The draconic creature flies over the Pathfinders and alights on their opposite flank. It tries to bite Maneki and narrowly misses. It also whips its tail towards Voron and Scripio, but manages to hit neither of them as it utterly fails to take advantage of the goblin's compromised position.
Hezrioux's turn. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Blue River Drake (5 feet up; can't use Caustic Breath 2 rounds)
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 12/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Red Elite Crocodile (-4 HP, Prone, Frightened 2)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 31/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Voron (AC 19; 23/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 31/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 25/25 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile
Ramona (AC 19/21; 14/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
Both creatures are tough, though neither resists the lightning entirely.
The croc rights itself, before lunging at Tharpe. It clamps its jaws over him, though a moment's hesitation on its part suggests it could have gone worse.
Tharpe, Voron, Maneki, and Scripio's turns. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Blue River Drake (-5 HP; 5 feet up; can't use Caustic Breath 2 rounds)
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 12/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Red Elite Crocodile (-9 HP, Frightened 1; Grabbing Tharpe)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 22/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed; Grabbed by Red)
Voron (AC 19; 23/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 31/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 25/25 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile
Ramona (AC 19/21; 14/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
Tharpe manages to cut deeply under the croc's scales. And also to harmlessly scratch it again.
The beasts aren't able to do anything to stop Scripio's retreat.
Voron and Maneki's turns. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Blue River Drake (-5 HP; 5 feet up; can't use Caustic Breath 2 rounds)
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 7/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Red Elite Crocodile (-28 HP, Bloodied; Frightened 1; Grabbing Tharpe)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 17/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed; Grabbed by Red)
Voron (AC 19; 23/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 31/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 23/25 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile
Ramona (AC 19/21; 14/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
The drake's tail snaps at Maneki as she tries to line up her shot. He fails utterly, though her shot does still miss. Not the second one, though!
The drake is badly burned by the spell. He snarls a curse at Voron, though only those Pathfinders who speak Draconic know exactly how offensive it is.
With Tharpe already held by one crocodile, the other steps up towards Ramona instead. It fails to bite her, but turns to wallop her with its tail.
Ramona's turn. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Blue River Drake (-23 HP, Bloodied; can't use Caustic Breath 2 rounds, reaction used)
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 21/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Red Elite Crocodile (-28 HP, Bloodied; Frightened 1; Grabbing Tharpe)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 17/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed; Grabbed by Red)
Voron (AC 19; 23/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 25/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 23/25 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile
Ramona (AC 19/21; 2/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
The drake bites Voron and whips his tail around without rhyme or reason, before retreating to land a short distance away.
Hezrioux's turn. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Blue River Drake (-23 HP, Bloodied; can't use Caustic Breath 1 round)
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 21/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Red Elite Crocodile (-28 HP, Bloodied; Frightened 1; Grabbing Tharpe)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 17/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed; Grabbed by Red)
Voron (AC 19; 8/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 25/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 23/25 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile
Ramona (AC 19/21; 21/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
One of the crocs ducks down and avoids most of the shock. The other one... doesn't. Its grip on Tharpe slacks.
Tharpe, Voron, Maneki, and Scripio's turns. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Blue River Drake (-23 HP, Bloodied; can't use Caustic Breath 1 round)
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 15/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 17/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Voron (AC 19; 8/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 25/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 23/25 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile (-6 HP)
Ramona (AC 19/21; 21/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
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Scripio cheers when Hezrioux's lightning smokes one of the crocodiles. Buoyed by seeing this, he takes a better look at the river drake and begins to follow, whirling his whip at it.
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Alas, the drake doesn't seem to have any particular weaknesses. But while he's not super intelligent, unlike the crocs the drake is not an animal. And he doesn't seem quite as rage-filled as the mantises and plants--he may not have drank any of the affected water.
He's just not very nice. But he's already badly injured. Perhaps he could be convinced to just go away...
The drake's tail lashes at Scripio even as the goblin's whip lashes at him. The tail solidly thumps him, but it's not quite enough to bring the determined goblin down. His whip strikes the brute in the eye, and he careens and crashes into the ground where he doesn't move. Only the one croc remains...
Tharpe, Voron, Maneki's turns. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 15/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 17/48 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Voron (AC 19; 8/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 25/41 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Scripio (AC 19; 1/25 HP; Wounded 1; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile (-6 HP)
Ramona (AC 19/21; 21/35 HP; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed, courageous anthem)
Maneki's first arrow buries itself under the croc's scales, but the second buries itself in the mud at least a foot away.
