You spend the week preparing for the dangerous journey ahead. On the evening of the seventh day, Ayavah asks you to meet her out in front of Midnight's Gallery. The priestess gives you a wan smile, but it doesn't hide the exhaustion and worry in her eyes. "I want to thank you for all that you've done for the people of Xin-Eurythnia. We are as prepared as we can be for the evacuation. I pray that Nocticula watches over us as be prepare to become outcasts anew."
Ayavah locks up the front entrance to the cathedral, utters a short prayer to promise that they'll return as soon as they can, and then turns back to you and seems about to say something when suddenly, another tremor strikes the city.
Unlike the other small aftershocks, though, this one grows. As the ground shakes, the jagged scar at the peak of Mhar Massif that, until a week ago, held Karzoug’s face explodes. A blast of thick, dark smoke belches out of the immense volcano’s peak, and a few seconds later the sound of the eruption rolls over the city. Fortunately, this eruption tapers off before it fully blows the top off the towering volcano, but something strange suddenly emerges from the ashes of the eruption itself—several thin glowing streaks of what at first appears to be lava hurled through the air. But a second look confirms that they're actually a dozen immense, centipede-like monstrosities, glowing red hot as they’re blasted out of the mountain’s peak! And while most of these creatures have been hurled in other directions into the surrounding mountains, one of them is making an unmistakable beeline directly for Xin-Eurythnia!
"If it's not one thing, it's another..." Ranek says, wrapping himself in an eegis of defensive energy as he tried to think of what kind of centipede-like creatures could have come from the volcano.
Looking over his allies, he draws on the protective arcane power he'd fused into his halberd, and cloaked both Sir Batman and Iesha in a cocoon of protective magics against flame.
He then conjured a protective shield before him.
Torisen rises into the air and phantom serpents surround him, in preparation for the battle. He calls on those few spirits that remain in the air to bless the group.
Alaznist swells with power, rising to the stature of some of the living siege weapons she once held in thrall. From within the cowl of her robes, her familiar emerges, looking almost like Alaznist herself, but in miniature, and clearly corrupted. Cthonic sigils brand her skin, ripples beneath her flesh and hair speak of the instability of her form beneath all the accumulated workings and dealings that once bound body and soul into a perfect weapon of Wrath. Her mouth opens in the wrong direction and she plucks forcefully at time's threads even as Alaznist the Greater disappears with a snarl.
Sir Batman Raises his Shield, Enters his Everstand Stance and Strides 30' into an open area for the Fiery Volcano Centipede to play with!
The Champion of Mazludah then enters Unbreaking Castle !
Sir Batman grins at the coming battle!
[one-action] (auditory, linguistic, mental, mythic) Frequency once per day; Effect You proclaim an ultimatum against a creature you believe is oppressing others and all who follow their orders. All other creatures (including you) who hear your ultimatum, or learn about it later on, are emboldened by your words for 1 day, and gain a +2 status bonus to their Will saving throws against effects produced by the oppressing creature and their allies, which increases to +3 if they are within 30 feet of you. Additionally, the first time each day that creature and each of its allies comes within 30 feet of you, they must succeed on a Will save against your class DC or spell DC (whichever is higher) or become frightened 1 (frightened 2 on a critical failure). This second effect has the emotion, fear, and mental traits. The oppressing creature may end all the effects as a free action by truthfully agreeing to permanently end their oppression. Otherwise, your Ultimatum of Liberation has no duration, though you can have only one Ultimatum of Liberation active at a time. If you pronounce a second Ultimatum of Liberation, the effects of the first one end.
Blue eyes search the milling process of evacuated peoples slowly being shooed out the city into the wild wilderness of self-doubt and dashed self-worth. Not feeling any of that, the tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite does feel for these people; suddenly abandoned and homeless.
Snacks! Don't forget to bring snacks!
Then the tremors started. Voices raised in apprehension and fear. Panicking and paranoia manifested like a virus let loose with impunity. Then the strange sight seen of the volcano burping up fierce fiery centipede!
