits bits of bark out of his mouth and straightens up.
"Ah, come. Join me in my meal. More teeth will bring down this forlorn tree more quickly—surely you aren’t cruel-minded enough to let it continue to suffer?"
Jing's heart jumps when he spots the enormous spider and knows that if it is to come to blows, it will surely come for them. The palpitations only worsen when the undead kitsune, casually chewing on sugi tree roots, invites them to share a nibble. "Suffering invites us to a meal and expects us to partake? No, I don't think so."
Pagma hands Kamo one of her special coffees and whispers "We should keep the spider away from your sister." at the mention of a spider, Tick skitters up her back to the top of her head to look and see.
"We are here to heal the tree not harm it. So you both can leave now!" Pagma tries to give a firm ultimatum like Sakura would, with less inspiring effect though.
The kistune frowns. "This tree grew from the remains of a great heroine. As long as the tree still grows, her soul remains trapped and outside of the cycle of life. So you should want to help me destroy it to free her!" He growls in anger. "Bah, forget it!" He draws his temple sword, and as he does, the giant spider stirs and begins to clamber down from the tree!
Jing raises his arms and starts giving shape to the energy that whirls within him. Menacingly, or so he likes to think, he addresses the Kitsune before blasting it with holy light. "No, we won't!"
The undead kitsune shrieks in pain as Jing-De blasts him with holy light! He rushes forward to take revenge, skirting around the side of the group to get behind Jing-De and slicing with his sword!
Meanwhile, the enormous spider descends the tree and skitters into melee with Sakura and Kamo!
Sakura’s heart races as the enormous spider descends the tree. Her grip tightens on her katana, but a wave of sheer terror washes over her, freezing her in place for a split second. Her breath quickens, and she feels a cold sweat on her forehead as her hand begins to tremble.
"Spiders... why did it have to be spiders..." she mutters under her breath, trying to steady herself.
She knows she should charge it. She always charges everything first; it's become a signature Sakura move. Her feet refuse to move, however, and she stays frozen in place as it advances.
"Sakura--get that kitsune! Pagma and I will take care of the spider!"
Kamo chugs the coffee and looks for a weakness in the giant arachnid's chitin.
for and
Sakura had no intention of engaging with that spider and trusted her brother and Pagma-chan to deal with it. She pivots towards the kitsune but never takes her eyes off the spider as she moves away to get into a flanking position with Jing-De.
Once into position, she tries to take the kitsune down with a decisive and massive swing from her blade.
◈◈
◈◈
"SPIDER! Here, Look Here!" Pagma waves her hands invitingly, like a fly caught in a web. She kind of pulls it off, before flinging three different kinds of chemical compounds into its eyes.
After Sakura takes a flanking position, Jing strikes again at the kitsune. He then, wisely, or perhaps somewhat cowardly, steps away from the melee.
Kamo moves to engage the spider, driving his dagger up into its abdomen in a telling blow. Pagma hurls several bombs at the giant arachnid but only manages to splash it. Sakura scores a critical hit against the undead kitsune, knocking him down! This gives Jing-De an opportunity to blast him with healing magic and retreat!
The kitsune snarls and starts to get back to his feet, but Sakura seizes the opportunity, dispatching the undead with another critical slice!
The spider snaps at Kamo, sinking its fangs into him!
With the kitsune gone, Jing shifts his focus from offense to defense. He calls upon the divine lovers to protect Kamo from harm.
"That stings," Kamo mutters as the poison enters his wound.
No wonder Sakura doesn't like these.
for
Despite not finding a good initial plan of attack, Kamo continues swinging at the spider, hoping to kill it before Sakura needs to do something.
Sakura hoped when she turned around, the gigantic spider would be dead on the ground, but no, of course it wasn't.
She tries to move toward it, but her body refuses to listen.
Clenching her hands tightly over her blade, she wills herself forward to protect her brother and friends. With an audible groan, she charges to the spider and whacks at twice.
◈◈
◈
Pagma flings another potion of fire, then pulls her dagger and gets closer to the big ball of many limbs.
Kamo slashes the spider while Pagma burns it. Sakura charges in, scoring a critical hit, then following up with another slash that eviscerates the arachnid! Greenish ichor spurts from its ruptured abdomen as it collapses, twitching before falling still!
You can take the undead kitsune's +1 striking ghost touch temple sword. The axe embedded in the tree trunk can be tugged free with enough force. It is a +1 fiend bane striking silver battle axe. You can also climb up into the branches of the sugi tree to recover the head of the Pharasma statue that you've been looking for.
Their is a moment of calm when the monster collapses, its oddly colored blood gushing out, while the young heroes hunch to catch their breath or stretch to keep away cramps. That moment of relief when they realize they made it through another.
Pagma destroys this one though, when she rushes up to Sakura, hugging her friend, announcing "You conquered your fear of Spiders!" and Tik joins in by skittering off Pagma's shoulder on to Sakura's head.
Sakura stands there, her arms hanging by her side as the ichor of the dead spider spreading out around her as Pagma embraces her in a hug and Tik crawls onto her head. She remains detached from reality, her mind numb to the world around her.
Inside her mind, a torrent of emotions and thoughts scream for attention, but she isn't able to comprehend it all right now. Her own fear and the adrenaline coursing through her veins keep her temporarily paralyzed.
Pagma's words draw her back to reality and her eyes slowly begin to focus.
She asks "Did we win?"
