As Xiung-Lau struggles to counteract the haunt, Hooli deftly shoots down Mr. Jelly. Yu Er cries out in delight as she rushes to collect the doll, then her parent scoops the little girl up and rushes her to safety. Meanwhile, Kwan Tai moves to assist Aruka, grunting as he shifts the rubble aside to free the kitsune woman.
The two ghostly figures raise their torches and create pulses of rippling energy around them. The energy causes the surrounding structure to appear to age rapidly and become distorted. The one near Xiung-Lau swings its smoking torch at him while the other one moves through the building to get next to Kwan Tai.
The townsfolk show mild appreciation towards Siobhan's and Venti's offerings, but they smile and applaud at the rest of your contributions to the art project. Over the next hour, the town finishes the sculpture and then celebrates into the night, including the town's other founder, Jett Saldath. Many of the other artists come over to introduce themselves. They share a bottle of wine with you, and someone cooks a passable stew in a large cauldron that the whole town partakes of, with a random assortment of ingredients being thrown in.
When you tell Erk and Jett that you've resolved the issue in Fernsby, they are grateful that the goblins of Stumpfield no longer stand accused of the vandalism. While most of the townsfolk aren't overly concerned with recent events in Isger, the town's founders promise to spread word about the good deeds that the Hellbreakers League have done. Your reputation has increased!
"Abraxas has an encyclopedic knowledge of magical formulas and destructive secrets," the first man says. "His Final Incantation is a word of power that can unravel the mightiest of spells and unmake even artifacts!"
The other man scoffs. "Haagenti is a master of invention and transformation, creating uncountable new ways to cause horrendous suffering among the unworthy. He even invented the art of fleshwarping that the great empire of Thassilon perfected!"
"And where do you think Haagenti gleaned the secrets of fleshwarping from? No doubt it was tome in Abraxas' great archive!" says the first man.
"The great Haagenti would never resort to common larceny, infidel," the second man sneers.
It's clear that this argument between the two of them has stretched on for quite some time and is on the verge of coming to blows. All it would take is a good push...
Taerine and Helanora sell the dception and quickly breeze through Easttown.
SHORELINE SPRINT
Nobody walks the sandy shore near Harbormaster Island at present. However, its sand is particularly damp and unstable, requiring careful pathfinding or adept footwork to trek.
Chase Points 3; Overcome DC 29 Acrobatics to nimbly move through the mire, DC 27 Nature to observe the quality of the sand and determine firm footholds, DC 25 Survival to follow a set of tracks across the sand
Helanora's critical success gives you an extra Chase Point towards this obstacle, so only 2 are needed to proceed. Sesotho may roll, and then everybody may roll for the next round. The dottari pursuers have only just arrived on the first obstacle while you're now on the fourth one, so you've got a good lead.
The woman helping you escape warns you as you enter Easttown that the residents quickly report strangers. She suggests you slow down and act as though you’re on a leisurely stroll.
Chase Points 2; Overcome DC 29 Diplomacy to charm any observers, DC 27 Society to move with the confidence of the well-off residents
Everybody but Theresa may still roll for this round.
There are no traps on the door. Beyond it is a long corridor that ends at another door. This door opens into an unfinished chamber. The walls of the chamber are rough, giving only a hint as to the nameless architect’s original plans for what may have been intended to be a barracks, a prison, or perhaps simply a maze of hallways. A horrific statue stands to the north—a figure vaguely appearing to be a mix of a winged bull standing on its hind feet and a reptilian-headed figure with snakes for legs. Even worse, the statue is sculpted not from stone or wood, but from the flesh of what appear to be at least three humans that have been reshaped and stretched over a creatively reassembled skeleton. Jeni recognizes that the statue seems to combine features of two demon lords, Abraxas (the demon lord of forbidden lore, magic, and snakes) and Haagenti (the demon lord of alchemy, invention, and transformation).
Two men are here. They appear to be regal Thassilonian aristocrats dressed in mauve robes, although one of the two’s robes hangs in tatters. Upon spotting you, one of them steps forward and addresses you in Thassilonian. "And so the infidels return. Tell us, before you join your brothers in our offering to the Abyss, who strikes you as a more appropriate inspiration for a requiem to all that has been lost? Surely it is Abraxas?"