This may complicate matters.
Sir Batman Raises his Shield, Enters his Everstand Stance and Strides 30' into an open area for the Fiery Volcano Centipede to play with!
The Champion of Mazludah then enters Unbreaking Castle !
Sir Batman grins at the coming battle!
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Iesha had been finding she was reasonably good at corralling the children back into line for the evacuation, their cries as they darted back were filled with the giggles that only kids can have when they scare themselves on purpose.
Then a monster was charging toward them. With a silence of rage, her sword is in her hand, suddenly crawling with scraping horrors while her body cuts in and out of existence.
"Get that bug, Lady Ghost!" a small voice cries out, attempting to be brave somewhere behind her. Iesha actually smiles at that before rushing forward to kill the bug.
Just a few moments later, the massive monster lands in the middle of Temple Plaza, skidding into the center of the square and coming to a stop near the sinkhole there. Up close, you can see the gargantuan beast has three heads, the eyes and maw of each one glowing with different types of energy. One head burns with fire, another crackles with electricity, and the third spews toxic smoke. All three heads roar with fury as the monster prepares to attack!
Torisen sustains his aura to embiggen it, then draws on his mythic power to mess with the minds of the gigantic creature.
The strong-willed monster completely ignores Torisen's illusion spell. Seeing Batman and Iesha already moving to meet it, the three-headed terror swiftly scurries across the plaza! Its stops twenty feet away and the fiery head leans forward to exhale a cone of flames at the pair of them!
Ranek decides the best thing he can do at the moment is give Iesha boost so she can hew this thing limb from limb. He casts a spell to hasten her actions before conjuring up his shield.
Alaznist thunders forward with her familiar's borrowed seconds, vanishing partway through the run to suddenly rematerialize next to the dread monster!
Still hidden from its gaze, she plunges her hateful ranseur into the three-headed beast, her own head peeling apart into a monstrous needle-fanged maw, which latches onto it and drinks deep of its lifeforce.
Sir Batman weaves and Bob's out of the Fiery Volcano Centipede blast!
The grinning Sprite winks!
The Champion of Mazludah Raises his Shield, (Freely) Strides into the Volcano Centipede's personal space and Strikes!
And!
For a moment, Iesha is lost in the flame, a hush felt in the people she is protecting. The spirit flies through the cone, with no damage at all, directly at the flaming bug head, Screaming her death howl and ready to cleave it in two.
Her sword is writhing in smoke as it hammers into the beast's body, making it rear back which throws off her second and third attack.
Torisen sighs at the gigantic creature, then tries to blow a hole in it.
for
The creature roars and reels as deep wounds suddenly appear in its body, courtesy of the invisible Alaznist. Iesha's battle cry doesn't seem to startle the massive beast, but she lands an intimidating strike, activating her fear gem to further frazzle the foe! This allows Batman to score a solid blow with his shield. Torisen's needle darts find their mark as well.
The monster thrashes about, biting at all of those in melee with each of its three heads. It misses Alaznist but scores a critical hit on Iesha and a normal blow on Batman. It then follows up by jabbing Iesha with one of its legs.
With Iesha bolstered, Ranek winced as she took a couple of hard hits. Not particularly able to do anything about them, however, he instead tried to focus on making the centipede easier for his allies to hit. Casting a spell, he infused it with feelings of clumsiness and confusion. He maintained his shield in case it could spit spines or something at him.
Alaznist lets fly with a spray of force bolts before finding a new spot to impale on her ranseur, her magic twisting bone and meat into a new weapon from within the beast!
The ghost is ripping into with teeth the size of a small child, tearing mist from her body, shredding one of her arms. She wills her body into being incorporeal, escaping, only to get hacking by a leg when she solidifies to swing back.
Unfortunately once she manages to swing back with her sword, her form has lost too much to do much more than annoy it.
