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You clear the rest of the hobgoblins and allies from the fortress and burn their taint from the area. Krowe remains behind to rebuild and reinforce the Stone Roads from future invaders. Who can know if you'll recognize him when, or if, you see him again.

Bor, Bazsil, and Faolan return to Phaendar and drive the remaining Ironfang forces into the hills. You break the siege of Londshadow and Kraggodan, return the body of Daq Sontine's brother, and enact a peace between Nirmathas and Molthune.

Finally you settle down at the inn in Phaendar, rebuilt and restocked with beer. From caravan guards to heroes, you fought an army and won against all odds thrown at you. Though it takes many days, every citizen of Phaendar listens with rapt attention to Bazil's story of your deeds.

The future is uncertain. Faolan remains a hunted man, though he has perhaps forgotten. Bazsil has told one story, but is this his last? Will Bor succumb to the madness he spread in others, or has he learned to master it? And will Krowe find that he has toppled one tyrant only to give rise to another, powered by infernal pacts and armies?

Whether you find the answers to these questions or not, the Ghosts of Phaendar live on.

Folks, it's been an absolute pleasure to run this for you. 6 years, thousands of posts, and we completed all 6 books of the AP! I hope you all had as much fun as I did! This is my last Pathfinder game, my last Paizo game, but not the last game I'll ever run. I'll be logged in for a few more days here before I close the Campaign tab that's been open on my browser for the last 10 years a final time.

At this point the adventure is pretty well concluded, just need to know what you're going to do about the Ironfang Legion and if there are any threads you want to wrap up/allies you want to conclude the story with.

Fort DC 26: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33

One of Bazsil's arrows crosses with two of Krowe's magic missiles. Faolan's shield slams into Azaersi as she resists the worst of Bor's spell. Her smile is bloody as she grabs Faolan's arm, crumpling down the wall. Her laugh trails off into a death rattle, but the smile remains.

The sound of fighting no longer fills the room and you hear the thrum of the engine set to destroy your home.

This is the spell I read and it's a very confusing spell, because the first paragraph is 30' then the second paragraph is 60', and it's basically just a level 9 AoE with no save even if you're 18+ HD?

Faolan's shield is against the back wall, you'd have to go through the blind wall or around the long way.

She parried your first attack and attacked back as an immediate action, that's a swashbuckler ability. 2 of your other attacks hit on your turn, then she flew down and hit Krowe on her turn. She used Acrobatics to avoid your AoO. Azaersi didn't take your shield, it's flung across the room.

These are obsidian golems, they can be hurt with adamantine weapons.

DC is in the 40s so you find no latch on that roll but you will find it eventually with you bonus.

A door swings open in the armoire, revealing stairs going down.

They all hit.

Technically an evil ooze (extraplanar), not an outsider. It has DR 15/- but good weapons suppress regeneration so that's helping.

Ziguch and the Immortal Ichor are separate beings and both still exist, now Ziguch is not dominated and will stop zapping you and attempting to turn you to stone. Still have an angry spell casting blob of evil god blood to cut up though. And yes, still immune to bludgeoning.

You quickly dismantle the clockwork angel and the two sandmen, their fallen forms joining the other corpses in this room. You find little of interest to loot, the clockwork angel had a masterwork greatsword that it was able to imbue with magic.

Another quake shakes the Vault as you move into the final room, dust and sand floating down from the ceiling overhead. Crystal statues line the walls of this rectangular room, ringing a large sandbox recessed in the chamber’s center. The only gap in this ring is at the chamber’s western edge, where a cracked glass cylinder rests atop a raised dais.

You see a being that can only be Ziguch accompanied by a strange floating ooze made of what appears to be thick purple glowing blood.

Ziguch

Yes, no roll needed to kick a sleeping friend in the head.

Thanks folks, it means a lot and I love playing with all of you. Sorry for my slower posting lately, when I started this game so long ago I managed a team of 3 and now I manage a team of 90 and my brain doesn't always want to brain after a long day. Always worth it though, never know what you're going to do next!

The countdown is stalled, the controls needed to be worked to destroy the tower.

Some of this is abstracted by the AP to focus on you. The forces that you encounter are meant to represent portions of the hobgoblins. There are several hundred hobgoblins in this fort, and yes you could probably slaughter them all at your level.

You need the troops that came with to distract those abstract forces, hundreds and thousands of hobgoblins, so you can focus on the elites and leaders. Those elites and leaders are in the fort.