Tharpe doesn't have as much success frightening this one, but he does have equal success flipping it over and striking at it's less protected underbelly.
Voron's turn. Crossing bridges requires a DC 16 Acrobatics check to Balance. The Athletics DC to swim in the river is 15.
Initiative:
Hezrioux (AC 19/20; 15/35 HP; Wounded 1; Prone, 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Tharpe (AC 21/23; 12/48 HP)
Voron (AC 19; 8/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20; 23/41 HP)
Scripio (AC 19; 1/25 HP; Wounded 1; 1d6 persistent acid, -5 to Speed)
Yellow Elite Crocodile (-40 HP, bloodied, prone)
Ramona (AC 19/21; 16/35 HP; courageous anthem)
The shield turns out to be unnecessary.
The Pathfinders are near the summit now. Once they're ready to move on, they find that this leg of the journey has the most unusual complications yet. Whatever has crashed on the mountain must be interacting strangely with the ley lines that run through the island, creating strange magical effects that dot the landscape. These range
from strange colorations, to minor illusions, to small destructive effects like tiny bolts of lightning or explosive flashes of flame. The effects aren’t so dangerous that the Pathfinders have to worry about getting hurt, but they do hinder their travel, making navigating much more difficult.
The party travels for a few more hours through increasingly strange terrain. Darkness is falling now, and they may want light sources before they reach the summit.
The trail leads to the ruins of a long-abandoned village. The stone structures here are particularly decrepit after decades or more of exposure to the elements. A stylized statue of a winged creature rests at the top of a small step pyramid at the southern end of the village. A stone archway stands just a few paces away from the base of the pyramid. The origin of a river seeps out of a large crack in the mountain rock at the northeastern end of the village. The water is a deep red, as if the river were made from blood instead of water.
Along the path are three creatures, somewhat feline but certainly not ordinary cats. Their fur is red and purple, especially around their mouths where it is stained red. They're about the size of humans, and each of them has eight limbs.
These creatures, in turn, are watching a pair of adolescent griffins. The griffins look frightened, and stand as if frozen, trembling slightly.
"Oh, travelers!" says one of the felines.
"Pathfinders?"
"It doesn't matter! We're going to kill those griffins. We're going to kill them and eat them!" He twitches. "And, uh, we'll--we'll kill you next if you try to stop us!"
These creatures are clearly more intelligent than the strangely hostile animals and plants the party has encountered so far, and perhaps less malicious by nature than the drake. They're obviously compelled to conflict, but just as obviously aren't giving in completely to the compulsion. Perhaps they're trying to resist the effect, as Aojimitsu was.
"We'll kill you next!"
"N-no, that's not--"
"Yeah, let's kill everyone! We're definitely gonna kill you!"
They continue looking, agitated, from the Pathfinders to the griffins. Twitchy. Prepared to attack. ...not attacking anyone.
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Ramona will have cast a light spell on our lead melee ally's shield (or armor if they don't have a shield).
Ramona will get Banjo out, and begin performing the story of The Overbearing Weight of Continuous Contention, a completely made-up play about how being aggressive has the side effect of destroying the lives of the aggressors.
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As darkness falls, Voron casts Light and offers the same to up to three companions.
The felines seem almost entranced by Ramona's performance. And aghast at Scripio's proclamation.
"You can't threaten to eat people! That's... that's.. hang on.."
"That's right, isn't it?"
They already seem like they want to slink off before Voron's explanation.
"Oh yeah, good point. Wait, are griffins magical?"
"I dunno. They are dangerous though."
"Those ones are little babies."
"But their parents will come back eventually!"
"Why did they fly off and leave their offspring anyway?"
"I was after they... uh, drank from the river."
"I told you that water was discolored!"
"I feel funny..."
One of the felines sits up and addresses the Pathfinders. "Thank you. Everything feels.. fuzzy, but in some ways I think we're more clear-headed now. I still kind of want to attack you, but I really can't think of why... We're gonna go... take a nap."
The three creatures turn and step directly into the wall of the nearby ruins.
One of the griffins gives a bit of a squeak.
The summit isn't far off. Whatever crashed on the mountain must be close now.
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Scripio watches in wonder when they step through the ruin wall. The goblin rushes after them to see where it goes and plows headlong into the solid stone with a crash and yowl of pain. He picks himself up, rubbing his head, and touches the wall. He squints at it and then licks the stone. Nodding to himself, he chips off a piece and puts it into his pocket. He looks down and finds a piece of fur from the felines and adds that to his collection too.