Even in her undead rage, she recognizes the need to remain existing, so she
Tarot cards flicker and shuffle around Torisen as he prepares another spell.
for
AC 33, +1 saves
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The Bastion--Reacts--to Shield Block and grant his Champion Reaction to Iesha!
The Champion of Mazludah winks at the two Ladies.
Not on my watch.
The Champion of Mazludah then--Reacts--again by Shield Blocking his blisters too!
The Champion of Mazludah Raises his Shield, (still enjoying the Volcano Centipede's personal space) and Strikes!
Bigger isn't better!
Ranek's spell befuddles the multi-headed monster, leaving it clumsy and stupefied. Torisen's needle darts miss the mark and Iesha's attacks fail to get past its chitin, but Batman bashes the thing's heads with his shield, then Alaznist delivers a powerful spellstrike augmented by a burst of force! The three-headed beast lets out a rattling death howl and then crumbles to ash! At the same moment, the eruption of Mhar Massif comes to a welcome end, although the looming ash cloud in the sky remains a stark reminder of the dangers of lingering in the city.
Upon defeat, something orange glows and flickers among the monster's ashes. There are several glowing shards of lava left behind—seven frozen lava of Mhar Massif.
Ayavah approaches after the fight with a look of relief on her face. "Thank you for dealing with that monster. As I was trying to tell you before the eruption, I wanted to give you the temple's greatest treasure before we depart, to aid in the journey ahead." She presents you with a +2 greater striking spell reservoir dagger containing an enfeeble spell.
"Thank you. Certainly better than having it buried here, under lava. So much will be buried."
Torisen looks sadly over the city before the journey begins, mourning the loss of so much history.
Ranek is quite angry. His opportunity to study Xin-Eurythnia, ruined because of Xanderghul's machinations. Now the entire city would be buried under lava. If Mhar Massif ever ceased its volcanic activity, perhaps it could be excavated, but it would be a long and arduous excavation, requiring climate wards perhaps as strong as those that had warded the city in the first place. He didn't know how, but surely he would find a way to make Xanderghul pay for this.
Ayavah didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of that anger, however, so he said as graciously as he could, "Thank you, Ayavah. We will keep it as safe as we can. Is everyone ready for the journey? I doubt we can remain here much longer, at this point."
As the others talk, Iesha sings her form back into as much substance as she ever has, using a sea shanty about a lone tree in a lonely field loosing leaf by leaf. It is oddly surreal, hovering and singing while the city was being buried.
At the end, she floats down and uses herself to nudge along a child or two back into the retreating throng of people.
That was something! All those heads! I really wonder if it just happened to be sleeping inside the volcano and woke up once the eruption started...or....
The tiny sprite's voice is heard from beneath the collapsed body of the gigantic volcano creature....
With his usual aplomb, the bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite emerges from the deceased body. Flying up above the still warm to the touch volcano creature, Sir Batman floats over to his companions.
This sucks. I was just passing through but now I am interested in finding the rotten tomato who is responsible!
As you prepare to leave the plaza, you catch a glimpse of something in the distance. What appears to be several immense, one-eyed spiderlike creatures are watching you from perches atop the surrounding mountaintops...
***
The next morning, the people of Xin-Eurythnia are largely ready to flee to safer lands to the south. This is a dangerous journey to make without more preparation, made worse by the scale of the undertaking and because the refugees are frightened, saddened, and angry at having to leave their homes. It’s a small blessing that few of the Eurythnians lived in the city long enough to put down roots, but to be forced to abandon a new and welcoming home is demoralizing.
The endpoint of this evacuation is 100 miles to the south along a series of mountain passes and valleys that run roughly along the west bank of the River Avah down to the point in the foothills where this river empties into the larger Kazaron. Here, a relatively new trading town called Vekker’s Crossing has sprung up in the past decade, a place that’s regarded as the “last stop in civilization” on the journey north to Xin-Eurythnia.