You need the tower because it is your link to the Stone Road and from there to the main Ironfang forces in the plane of Elemental Earth. They are sending forces from there to attack. The shard you have allows the road to be opened from your side, they can still open the road from their side and continue the invasion.

There are 4 towers left and if this one is destroyed, and possibly the others, you can't get to the plane of Earth (specifically and in time) and will be forced to fight a long term war of attrition.

You don't know what's on the other side of the Stone Road, so spending all of your spells to kill everything on this side then showing up on the other side to fight thousands of hobgoblins isn't the best plan. In essence, your allies are here to conserve your resources for the unknown on the other side of the planar gate.

I didn't detail most of the forces outside because you skipped them all with two dimension doors while invisible. If you'd decided to fight your way into the fort and explore, instead of going directly into the tower, I'd had detailed those forces.

What this really boils down to is this is the last book in the AP and you have achieved reality bending power that doesn't necessitate you stick to the script, which you didn't. Does that help explain where you are and what you're doing? The "correct" choice as outlined by the AP writers is to fight your way up the tower, kill Scavistan, then clear out the rest of the Fort, set your allies up to defend it, then go through the Stone Road.

This assumes that they don't open the Stone Road from the other side, which they can do, and send more troops through. You know from intel reports than several thousand troops come through the towers at regular intervals so the time crunch here is to stop the tower destruction and entrench your allies then get through the planar gate and stop the invasion.

The supplies are located outside the fort, placed there by resistance fighters. They are well hidden but you are experienced at finding secret caches by now.

The cache is located near the eastern landing and would normally require a DC 46 Perception to spot. Because it has been described to you, it's only a 21 which you cannot fail. Since your plan is to assault the bridge, I will reveal the contents of the cache then.

A 30-foot-tall wooden wall surrounds Phaendar on three sides, while the northeast is protected by a 20-foot ravine plunging into the turbulent Marideth River below. A successful Climb check is required to scale the outer walls. The Marideth River is running much faster than the last time you saw Phaendar, thanks to seasonal storms, and requires a successful Swim check to cross.

The Legion felled the southernmost trees of the forest, both to build their fortress and to push back the tree line. The tree line ends 400 feet from Phaendar Bridge. A few well-concealed blinds dot the forest 50 feet into the trees, used as hidden scout redoubts by the Chernasardo Rangers to monitor activity. You can use these as fallback positions to hide if things go badly. The flat plains surrounding Phaendar afford sentries a clear view of anyone approaching. Sentries demand travelers identify themselves when they come within 60 feet of the walls, and the bored guards happily fire upon those who fail to reply. Wagonloads of human slaves traveling to and from farms and logging camps depart each morning and return at sunset, each overseen by a group of hobgoblins.

Your allies have already drawn away quite a few of the defenders and so only one giant guards the gate by the bridge and only one patrol moves through the area around the fort.

Sorry to draw this out, it's quite tricky and you have a lot of options at your level so I'm trying to give you the information as I can and understand your plan. Sounds like you're going to start at the bridge and play it by ear from there, feel free to buff and tell me if you're going at any particular time of day.

You find once-familiar buildings shattered in heaps of rubble. In their place, a palisade surrounds tents and sturdy stone buildings. Within the town’s once-festive fairgrounds, a menacing onyx tower looms atop a motte.

There appears to be a giant guarding the bridge, a patrol of hobgoblins circling the fort every 10 minutes, and several hundred hobgoblins inside.

A frontal assault is an option, if not perhaps the easiest one. Note that there is a cache of supplies you've been told to look for near the fort. The forces you fight will be reduced based on the allies you recruited. Also remember that your goal here is not to kill the hobgoblins, it is to get through the tower and into the Stone Roads.

You can attempt that, it could go a bit sideways. I will say that if you're just worried about one fight there's no reason to go through a binding, just doing a summon once you're there would get the job done.

You can also attempt to scry the camp, you are familiar with it from the last time you were there. You chariot wouldn't work very well in the forest but you still have Rangers and other groups who can help. Really just need to know prep and then we can see how it plays out.

Faolan does indeed box with Gossamer, the atomie proving to be a tough opponent for Faolan. Eventually you decide to call it a draw and nurse your split lips and bruises over a pint or two.

Faolan manages to convince Weslen that you are the right heroes for the job and Bazsil works with Santila. I don't think we've succeeded with Santila yet unless I've missed it? You may want to switch to Sebine if that's true.