Turning back to the others, he points at the small griffins. "We got pets!"
The juvenile griffins are unharmed, though jittery.
Searching the area turns up some leftover ritual materials from prior groups that helped Kukuha. The Pathfinders locate a walking cauldron, an everlight crystal, and some additional ritual components.
The last leg of the journey leads to the summit of Soruseiji Peak. The summit is bare stone exposed to the elements. Though the view overlooking Kayajima is breathtaking, a large rift tears across the surface of the mountain, and a dark mist emanates from its depths. The rift appears recent, as if something just tore it open moments ago. A strange feeling of unease and ire hangs in the air.
Voron certainly senses magic from in there.
Across the rift are three creatures that look something like large dogs, but wreathed in flames. Behind them, what appears at first to be a shadow in the moonlight moves unnaturally. The hounds howl at the approaching Pathfinders, and begin to move around the rift to attack.
Scripio recognizes hellhounds, fiends with unholy hellfire breath that like to gang up on people, which enables them to do more damage.
Hezrioux and Scripio's turns.
Initiative:
Hezrioux (AC 19/20, 35/35 HP)
Scripio (AC 19, 25/25 HP)
Grey Shadow
Red Hellhound
Voron (AC 19, 30/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20, 41/41 HP)
Orange Hound
Yellow Hound
Ramona (AC 19/21, 35/35 HP)
Tharpe (AC 21, 48/48 HP)
[spoiler=GM Dice: Initiative]
Scripio recognizes that, while the hellhounds are fiends, they are definitely also strongly affiliated with fire. They can't be harmed by it and are vulnerable to cold.
The shadow sweeps forward, gliding easily over the empty space. It approaches the closest of the Pathfinders, Hezrioux, and rakes her with a claw. It's not a physical attack, and it slips entirely past her guard by striking at her shadow instead of her body--then grabs it and gives it a tug; she
The hell hound with the brightest red flames charges forward and leaps the chasm. It stumbles a bit as it lands, but still makes it close enough to spew putrid, foul-smelling flame over half the party. Voron can smell it, but is just far enough away to avoid damage.
Voron and Maneki's turns.
Initiative:
Hezrioux (AC 19/20, 15/35 HP, Enfeebled 1)
Scripio (AC 19, 25/25 HP)
Grey Shadow
Red Hellhound (Ranshu, Exploited, no Hellfire Breath nrouds)
Voron (AC 19, 30/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20, 41/41 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
Orange Hound
Yellow Hound
Ramona (AC 19/21, 35/35 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
Tharpe (AC 21, 48/48 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
The shadow sweeps forward, gliding easily over the empty space. It approaches the closest of the Pathfinders, Hezrioux, and rakes her with a claw. It's not a physical attack, and it slips entirely past her guard by striking at her shadow instead of her body--then grabs it and gives it a tug; she
...feels her strength leave her a little.
The hell hound isn't quick enough to dodge the acid, which seems effective enough.
Maneki's turn.
Initiative:
Hezrioux (AC 19/20, 15/35 HP, Enfeebled 1)
Scripio (AC 19, 25/25 HP)
Grey Shadow
Red Hellhound (-3 Ranshu, Exploited, no Hellfire Breath 3 rounds)
Voron (AC 19, 30/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20, 41/41 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
Orange Hound
Yellow Hound
Ramona (AC 19/21, 35/35 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
Tharpe (AC 21, 48/48 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
Maneki's first arrow hits the hell hound, but the second badly wounds it.
The other two hell hounds also leap the chasm, though one of them just barely makes it and the other clearly doesn't get as far as it intended. They hurry forward, but it delays their ability to breathe hellfire over multiple Pathfinders for just a moment...
Ramona, Tharpe, and Hezrioux's turns.
Initiative:
Hezrioux (AC 19/20, 15/35 HP, Enfeebled 1)
Scripio (AC 19, 25/25 HP)
Grey Shadow
Red Hellhound (-22 HP, bloodied, Ranshu, Exploited, no Hellfire Breath 3 rounds)
Voron (AC 19, 30/30 HP)
Maneki (AC 20, 24/41 HP)
Orange Hound
Yellow Hound
Ramona (AC 19/21, 35/35 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)
Tharpe (AC 21, 48/48 HP, DC 19 Reflex vs 17 unholy fire)