Pai looks at the bizarrely-decorated pillar and muses quietly.
Pai:
You've never seen or heard anything like this before, and it doesn't seem to have any particular resonance with what you know about the tenets of Irori.
Female CG Gnome Kineticist 9 | HP -1/120 | NL dmg: 18 | AC 22*, T 16*, FF 17 | CMB +5, CMD 18 | Fort +15, Ref +13, Will +6* | Init +7 | Perception +15, Sense Motive +2 | Speed 20ft | Burn: 2/9 | | IB: 1/1 | Active conditions: none
So weird. A befuddled look flashes across Pai's face. "Uh, guys? Their interior decorating skills are, like, wonky as all get-out. I'm guessing they're possessed too, 'cause why else would they be chill with that mess?" She gestures to the veritable rat's nest attached to the central pillar. "So I'm guessing it's 're-calibrate their brains by knocking them out' time again. Just sayin'." It seems she wasn't paying attention to all the multiple efforts the team went through to clear the old master's head earlier and just assumes that it's possible to literally knock some sense into these guys' heads.
Male Chaotic Good Half-Orc Warpriest 9/Bloodrager 1 | HP 85/85 (rage: 115/115) 27 nonlethal | AC 21 T 11 FF 20 (rage: -2) | CMB +13, CMD 24 | F +16(19), R +9, W +14(18) | | Init +1 | Perc +10 SM +8 | Speed 40' |Fervor 9/9 |Bloodrage 16/16 | Blessings 7/7 | Sacred Weapon 9/9 | Sacred Armor 9/9 | Active Conditions: |
Tull notices the Rock's preparations and agrees that it makes sense to be ready for trouble. He animates an old bone and leaves it levitating in front of him. Cast Defending Bone, 9 hours duration.
He waves a stick in front of his comrades. "By the power of this twig, may we all feel the inspiration of the boss butterfly!"
Lorian, looking over the scene frowned. "If we are going to fight them, let it be quick. Here is some tactical advice." he said before sounding a battle cry.
Tactician. Everyone gains Precise strike for 6 rounds (+1d6 damage when flanking. Sound the Charge. +2 to attacks and damage, +10' to charges.
m LG human Paladin 9 | HP 76/76 | AC 20 T 13 FF 17 | CMD 23 | F+13 R+11 W+11 [+2 vs illusions] | Init +4 | Perc +0 | LoH 8/8 | Bond 1/1 | Smite 3/3 |
Nikita will approach the entrance, putting away his sword and taking out his revolver again, and with his gaze he will examine all four meditating novices in turn, raising one eyebrow.
As Tull prepares protective spells and Lorian shouts a battle cry, Pai ascends over the strangely-unmoving figures. Meanwhile, Nikita extends his mystical senses towards them . . .
@Pai: The roof is a full 90' up, so it's easy for you to be 30' above the group.
Nikita:
One of the four figures, a malnourished-looking woman Red, detects as evil.
Female CG Gnome Kineticist 9 | HP -1/120 | NL dmg: 18 | AC 22*, T 16*, FF 17 | CMB +5, CMD 18 | Fort +15, Ref +13, Will +6* | Init +7 | Perception +15, Sense Motive +2 | Speed 20ft | Burn: 2/9 | | IB: 1/1 | Active conditions: none
"Gross! So, like, what now?" Pai asks, but doesn't give the group a chance to respond before shouting down at the people who've been *ignoring* them. "Hey! Yooo-hooo! Whaddya doin' down there? Seen any stolen stuff lately?--Oh, hey! Maybe it's up in the rat's nest you've hung up in here."
She kinda starts glancing around at all the papers hanging from the pillar, but doesn't really look that closely because she's expecting a fight to break out any moment. That tends to happen with evil people.
Then a thought occurs to her. "Hey, Nikita? When you feel evil in someone, can you tell if they're really evil, or if something evil is possessing them? Does that feel different to you?"
Despite Pai's shout, the four figures remain completely still.
As the gnome circles the tree thirty feet above the ground, she can't help but notice some interesting items hanging off the pillar as if leaves on a tree . . .