Bor attempts to track down Gossamer and Sir Daq but gives up in disgust. Deciding to leave the social situations to others in his group, he wanders the area and hears boisterous laughter coming from a side room. Quite by accident he has discovered Gossamer and Daq drinking heavily and swapping war stories.

Gossamer looks up at Bor with suspicion and holds up an earthenware bottle. "Whatta want? Here to drink with us? Maybe you can hold your booze better than this one, eh?"

If you decide to take her up on this offer, make a DC 24 Fort Save.

We played by the buy/sell rules when necessary to convey the idea of hardscrabble underdogs fighting back with limited resources. You're still underdogs but the stakes are different. Access to teleport means you can travel to major cities essentially at will. It's not enough to bring in troops or supplies to change the war, it is enough to equip yourselves for what's coming.

You return to Longshadow and look for Mayor Thom Crawbert. You see the town is more heavily fortified than before, the walls and gates have been reinforced and every building is a miniature fortress. You begin to wonder how long you've been gone, perhaps the Darkblight warped time as well as space. You recognize some of the townsfolk you saved in the battle and walking towards the mayor's house you see groups of soldiers and supply wagons.

Recognizing fellow mercenaries, for such you were back when Krowe first met you, you can't help but feel old. Your gear is more worn now, your battles more numerous, and your scars deeper. These men and women have faced the Ironfang and earned their money, but still you wonder if they could do as you have.

When you are escorted past armed guards to see the Mayor he looks up at you with fear, then relief. "I didn't dare dream you were still alive. You've been gone many months, I thought we had sent you to your deaths!" He breaks down a little and the stress he's been under is apparent.

He fills a glass with water and takes a moment to compose himself. "Right then, no doubt you've questions. The Ironfang don't bother much with us right now. We've got the Fangwood and the river, plus we've been able to hire mercenaries and bring in troops from units crushed by the Ironfang during their expansion. Don't misunderstand, they could take us whenever they wanted but for now they've focused south of the Marideth."

He points to Kraggodan. "A few weeks ago the dwarves opened their gates and let the Molthuni inside, then immediately closed them in the face of an Ironfang force that came spewing out of a black obelisk. They traded one siege for another, but I've no idea why they allowed the Molthuni inside instead of letting them be crushed. The Legion also pushed into Molthune itself. We don't know where they will strike next, for now we're on the defensive."

Thom takes another drink and looks you over. "Take some time, recover, then tell me what happened while you were gone."

At this point you have the opportunity to craft, buy/sell items, and generally prepare. You will then attempt to stop an army that has carved large swathes of territory out of two nations. Remember to level to 16.

You land on the walkway to talk to Gendowyn.

"You speak of Meril and Wendel, who are right there."

The two quicklings are indeed at your side now and both bow deeply to their queen.

"Aided the heroes we did, killed the demon mushrooms who taunted them with laughter, guarded them in their sleep. Slew the bandersnatch who attempted to sneak up behind them while they fought in the throne room."

She smiles at them then turns back to you.

"You may rest easy now, I shared a broken mental link to Arlantia and understand well the madness she descended into. You seek the sardonyx shard, a powerful piece of an ancient artifact." She reached up and removes the crude crown, taking the shard out of it and casting the metal to the ground. "This is the shard you seek. It amused Arlantia to place an artifact capable of planar travel on my head, knowing I could not use it to escape my prison while the Darkblight warped the planar boundary. I will gladly trade it to you now in return for my scepter. Today you freed a legacy and earned the gratitude of a goddess—far more in a day than most of your kind accomplish in the momentary glimpse of life granted to them."

Assuming you agree to the trade, she looks upon Dryad's Song with another smile. "Let us see about repairing centuries of damage. Wait here." She moves back into the chamber behind her and emerges a short time later with an atomie. "This is Gossamer, she will be your guide during your stay in the Accressiel Court. You are welcome here for one week and one day, as is tradition. We will speak more later."

Gendowyn returns to the chamber and eventually frees some 5 dozen fey from their imprisonment while you loot the dead. As you do, the blight retreats from the walls and the palace begins to regain some of it's former glory.

From looting:
potions of cure serious wounds (3)
+2 light fortification glamered chain shirt
Spiteful Scimitar
amulet of natural armor +3
belt of mighty constitution +6
cloak of resistance +5
headband of inspired wisdom +2
ring of evasion
onyx unholy symbol of Cyth-V’sug (worth 500 gp)

elixirs of truth (2)
liquid blades (2)
smoke pellets (10)
smokesticks (5)
tindertwigs (20)
+3 deathless mithral chain shirt
Obedience (+3 defending short sword)
Retribution (+2 axiomatic short sword)
amulet of natural armor +4
belt of physical might +4 (Dex, Con)
minor cloak of displacement
hat of disguise
ring of freedom of movement
ring of protection +3
deck of cards illustrated with risqué goblinoid men and women (worth 5 gp)

Should you wish to destroy the Spiteful Scimitar you will be granted an equivalent cost item by Gendowyn. She cannot modify existing items, this would represent a fey giving up a magic item of theirs in return for the destruction of this sword.