Due to the size and complexity of the evacuation, the Eurythnians can cover 10 miles per day. At this pace, it’ll take ten days to reach the safety of Vekker’s Crossing. Ayavah and other spellcasters have already sent messages south to the town so they know rough details of what happened and can make preparations to receive a mass of refugees much larger than their own town’s population. Your job during these ten days are to provide leadership, morale, entertainment, and discipline as needed to keep the refugees moving south.
In addition, the Eurythnians start the evacuation with 10 Supply Points. Increase this starting number as appropriate for any successes the PCs had during the previous week. Every day of travel, the Eurythnians consume 1 Supply Point, either as the refugees consume them or as they’re forced to leave supplies behind as a result of dwindling survivors.
The evacuation plays out using the infiltration subsystem, during which the PCs must overcome the following group obstacles in order. For flavor, Infiltration Points in this encounter are referred to as Evacuation Points. Now and then, play shifts from the infiltration rules to encounter-based play, as detailed in specific obstacles. Remember that PCs can always choose to skip a roll to avoid potentially accruing more Awareness Points on their turns. Alternatively, a PC can choose to pursue the Support Your Allies opportunity to try to earn the group Edge Points rather than to help overcome the current obstacle.
***
SUPPORT YOUR ALLIES (OPPORTUNITY)
Requirements: The party currently has no Edge Points
While the others work on overcoming the current obstacle, you instead keep an eye out for unexpected opportunities to take advantage of to aid the others. Attempt a DC 32 Perception check.
Critical Success: The party gains 2 Edge Points.
Success: The party gains 1 Edge Point.
Critical Failure: The party accrues 1 Awareness Point.
***
Each round of evacuation encompasses 1 day of in-world time. At the start of each round, the Eurythnians expend 1 Supply Point. Each time an evacuation round begins with no Supply Points available to spend, the Eurythnians lose 1d10 Survival Points. The first time a PC achieves a critical success at one of the following obstacles, that PC earns 1 Mythic Point for the legendary accomplishment; this can happen only once per obstacle for the party.
LEAVING XIN-EURYTHNIA (OBSTACLE)
You gather the Eurythnians up and organize the exodus from Xin-Eurythnia, leading a frightened mass of thousands of people south into the cold, thin air, even as small tremors, minor avalanches, and whispers of strange creatures watching from nearby mountaintops plague the people.
Evacuation Points 3 (group); Overcome DC 31 Mountain Lore to prepare large groups of people for travel through high altitudes without magic protection, DC 33 Society to anticipate the group’s fears and needs, DC 36 Will to keep your composure and maintain a brave exterior in order to give the Eurythnians a true leader to follow
Critical Success: The party gains 2 Evacuation Points.
Success: The party gains 1 Evacuation Point.
Failure: The party accrues 1 Awareness Point.
Critical Failure: The party accrues 2 Awareness Points.
Ranek was not a mountaineer - for all of his explorations, he hadn't spent much time at higher elevations. Fortunately, he'd spent a lot of time studying history, people, and organizational systems. By observing the refugees and listening to their chatter, he was able to better anticipate what and when they needed. He organized a proper supply distribution system to make sure people could keep their strength up, identified spots people could rest and catch their breaths in the thin air, and made sure they had sufficient blankets and cloaks to stay warm.
Torisen keeps an ear open for movement or concern from the spirits of the mountain, leading the group on stable paths.
With Torisen’s expert guidance, the expedition gets off to a swift start.
***
RECENT AVALANCHE (OBSTACLE)
A recent avalanche blocks the route on this day, forcing either a detour or a lot of hard work to clear the pathforward.
Evacuation Points 2 (group); Overcome DC 31 Mountain Lore to navigate the debris, DC 33 Athletics to perform incredible feats of strength to clear the way, DC 36 Perception to notice hidden but safe paths through the area
Critical Success: The party gains 2 Evacuation Points. The first time a PC critically succeeds at this obstacle, they uncover an unfortunate merchant caravan that was caught in the avalanche. While there were no survivors, the PCs can recover 2 Supply Points worth of food and items from the site.