Pai:
There are literally thousands of small objects, with the bulk being made of paper and wood, attached to the pillar with what looks like a resin of some sort. Among the items that stick out to you are a small, iron-bound book, a beautiful masterwork shortbow, a green scroll with arcane runes on it, a tiny scroll with the holy symbol of Irori marked on it, and, most intriguingly of all, attached to the pillar just 5' below the ceiling, part of a book that matches exactly the description Wystorm Telfyr gave you of the Fleshforge Manuscript!
Female CG Gnome Kineticist 9 | HP -1/120 | NL dmg: 18 | AC 22*, T 16*, FF 17 | CMB +5, CMD 18 | Fort +15, Ref +13, Will +6* | Init +7 | Perception +15, Sense Motive +2 | Speed 20ft | Burn: 2/9 | | IB: 1/1 | Active conditions: none
"Ooo! Ooo-ooo! Guys! There it is! The thingy we're supposed to find! And a bunch of other stuff, too! An iron book, a fancy bow, a couple of fancy scrolls... Ohhhhh! I bet those dudes down there'll hop up and be all mad if we take these things. But they're glued on with, like, resin or something. How do we get 'em off without damaging them?" She flies up to the Fleshforge Manuscript and gives it an experimental tug to see how easy it would be to remove it.
As you get within 20' or so of the ceiling, the strong aroma of being in a pine forest fills your nostrils--it seems quite strange, as there's no obvious source for it. Do you want to continue with what you were doing, or do something different?
Female CG Gnome Kineticist 9 | HP -1/120 | NL dmg: 18 | AC 22*, T 16*, FF 17 | CMB +5, CMD 18 | Fort +15, Ref +13, Will +6* | Init +7 | Perception +15, Sense Motive +2 | Speed 20ft | Burn: 2/9 | | IB: 1/1 | Active conditions: none
Pai pauses. "Huh. Hey guys! It really smells like a pine forest up here. Like, a ton! Like the smells of the whole forest got shoved up my nostrils, but not really in a bad way, yaknowwhatImean? ... Oh well!" She continues on her way.
Will she get teleported somewhere else? Will she fall asleep? Will a giant tree appear out of nowhere and fall on her? Who knows! :D
Male Chaotic Good Half-Orc Warpriest 9/Bloodrager 1 | HP 85/85 (rage: 115/115) 27 nonlethal | AC 21 T 11 FF 20 (rage: -2) | CMB +13, CMD 24 | F +16(19), R +9, W +14(18) | | Init +1 | Perc +10 SM +8 | Speed 40' |Fervor 9/9 |Bloodrage 16/16 | Blessings 7/7 | Sacred Weapon 9/9 | Sacred Armor 9/9 | Active Conditions: |
Tull growls up at Pai. "Never mind a forest up your nose! If the sacred text is up there grab it and we can leave this forsaken place! These fools down here are obviously in a trance of some kind and won't even notice!"
m LG human Paladin 9 | HP 76/76 | AC 20 T 13 FF 17 | CMD 23 | F+13 R+11 W+11 [+2 vs illusions] | Init +4 | Perc +0 | LoH 8/8 | Bond 1/1 | Smite 3/3 |
Pai Shecks wrote:
"Hey, Nikita? When you feel evil in someone, can you tell if they're really evil, or if something evil is possessing them? Does that feel different to you?"
I'vye been zeenkeeng about zeat too, Pai! I can't tell eet from aura, baht I can try to jahst figure eet out...
Sense Motive:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16(lol)
Nikita looks at the figure carefully, but in the end just shrugs his shoulders.
After calling out below, Pai continues ascending towards the top of the pillar. Meanwhile, Nikita examines one of the four figures more carefully.
Pai:
You see the walls of the temple fade away, replaced by a thriving pine forest filled with birdsong. Instead of the pillar, a mighty pine towers over the peninsula! In the distance, a dark wave of necromantic energy rapidly approaches, instantly felling trees and blackening greenery in its path. A naked feminine figure works desperately, sparks of elemental magic flying off her wands. She obliterates the isthmus just in time, isolating the peninsula to create an island, but stranding herself on the mainland. There’s an instant of calm before the blight crashes over her! You've been affected by the equivalent of a harm spell. Please attempt a DC 19 Will save. If you make the save, you take 55 points of negative energy damage. If you fail the Will save, you take 110 points of negative energy damage. Either way, as per the spell description, this damage cannot reduce you to less than 1 hp. However, if your nonlethal damage exceeds current hit points, you will fall unconscious and you'll have to let me know whether your kinetic flying will persist or turn off. A moment later, the . . . vision? . . . fades away, and you find yourself back in the temple.