In addition to all of that, you have completed Book 5 and achieved Level 16!

Bazil's knowledge is not up to the task. Consulting with Krowe you believe it will simply sever the link between the planes and not open a portal prompting you to purchase DLC. to another realm. As for the wizard and the king, Bazsil recalls neither.

Two tough enemies plus that poor dumb hobgoblin makes for one hell of a climactic battle. Could still swing either way but Faolan is a beast, this hasted monk flurry with a shield business really puts in work.

I actually messed up Blasphemy again and it's even more worthless, you don't even take the STR damage so I'll mentally add 1 to each of your attack and damage rolls.

The hobgoblin continues his attack on a Dazed Bor.

The dragon flies away from Faolan and the erinyes, disappearing from the sight of all but Krowe.

Arlantia scowls as the group continues to function, instead taking advantage of the dragon's escape to spring a whirling ball of scimitars into existence around the melee.

Faolan and the Erinyes must make DC 22 Ref Save to avoid damage. If you fail it will be 15d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 5, 4, 1, 4, 3, 4, 3, 6, 4) = 52 damage. The nature of the barrier means it'll still float there for many rounds but you can just fly out the top or bottom, after you're done dodging its creation.

The dryad queen turns to Krowe. "You should be serving me, mortal. Such power we would have. Take the staff, strike down your friends, and my gifts will be beyond your dreams. I will help you break your bargain."

Party is up.

With dazed looks like Bor's actions do not change.

Yeah but one round of Daze and my poor hobgoblin is still -7 vs. 90 rounds of paralyze means y'all are still in this :D.

Oh fudge, I read the spell 3 times and still screwed up. I used her HD in the chart to calculate and not her caster level, which is 15. That means Bor is only Dazed and Weakened, and Bazsil and Faolan are only Weakened.

Thank you and I agree, tough to keep the energy up during PbP and we're doing it. Really looking forward to kicking this into Book 6 and hopefully we've accomplished our initial goal of making you feel like underdogs fighting back against an unstoppable army.

You decide not to rest here but instead press your advantage against the queen. Moving back to the acid pool room, you recite the poem in your best Abyssal. The acid pool begins to gurgle and swirl and finally recedes, leaving behind a spiraling stone stairway going deeper.

This is the final fight of book 5 and is going to be extremely difficult. Arlantia will know you are coming no matter what you do, you've fought enough fey through the palace to understand they all have a mental connection and you haven't caught any of them unaware. You know you are facing at least 3 tough opponents, including an almost godlike dryad, so feel free to rest first if prepping the right spells and having a few extra spell slots will make a difference.

You descend the stair into a short tunnel that leads into a massive cavern. A gong starts sounding as you reach the ledge overlooking a literal heart of darkness. An enormous clot of green, black, and white fungus—pulsing as if a thousand hearts beat beneath its fleshy surface—dominates this massive cavern. Innumerable thick, fibrous strands sprout from the cavern walls, suspending the massive growth fifty feet in the air. At the very pinnacle of the mighty fungal bulb is a throne made from wilted yellow flowers braided into twining wicker. Large ledges perch at the cavern’s east and west ends, overlooking a cavern floor dotted with stands of mushrooms and rancid, bubbling pools of goo.

Cavern

The entrance to Arhlantu from above leaves visitors on a large ledge at the western edge of the cavern, and bridge-like strands of fungal matter run from this ledge to the mass itself, as shown on the map above. Each bridge is considered normal terrain along its 5-foot-wide traversable surface, but they have no railings to prevent bull rush, reposition, and similar combat maneuvers from throwing a creature over the side.

Sitting on the fungal thrown must be no other than Arlantia herself, and perched against the fungus on the far wall you see the fungal black dragon you fought before.

"At last, my pitiful admirers have found me! I did worry you’d gotten lost along the way. Welcome to a rather summary end! I admit, I’m impressed at your passion. Perhaps I should recruit you to my lovely prince’s cause—the First World knows I’m missing enough minions all of a sudden. Shall I turn you into my latest pets? Make you obedient as I did my precious little hobgoblins? Or maybe you’ll choose to sacrifice yourselves to my lord, the Prince of the Blasted Heath, who shall soon frolic in the festering playground that is the Fangwood?"