The other steps forward and shouts, "Nonsense, Lord Haagenti is the obvious choice!"
Between Pen's disintegration beam and Visna's powerful strikes, the rock creatures are quickly reduced to ash and rubble. Briar plucks up The Avalanche, causing it to furiously acquiesce and return the area around it to its normal state. It begins to revert into its card form, but as part of this process, the Avalanche’s gem form shatters into multiple pieces. The remaining gem fragments are highly valuable, worth 5,000 gp in total. Most notable, though, is the pedestal the gem rested upon. As the Avalanche’s challenge was focused on raw strength, the remainder of its magic transforms the pedestal into a representation of the ideal of strength. The stone of the pedestal crumbles away, revealing a pair of golden bracers which are in fact bracers of the hammer.
With a series of devastating critical hits, you finish off the wounded hryngar priest. Not even her spiritual guardian can save her from your brutal assault.
General Sagginsdotter and her troops scatter the remaining hryngar forces. She directs most of her troops to secure the area and chase down fleeing foes. She initially assigns a detachment to aid you in exploring Avernakkus, but the intense heat further into the cavern, tighter passages, and tremors scouts identify early on make her reconsider. She encourages you to push on ahead, knowing you can fall back here to recover as needed.
After taking time to rest overnight and recover your strength, you prepare to head into the Heart of Gloaming Arbor. This region of Avathrael's realm is the most challenging to navigate—not only because it’s more shadow than forest, but also because sites within seem to wander in constant flux. With the passage charm you possess, you can force the shadows to solidify into a reliable path, though it still won't be easy-going.
Each time the PCs attempt to travel in this area, they must attempt a DC 26 Survival check to Sense Direction or a DC 28 Occultism check. Using the passage charm grants you a +2 circumstance bonus on the check. On a success, they encounter an obstacle and then reach a landmark in 4 hours. On a failure, they encounter an obstacle, followed by a setback in 4 hours. They fail to reach a landmark.
Each of the four landmarks are encountered in order, and only after a successful navigation check, with the fifth landmark being Avathrael’s studio.
Stumpfield is an uneventful two-hour walk southwest from Fernsby. The town ahead is a unique collection of homes built onto the sides of wagons and semi-permanent tents, creating an atmosphere more like a traveling festival than a structured settlement. Several dozen residents—all either goblin or human—are gathered in the center of town around an object made of rope and wicker that resembles a four-legged animal. In turn, each person approaches the sculpture and adds something to it: a lump of clay to form an ear, several splashes of paint along the hide, or a series of colorful scarves wrapped around the neck. After each addition, the others gathered murmur in delight and approval.
With a bit of asking around, you learn that you've arrived during Stumpfield’s monthly practice of “cooperative art,” where the whole town comes together to create something—usually a sculpture or a painting, but other mediums are often involved. A few finished cooperative art pieces can be found throughout the town, and each is similarly chaotic but nonetheless compelling. When you make themselves known, one goblin breaks off from the assembled townspeople.
"Welcome, travelers! I am Erk Oilfingers, one of the founders of Stumpfield. Welcome to our humble community" He grins before turning back to the other artists. "Well, since we have guests, let’s see if they have anything they want to add to this month’s collective piece…" The crowd nods in agreement and a few of them even clap in encouragement.
Each of the PCs can add something to the sculpture, whether from their own supplies or from the collections of art supplies strewn about the town center. When they do so, they should attempt a DC 16 Art Lore or Performance check; you can allow for other skills if the players make good cases for them.
Kharya and Cerulean are able to skillfully word the invitation to inform Maestro Strikrunner that only two seats are available, but in a way that makes it appealing nonetheless. This offsets the extra stress of needing to hire extra tailors to finish the costumes, and Timdok's help with the odd jobs around the theater are a boon to the production.
You have a net gain of 1 Production Point this week.
***
As the second week starts, the traditional blessing of the production is scheduled to take place. As high priest of Kintargo’s church of Shelyn, Zachrin Vhast has led this blessing rite many times before, and he’s willing to do so again for your opera—but not alone. He and Fallenta agree that you should be a key part of the blessing rite, if only because the optics of the heroic inspiration of the opera taking part in the blessing rite will help drum up even more excitement and
anticipation.