Success: The party gains 1 Evacuation Point.
Failure: The party accrues 1 Awareness Point.
Critical Failure: The party accrues 1 Awareness Point. The Eurythnians lose 1 Survival Point as a cave-in caused by the unstable ground claims dozens of lives.
The strange spiders tickle at the edges of Alaznist's mind, but she can't untangle sleeping nightmares from waking ones, and there she remains.
Shattering boulders to clear a path makes for a much simpler exercise.
RECENT AVALANCHE (OBSTACLE)
A recent avalanche blocks the route on this day, forcing either a detour or a lot of hard work to clear the pathforward.
Sir Batman looks up at all the debris in the path.
We probably should find the Earth Kineticist that lost his rocks.
The tiny bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite begins to clear a path.
Move! Git out the way!
While the others seek to clear the path, Iesha keeps an eye out for danger.
Alaznist and Batman clear the path forward through the debris.
That night, as you sleep, your dreams are plagued by nightmares of impending apocalypses. You awaken with unpleasant memories of the terrors...
FEN OF THE ICEMISTS (OBSTACLE)
The evacuation passes one of the most infamous landmarks in the high Kodars: the legendary Fen of the Icemists. This frozen swampland serves as the home of a capricious fey creature, a powerful naiad queen druid named Svevenka. Already distressed by eruption of Mhar Massif and worried about the strange fluctuations in the region’s primal magic, Svevenka reacts poorly to the incursion of an entire city population along the western edges of her domain and confronts the evacuees with harrowing primal magic and threats.
Evacuation Points 3 (group); Overcome DC 31 Nature to protect the Eurythnians from Svevenka’s primal magic, DC 33 Diplomacy to convince Svevenka that no one will enter the fen and that the refugees will be out of her sight by nightfall, DC 36 Stealth to direct large numbers of Eurythnians through the area without attracting any attention at all.
Critical Success: The party gains 2 Evacuation Points.
Success: The party gains 1 Evacuation Point.
Failure: The party accrues 1 Awareness Point.
Critical Failure: The party accrues 2 Awareness Points. The first time a PC gets this result, many of the evacuees flee in terror from Svevenka’s magic. That PC immediately face the Disaster! complication to determine the results of this panic.
Overcome: DC 33 Survival to know the best way to avoid the disaster, weapon Strike against AC 35 to protect the Eurythnians, DC 35 Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion to use magic to protect the Eurythnians, or DC 36 Perception to spot the peril before it strikes
Success: You prevent the disaster from causing any deaths or loss of supplies.
Failure: Choose one of the following: lose 1d6 Survival Points or 2 Supply Points.
Critical Failure: Lose 1d6 Survival Points and 2 Supply Points.
Torisen weaves his own wards over the group as they travel; Svevenka's magic is powerful, but she isn't likely familiar with his ancient techniques.
Anyone else have a bad dream? I thought I was front and center at a Gallagher performance.
FEN OF THE ICEMISTS (OBSTACLE)
Walking proudly positioned in the vanguard, the Champion of Mazludah greets the irate druid with honeyed words and a perfect smile!
The still smiling Sprite pauses, sips some mouthwash and continues with his diplomatic discourse...
Torisen holds off Svevenka's magic long enough for Batman to convince the naiad to allow your group to pass. The fey queen relents, but before you depart, she warns you that she has felt something very wrong in the region. When you fill her in on recent events in Xin-Eurythnia, she’s astounded and shocked, and gives you two gifts help you continue on your way south: a major water elemental fragment and a tidal crossbow.
RISEN SABOTEURS (OBSTACLE)
Some of those who evacuated with the rest are secretly followers of the Risen of the Trinity Star, and their attempts to sabotage the escape begin to make themselves known as wagons begin to falter, survival gear is discovered to be damaged or ruined, and most disturbingly, an unexpected shortage in food supplies that results in a potential loss of 4 Supply Points.