Once again you find yourselves missing more than you hit, but those hits prove to be enough and the fungus fey goes down. As she falls her body disintegrates into fine spores which rise towards the ceiling. You hear a cackling fade into the mushroom forest behind you as she dies.

You stand guard for a bit, waiting for yet another attack but none arrives. As the erinyes return to their home plane they blow Krowe a kiss and wink suggestively. You've never seen a teleport spell swish suggestively before but there's a first time for everything. Putting aside your caution and giving in to your inner loot goblin, you rummage through the pile where the mad pech fell.

potions of barkskin (CL 9th) x2
potions of cure serious wounds x2
potion of remove paralysis
strand of prayer beads (lesser)
wand of giant vermin (13 charges)
+2 breastplate
+2 buckler
+1 icy burst heavy pick
unholy symbol of Cyth-V’sug
127 gp

In addition she had the fourth ring around her neck and you are now able to complete the corrupted artifact that will allow you to defeat the evil fey queen and find the piece of the artifact the Ironfang Legion is using to raise their dark towers.

Thinking of the encounter with the hobgoblins, you realize the mindslaver mold on their bodies must also be with another hobgoblin who was communicating with them through the mold. Odds are good this hobgoblin has the artifact you seek, though why it would be here in the first place you don't know.

You also remember that the woman leading the hobgoblin commandos, as well as the mad pech, said you could reach the queen through the pool. With a little thought you are able to translate the poem created by all four rings and surmise that standing by the acid pool and reciting this poem will transport you to the queen herself.

You suspect the fungal black dragon you defeated earlier, but didn't kill, is probably also there. You aren't sure where the bandersnatch has slunked off to but the mushroom madmen who have been giggling at you have fallen silent now. This room is fairly defensible should you desire rest but that does give your enemies the same respite.

Should you decide to rest and study the scepter you will learn the following.

Rhesus frowns, covered in golem guts. "That wasn't the final battle?" His shoulders slump a little before he straightens back up. "That means there's more fighting! Come on little buddy, let's go knock this Zim guy back into the grave. And don't you worry, I won't let myself get possessed by that powerful artifact made by the guy we're using it against, no sir."

HP 216/216+16 DR 8/-, 16/lethal, fire 4
AC 30/T19/FF26
CMD 37
Fort +20, Ref +15, Will +11; +2 insight bonus vs. transmutation spells, +5 morale bonus vs. spells, supernatural abilities, and spell-like abilities while raging but must resist all spells, even allies', +4 bonus to Will saves vs. enchantment spells.
Rage: 37/37
Sihedron: Charity
Eater of Magic: 1/1/Rage
SA: +1 to Confirm Earthbreaker critical, +5 damage vs spellcasters while raging, +1 damage while flanking, fast healing 5
Row: Front
Opponent: Giant thing

Rhesus decides there is no need to change up his method and charges the giant thing, pouncing on it invisibly with the Charity Sihedron, which will almost certainly not possess him and cause him to kill the entire party.

Attack 1: 1d20 + 43 ⇒ (1) + 43 = 44
Damage: 2d6 + 39 ⇒ (1, 4) + 39 = 44

Attack 2: 1d20 + 43 ⇒ (20) + 43 = 63
Damage: 2d6 + 39 ⇒ (5, 1) + 39 = 45

Attack 3: 1d20 + 38 ⇒ (4) + 38 = 42
Damage: 2d6 + 39 ⇒ (6, 1) + 39 = 46

Attack 4: 1d20 + 33 ⇒ (11) + 33 = 44
Damage: 2d6 + 39 ⇒ (3, 2) + 39 = 44

Attack 5: 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (19) + 28 = 47
Damage: 2d6 + 39 ⇒ (2, 4) + 39 = 45

Attack 2 Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 43 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 43 + 1 = 56
Additional Damage: 4d6 + 78 ⇒ (2, 6, 6, 2) + 78 = 94

Attack 5 Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 28 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 28 + 1 = 47
Additional Damage: 4d6 + 78 ⇒ (3, 3, 4, 5) + 78 = 93

Bazsil if it's ok I'm going to switch your target to the omox, Faolan wasn't able to kill it alone but your two arrows will finish the job and leave you with only the 4 babaus. Just need Krowe's actions and I'll stab the crap out of Faolan.