"But I'm start to dislike them now," Kamo rubs his smarking shoulder. "No offense, Tik."
Kamo climbs up the tree quickly to grab the head and the axe.
"These weapons might be useful, especially if we have to face Kugaptee himself." Kamo makes experimental swings with them both.
Pagma notices her spider on her friend's head and plucks him off as quick as she can. No sense tempting fate. "Yes, you killed the spider. Good work." a simple congratulations for a job well done.
You return Pharasma's head to her body and Kamo purifies the statue. The sensation of a great shadowy weight lifts from your minds. You realize that you had been spiritually oppressed by an overwhelming psychic presence ever since entering the ruins, only to find it now gone. The sound of birds and insects builds in the surrounding forest, bringing a hint of nature back to the region, although within the ruins, things remain unnaturally grim. Zhi Hui’s ghost manifests again, praising you and encouraging you to purify the final statue. She then fades away, but she fades peacefully rather than appearing to be ripped apart by unseen talons.
You move on to the final room in the north part of the monastery. The air in this chamber feels humid and unusually warm. A row of four twenty-foot-long wooden planter boxes filled with earth sit in the middle of the room, each overgrown with diseased-looking weeds, damp-looking fungi, and glistening vines. A low table with moldy cushions around it sits to the east, near a small wooden door to the northeast; a statue of a stag covered with damp, diseased vines stands near this door.
As you move through the room, several clots of fungi in the planter boxes begin to shudder and lurch to life, but you make short work of them. Afterwards, you find a few treasures: a primeval mistletoe tangled up in the remains of one of the fungal menaces, and a verdant staff lying under several nasty-smelling vines on the ground behind the stag statue.
You purify the fourth and final statue. Vital energy spreads throughout the area: the sickened trees within the monastery become healthier, and the overgrown weeds in the courtyards wither. The water in the southern courtyard becomes pure once again.
Zhi Hui manifests again. "You have done well. But in order to fully remove Kugaptee’s influence over the ruins, you must travel into his grave below the monastery and defeat Xin Yue, the one who allowed this corruption to spread in the first place. I will join you in the fight against Xin Yue when the time comes."
The ghost fades away, but you can feel her presence nearby. The door by the stag statue opens, revealing stairs leading down...
"Let's pause a moment and enjoy the new atmosphere here." Kamo sits near the newly-cleansed stag statue and checks on his spider bite.
Sakura nods, taking a deep breath and feeling the revitalized air fill her lungs. "We’ve done a really good thing here. The monastery feels more at peace now" she says, her voice soft and relaxed. "It's good to take a moment and appreciate what we’ve accomplished."
Once everyone is ready, Sakura rises. She places her hand on Kamo's shoulder and says "Let's end this and free Willowshore from this nightmare."
The stairs down from the garden descend into a large basement that might have once been used to store gardening equipment, barrels of fertilizer, lumber, and repair tools, but today it’s more like a slaughterhouse. The entire room is littered with the dismembered corpses and splattered internal organs of beasts and humanoid creatures, and the stink of decaying flesh makes the cool air an agonizing chore to breathe.
An undead monk watches over this chamber, attended by a trio of slavering hell hounds that look more like burning feral foxes than they do dogs. As you arrive, the monk is entertaining itself by playing fetch with the hell hounds, using a well-chewed human skull for the game. Upon spotting you, the hell hounds immediately bare their teeth and growl menacingly, but the monk holds out a rotting hand to stay their attack. "It’s rude to interrupt someone’s idle moments. Why are you here? Why should I not feed you to my pets?" the monk demands.
Sakura steps forward, her hand tightening around the hilt of her katana, her eyes locked onto the undead monk. "We’re here to end the suffering you and your kind have brought upon this place." she says, her voice steady and filled with resolve. "This monastery deserves peace, and we’re going to make sure it gets it."
"Why should we not end you and your pets right now?" she threatens back.
The monk shrugs. "I can't give you a good reason. So just hold still so we can end you first!" It snaps its fingers, and the fox-hounds surge towards you!
The foxes move in and unleash burning hellfire from their mouths! The monk leaps over them to get to Sakura, pummeling her with its fists!
Kamo avoids some of the fire, then looks to help Sakura.
Pagma yells out in pain, then tries to throw acid on the inferno puppies in retaliation.
The fire nearly claims Jing, but he manages to keep on standing. Somehow. He answers the fire by calling upon life. He channels his emotions, clinging to all that makes life worth living, and showers the area with healing magics.
Sakura growls as she is roasted along with her party. She is able to prevent the worst of it, but she is noticeably injured. With deadly efficiency, she delivers two fantastic slashes with her katana before raising it defensively.
◈
◈
◈Dueling Parry: +2 circumstance bonus to AC until the start of your next turn
Jing-De's healing spell mends your wounds while proving super effective at searing the undead's foul flesh! Kamo moves around to trip the monk, then Sakura lays into him. As he tries to get to his feet, Sakura delivers another strike that puts him down for the count.
Meanwhile, Pagma hurls acid at the hellish foxes. One of them is badly injured and the other two seared by the splash damage.
The hell hounds surround Sakura and attack as a pack, seeking vengeance for their fallen master! She parries most of their attacks--only one slips past her defenses.
Though she was hurting, she felt like they clearly had the upper hand. All she needed to do was get through these foxes and there would be time to recover. She slashes at them twice more before going defensive once agian.
◈
◈
◈Dueling Parry: +2 circumstance bonus to AC until the start of your next turn