Evacuation Points 2 (group); Overcome DC 31 Thievery to notice the sabotage attempts and defeat them before they become a problem, DC 33 Crafting to quickly and efficiently repair any damage done, DC 36 Intimidation to foster a presence that makes even the act of sabotage against the evacuees too dangerous for the Risen to contemplate
Critical Success: The party gains 2 Evacuation Points and gains 1 Supply Point as material previously thought ruined turns out to still be usable (this is in addition to the 4 points the PCs can recover when this obstacle is overcome).
Success: The party gains 1 Evacuation Point.
Failure: The party accrues 1 Awareness Point and loses 1 Supply Point.
Critical Failure: The party accrues 2 Awareness Points and loses 2 Supply Points.
Alaznist stalks the perimeter, invisible horns blaring to life at her approach, her face the same mask of Wrath that has brought terror to her foes and victims for millennia.
Iesha patrols the opposite perimeter, an aura around her that speaks to what would happen if she discovers anyone being responsible for the death of another. An eerie violin announcing her approach, counter to the blaring horns from the other side.
It quickly becomes apparent that you all are too tough for the Risen to tangle with. The saboteurs flee into the wilderness, and you discover some treasures they left behind in their panicked flight: a 6th-rank wand of veil of privacy and a type IV spacious pouch containing the missing food.
NIGHTMARE RUMORS (OBSTACLE)
The unsettling nightmares you've experienced begin to bleed over into relaity, with more and more Eurythnians starting to complain about feelings of impending doom, whispering about sightings of strange distorted monsters, or spreading rumors that your party doesn’t actually know where you're going and are willfully leading everyone to a frozen death.
Evacuation Points 3 (group); Overcome DC 31 Occultism to realize the nightmares are growing and take steps to guard against them, DC 33 Performance to keep the refugees entertained and morale high in the face of these developments, DC 36 Deception to spread countering (if fabricated) rumors that work to keep refugees distracted
Ranek does his best to keep an ear out for the signs of any rumors so that he can help his allies do more to keep morale high.
"These nightmares are not the bruises and bleeds of mere trauma. We must ward our subjects."
Torisen sends his familiar to reassure the people. As a snake is not very reassuring, Geoffrey turns into a fair facsimile of his master to deliver the message.
"These are mere figments! Ignore them!"
The unsettling nightmares you've experienced begin to bleed over into reality, with more and more Eurythnians starting to complain about feelings of impending doom, whispering about sightings of strange distorted monsters, or spreading rumors that your party doesn’t actually know where you're going and are willfully leading everyone to a frozen death.
Evacuation Points 3 (group); Overcome DC 31 Occultism to realize the nightmares are growing and take steps to guard against them, DC 33 Performance to keep the refugees entertained and morale high in the face of these developments, DC 36 Deception to spread countering (if fabricated) rumors that work to keep refugees distracted
The bronze-colored bat-shaped Sprite Champion of Mazludah seems flummoxed!
Why can't my honeyed (or even thorned) tongue work!
He apparently has foot in mouth disease....
As the ghost lady patrols the edges of the night, she sings to herself for comfort. While the songs are beautiful, they are haunting, providing no comfort to the nightmares budding in her charges.
The nightmares persist as you struggle to quell the unrest among the Euryhthnians. Some of them begin to contemplate leaving the larger group for fear of the visions to make an ill-advised attempt to seek salvation in the wilderness!
Ranek doesn't think that fleeing the larger group and attempting to survive unprepared in the wilderness is a good idea. He does, however, like to use magic to solve problems, so he finds a way to fashion his magic into wards that should buy some time and protection for those thinking of fleeing so that they don't run away.
"Good show, Ranek," Torisen compliments. "Excellent technique."
"Enough! Let us be finished with this foolishness."
The Sprite seems in erstnest!
I swear that I am a diplomatic.