It's 5 rounds for the trap and then a decent length tunnel, I believe you had fly on earlier so it'd be gone but the longer buffs would remain.

Most of you fly above the trap while Bor is ever so briefly touched by acidic earth. Thinking quickly the three of you swoop down and pick him up.

Take the first round of acid damage, at this point we'll assume you're seasoned enough adventurers that an acid earth trap wouldn't panic you into not picking your friend off the ground.

You wait for the earth to recede and find a renewed purpose within yourselves. The way you quickly snatched Bor off the ground and kept him out of harm's way. Bor accepting help even in the midst of his own madness. Krowe taking a gloom blade that he almost certainly probably won't use against you when you least expect it. Bazsil.

With this resolve and inner strength you don't even stop to wonder where the quicklings went or how you didn't notice they haven't been with you for some time. Ahead, the deeper darkness of a palace warped and twisted by an immortal fey who fancies herself a god awaits you and you descend into it.

Massively tall mushrooms spiral up toward the ceiling above, their fanlike gills stirring gently on an unfelt breeze and nearly reaching the loamy soil coating the floor. The air here is moist, claustrophobic, and cloying. The cavern extends to the west, though you see no obvious path now.

The negative levels are from enervation and wont require restoration, just a few hours to pass.

My understanding was you were stone walling yourself into the dragon cave, then probably retreating into an extradimensional space to rest, loot, and level. Going to push with the current plan of using the ring and diving into a throne.

"Oh yes, Wendel will come, yes-yes. Very big trouble without me, look how you've succeeded with my guidance, yes-yes."

You march back to the throne, utter the Abyssal words, then use the fey charm to dive into the throne. You expect a battle or a throne room, perhaps an angry hungry dragon, but you by no means expected a titanic bird.

The overwhelming centerpiece of this eerie clearing is an enormous, ancient, terribly blighted ash tree so tall it blots out the sun and wide enough to dwarf the girth of any other nearby trees. With withered, strangely marked bark that looks more akin to rotting skin and drooping branches that weep putrid mold, this tree casts an ominous pall over the entire sickly meadow. Beyond this 100-foot-wide clearing, as far as the eye can see, grotesque blooms of fungus spring up amid an angry briar.

Standing guard near the tree is a giant, featherless, scaled dodo with purple wings and a lizard tail.

Welcome to Level 15 folks!

For the record while most of you are on the edge of dead the dragon is not, she is fleeing while still fairly healthy because potentially immortal dragons don't take such chances.

The dragon looks at you in exasperation. "NO, I'M...YOU KNOW WHAT, NEVERMIND."

Bazsil and Krowe act before the dragon, Faolan and Bor after. After the first round we'll switch to Party then Dragon for ease of posting. I am getting on a plane and will be in business meetings/after hours activities until my return on the 28th, we will resume regular posting on the 29thish. Enjoy your break folks.

A long caterpillar-like creature winds down from the trees in a different spot than the voice was coming from. When the creature speaks the deep soothing sound is the same however. "The warriors thought they had knowledge, but the knowing of things and the seeing of things are not always the same. Wonder they did, at the madness of the Blight. Curious they were, the many ways of the wind in this haunted place."

"Here it was, the dragon sought her final form, a painful journey of self-discovery whose destination they now stand in." The creature rears up and waves back and forth. "woooooooooooooooooooo"

Mireena laughs, the sound of bubbling water and flowing brooks.

"Your offers are very kind mortals, but I'll be safe enough here. I can hide in my waterfall." A look of quiet desperation crosses her face briefly. "I don’t allow myself the luxury of hope any longer. I doubt very much I will see any of you alive again. But perhaps your deaths will be mercifully quick and painless."

You move on, some of you more readily than others, along the river. It is not long before you find another clearing. Tiny dwellings made of latticed twigs and connecting vine bridges weave expertly through the trees here, but this sheltered alcove stands eerily still and silent. Slick, greasy fungus blooms on the trees’ trunks, and the miniature buildings are brittle and dilapidated, as if nothing had touched them in years. A few small, bleached bones and elongated skulls are visible through the detritus of the forest floor.

You are attempting to gain fey allies by defeating the fey who have them imprisoned, so it's reasonable to get cold iron weapons that can handle good. Having read through Book 5 and 6 I can say you'll probably get more mileage out of Good weapons than Evil Outsider Bane weapons.

Karburtin and the dwarves of Kraggodan help you prepare your items for the journey to the Darkblight.