Nikita:
Like the others, the woman that detects as evil has a shaven head, dirty robes, and a necklace of braided hair. As she seems to be meditating, you can't get any read off her with Sense Motive (which requires interaction). However, this close examination allows for you to make a Heal check to discover something.
Female CG Gnome Kineticist 9 | HP -1/120 | NL dmg: 18 | AC 22*, T 16*, FF 17 | CMB +5, CMD 18 | Fort +15, Ref +13, Will +6* | Init +7 | Perception +15, Sense Motive +2 | Speed 20ft | Burn: 2/9 | | IB: 1/1 | Active conditions: none
GM:
Will save:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Regarding Wings of Air: I haven't found a ruling that states whether the fly effect would end when she goes unconscious, though there's plenty of debate about it. When it ends, it has the same effects as the Fly spell, so she'll drift down slowly without coming to harm. I'm fine with whatever you choose.
Suddenly Pai stops mid-flight. A tiny squeak escapes her lips as her body twists into a rigid arch, then collapses like a rag doll. Her head lolls in what surely must be a most uncomfortable position.
Pai slowly spirals downward to the ground, fortunate that whatever magic allowed her to ascend with such grace brings her back down safely even while unconscious.
Nikita rushes to examine her.
As he does so, a voice emanates from the red-robed priestess even though she makes no movement and doesn't even open her mouth. "You and I should parley."
@Spica: I'm not sure if you wanted to keep flying up after Pai fell, so let me know and I'll tell you what happens.
Pai:
Hm, I'm not sure either. Usually in such circumstances where there's viable arguments either way, I give the benefit of the doubt to the PC. As you can't make Fly checks to Hover while unconscious, we'll just assume you drift down to the ground in the same way as when a fly spell ends.
Nikita:
She doesn't have any visible wounds (slashes, cuts, etc.) but her skin has taken on a pale tone, as if the life has been leeched out of her! In mechanical terms, she has taken an extraordinary amount of negative energy damage that, combined with her nonlethal damage, has led to unconsciousness; however, she is Stable.
Spica ascends slowly, examining everything attached to the pillar. She stops before the point Pai fell. If she can reach the manuscript, she will attempt to get it down
Male Chaotic Good Half-Orc Warpriest 9/Bloodrager 1 | HP 85/85 (rage: 115/115) 27 nonlethal | AC 21 T 11 FF 20 (rage: -2) | CMB +13, CMD 24 | F +16(19), R +9, W +14(18) | | Init +1 | Perc +10 SM +8 | Speed 40' |Fervor 9/9 |Bloodrage 16/16 | Blessings 7/7 | Sacred Weapon 9/9 | Sacred Armor 9/9 | Active Conditions: |
Tull observes Pai falling unconscious with alarm. He considers bashing one of the unmoving monks but realizes that it probably won't help Pai. "What's wrong!?! By Desna's Dustbin, this is making me angry, very angry..." He grips his axe tightly and moves closer to the red-robed priestess who appears to be behind all this trouble. "Well, if you've got something to say, ye'd better make it good. I ain't feeling my usual sense of patience, and my usual patience ain't much to speak about!"
Spica is able to make it to the top of the pillar without incident, and pulls on the manuscript pages there. It takes some careful doing to remove it from the resin that glues it to the pillar without tearing it, but a little patience and steady force does the trick. It looks like about a third of the entire manuscript--the centre section--is there.
Meanwhile, Tull confronts the red-robed priestess. At a closer proximity, the voice seems to be coming from beneath her somehow! "Don't take that tone with me, you ruffian! This gnome got what she deserved, and if you try to steal my tree from me again, meat, I shall destroy every building on this island and control all flesh. Destroy my vessels and I shall find another and another, perhaps yours. Destroy my essence and I shall arise three days hence, ready to tear apart your boats, your homes, and your flesh!"