You spend some time recovering from your latest adventure. The road your allies set you upon weeks ago has taken you many miles through endless darkness and crushing rock. Mutated creatures, simulacrums, dwarves, beetles, gugs, ghosts, and odd fiendish gem merchants you have encountered. You made friends and allies with the dwarven nation of Kraggodan and provide the proof necessary to end one ruinous war and free them to fight in another.

Once the medusa ghost was dispelled, and time passed as you waited to confirm this was true, divinations and research into the notes and evidence moved swifter than you imagined from the Council. Talks have already begun to end the war, though you imagine this will take some time. As Karburtin explains, even if the war were to end tomorrow it will take some times for the dwarves to reequip and prepare for a war against the Ironfang.

Karburtin arranges a remote conversation with your friends in Fangwood and Longshadow. You find that the Ironfang have consolidated their hold over Nirmathas south of Longshadow, having turned Phaendar into their new stronghold. Without you to fight them your allies have done their best to keep them at bay, spreading rumors of the Ghosts of Phaendar and striking at Ironfang resources far and wide. Karburtin looks at you seriously on hearing this news and promises to find aid for you wherever he can.

Mechanically as much time will pass as you need to equip, level, and prepare.

You find yourself welcome in the Greathammer stronghold and spend your time training and preparing for a return to the war against the Ironfang. Before you have time to chaff at the delay, Karburtin Lightbrand summons you to his home.

"Kind friends," Lightbrand says, rubbing the curls of his short beard with concern. "You have done us such a great service in past weeks that I wish I could bring you better tidings. Prince Gorm has dispatched not insignificant material aid—weapons and armor—to your allies, but alas, I must be frank. Our beloved Sky Citadel does not have the numbers to provide you with any military assistance. The prince considers you friends for life, but we cannot jeopardize our homeland by sending our small defensive forces on an offensive mission. Surely you understand. That does not mean we are unwilling to help, however. I have just finished extensive research on the Onyx Key, the artifact stolen from our vault, and it is indeed the weapon your enemies now use to move their troops unseen. The device creates a network of extradimensional tunnels—it’s a fascinating process, truly. My ancestors suspected the artifact relies on some great power source or hub positioned outside reality, and once opened a gate to it using the red sardonyx shard from the artifact’s base. But in the process, they unleashed terrible monsters that ravaged our city."

"I believe the Ironfang Legion has succeeded where my ancestors failed, conquering this hub and now using it as a central stronghold from which they direct their invasion. I’ve been divining, trying to locate the sardonyx shard for you, so you too can open a gate to the hub. My most recent spells found it deep within the heart of Fangwood Forest, but soon thereafter a powerful magic began shielding it from my spells. To me this implies only one culprit: the Blight."

Karburtin pauses here to refill your drinks and answer any questions you may have regarding the Onyx Key and its history with the dwarves. He continues after.

"You surely know of the legends of the Fangwood’s diseased heart: tales of cruel, corrupted fey and trees that shift and trails that change once travelers pass. This is the work of the Blight, or more precisely, the Darkblight, which is both a disease and a place—the realm of a corrupted fey ruler called Arlantia. But it was not always this way. Not so long ago, the Fangwood was dominated by a collective of fey called the Accressiel Court, ruled by a powerful earth goddess named Gendowyn. Of course, ‘goddess’ is something of an honorific. She was powerful, but hardly divine I think. Regardless, my ancestors sought her council in the past on matters of the earth and seasons. Arlantia once sat at Gendowyn’s right hand, and it was the earth goddess’s Accressiel Court that was overthrown and perverted into the Darkblight."

"The sardonyx shard is somewhere within this cursed realm—I don’t know why, precisely—and cloaked by the region’s powerful corruption. But if you’re willing to brave this terrible place, then this may be a blessing in disguise. I believe that Gendowyn is too powerful to have been simply slain, and Arlantia too vain to kill her rather than keep her captive and gloat. Arlantia was a dryad once, and so must be bound to a tree somewhere in that foul forest. Your sardonyx shard and Gendowyn are both likely held there, if you can find them. Freeing our esteemed Gendowyn would put her in your debt, and as we dwarves can attest, Gendowyn’s kindness knows no bounds for those whom she favors. Rescue her, friends, and you may very well secure the might you need to wipe this Ironfang Legion from the face of Golarion."

Some questions you may ask and their answers.

Karburtin listens carefully as you describe the events in the few hours since you saw him last. He consults his familiar and pages through arcane tomes then nods in satisfaction.

"It's almost unprecedented, but I think we've figured it out. It was the different ghosts that clarified it. This medusa was betrayed by her allies and murdered in the final room before stealing the Onyx Key. She must have been able to turn the hobgoblin into a statue as she died, and those emotions contained all of her hatred and rage, binding her to this plane."

He takes a sip of water.

"Somehow she was able to assume the form of those she turned to stone, and it is these statues that bind her still. You said you've returned 3 to flesh, the last is to return or destroy the hobgoblin statue and that should release the ghost."

You are dubious at this logic but return to the Reliquary and decide on the course of pragmatism, shoving the headless statue into the lava rather than waste a spell on him.

Karburtin keeps the medusa corpse but gives you her items. "It will be a few days while we confirm everything you've learned and cast divinations on the site. Please rest here while we do so."

You can level up while you wait, welcome to Level 14.

The text in Dwarven says "Chamber of the Onyx Key" and the icons around it appear to be stylized Dwarven letters. M, A, C, G, U, F, F, I, N.

Karburtin stares at you gravely. "You met the Enthroned King then? Little is know of his past, or the reality anyway. During the tumultuous early years of Kraggodan’s history, the city came under many threats, first from orcs of the surface and then from the duergar
below. The king took drastic measures to continue his stable rule, using alchemy and arcane magic—and, some whisper, blood sacrifice—to extend his reign far beyond the normal dwarven life span. His mind remained sharp, but eventually grew cruel as his body withered into dust.

After centuries beyond his allotted years, the people of Kraggodan quaked under their increasingly distant king’s rule, and they plotted a revolt to place a living heir on the Sky Citadel’s throne. The Enthroned King lashed out, calling down unspeakable violence on his people. Horrified to discover what he was capable of, the king abdicated in the bloody wake of his actions and ordered his name be stricken from Kraggodan’s records for his shameful deeds. As he waited to die, however, he soon discovered that he had so long spurned Magrim, the dwarven lord of death, that death would no longer take him, leaving him nothing but breath in a bottle."

Karburtin pauses. "Of course, who knows if this tale is true or false. As for the stone, I can only assume a medusa, though I do not understand why this one seems to be producing ghosts as well. Remember well that many of the stories we tell depend on our point of view. No doubt the Enthroned King believes what he tells you, but who can say what time has done to that poor spirit, or even if he is the being he claims to be. If he saw a naga but not a medusa, that doesn't mean there is no medusa, only that there is also a naga."

You find no traps. South is your only new direction, short of gnawing your way through a few walls gugnam style.

The party unleashes on the infernal gugs and their dark purply toothed god and the enemy returns the favor. The gugs turn to Bor since Faolan is being chewed on.

Gug 1 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Gug 1 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Gug 1 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (7) + 17 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Gug 1 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Gug 2 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Gug 2 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Gug 2 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Gug 2 Attack @ Bor: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

The purple worm attempts to swallow Faolan whole.

CMB Grab: 1d20 + 36 ⇒ (20) + 36 = 56
Damage: 4d8 + 14 ⇒ (6, 5, 7, 4) + 14 = 36

Faolan disappears down the worms gullet!

Party is up!

Adder nods along.

"Baba Wren is right though, killing him would prevent them from using him." He shrugs. "Death is almost never permanent most of the time if you do it right anyway. Unless you want to be dead forever, there are ways. We would cut off your head, then boil your brains and stuff the corpse with garlic, rosemary, and scorpion peppers. Nothing would bother you."

He waits to see if the noble is willing to be noble.

Will DC 25: 1d20 + 13 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 13 + 6 + 4 = 34
Will DC 25: 1d20 + 13 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 13 + 6 + 4 = 26

"Not today little fishy."

Attack: 1d20 + 38 ⇒ (17) + 38 = 55
Damage: 2d6 + 34 + 5 ⇒ (1, 3) + 34 + 5 = 43

Attack: 1d20 + 33 ⇒ (18) + 33 = 51
Damage: 2d6 + 34 + 5 ⇒ (5, 4) + 34 + 5 = 48

Attack: 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (2) + 28 = 30
Damage: 2d6 + 34 + 5 ⇒ (6, 4) + 34 + 5 = 49

Attack: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (13) + 23 = 36
Damage: 2d6 + 34 + 5 ⇒ (4, 6) + 34 + 5 = 49

Also because I didn't clarify, everything you buy or have crafted is also discounted 15% but the regular price cap still applies. In addition, Karburtin can craft rods, wands, and rings as a 10th level abjurer and will do so at cost for you, within time constraints as usual.