Zachrin meets with you on the first day of the week to set expectations and explain what he needs from them. The traditional blessing rite involves the casting of a consecrate ritual onstage and, as such, takes 3 days to perform. Songbird Hall (the church of Shelyn in Kintargo) fronts the cost of the ritual’s rare incense and offerings, and Zachrin is prepared to be the ritual’s primary caster, but he suggests that one of you take on that role instead. At the same time, Zachrin suggests incorporating a memorial for the Ruby Massacre into the blessing.
(The Ruby Massacre occurred ten years ago when then-Lord-Mayor Barzillai Thrune set a trap for the Silver Ravens in this very opera house. Many Kintargans and Thrune loyalists died in the event, but the Silver Ravens prevailed, and it was one of the key inflection points in the Kintargan Rebellion that ultimately lead to Ravounel's independence from Cheliax.)
Consecrate Blessing: The consecrate ritual Zachrin seeks to perform is modified, such that the secondary casters need only be worshippers of faiths that aren’t significantly opposed to the primary caster’s faith, but if all casters of the ritual are of the same faith, the DCs for performing the ritual are all reduced by 2.
Zachrin’s modifiers for Religion and Performance (he uses the former as a primary caster and the latter as a secondary caster) are +20. If he’s the primary caster, he casts it at 2nd-rank to maximize his chances of success—the DC for the primary caster in this case is DC 25, while it’s DC 20 for secondary casters.
If a PC is the primary caster, they can heighten the ritual as they wish. In this case, the primary caster DC is equal to the very hard DC of that spell’s rank +7, and the secondary caster DC is equal to that spell’s rank +2. For example, if the ritual is heightened to 7th rank, the primary caster check is DC 38 and the secondary caster check is DC 33.
Memorial: Zachrin suggests a work of art to serve as a memorial for the Ruby Massacre, along with a plaque that lists the names of those who perished during the tragedy. Creating the memorial involves day-long downtime activities that PCs who aren’t taking part in the ritual’s casting can attempt (or any PC can attempt later in the week after the ritual is complete). To work on the memorial requires a PC to attempt either a DC 33 Art Lore check to concept the memorial or a DC 38 Crafting check to create it—each successful check earns Victory Points, and once the PCs have accumulated 8 Victory Points (and at least one of the checks was a Crafting check), the memorial is finished. If the work bleeds into week 3 or beyond, though, the missed deadline costs Production Points.
Week 2 Secondary Tasks:
On the second week of Hell Month, the PCs can also pursue the following secondary tasks.
AN UNEXPECTED CELEBRITY
DOWNTIME
Rumors spread that one of Kintargo’s most famous celebrities, Shensen, has secretly returned after finishing a long and complex mission abroad for the Firebrands. Shensen is delighted to learn about the upcoming production and fully intends to be at the premiere in disguise, as she’s wary about stealing even a tiny speck of limelight from the PCs. Fallenta, once she hears the rumors, approaches the PCs with the idea that having one of Kintargo’s most famous opera stars publicly attending the performance could only help, and she asks the PCs to seek out Shensen to extend a complimentary invitation to her.
Shensen is indeed trying to remain incognito. A PC can attempt to locate or contact her by spending a day spreading subtle rumors and working with messengers who can keep secrets. On a successful DC 30 Deception or DC 35 Diplomacy check, the PCs’ efforts are successful, and Shensen sends word that she’d love to sit and chat with the PCs at their earliest convenience; she suggests meeting at the opera house after dark but agrees to any other proposed meeting location the PCs might suggest.
MAGICAL ENHANCEMENTS
DOWNTIME
By this time, the mechanical aspects of the opera’s set and effects are mostly dialed in, and it’s time for the PCs to decide whether they’d like to incorporate magic. Even a little magical enhancement can go a long way. A PC can spend the day developing methods to bolster the presentation with a wide range of magic by attempting a DC 33 Arcana or Occultism check or a DC 36 Nature or Religion check to earn Victory Points. If the party can accumulate at least 4 Victory Points by the end of the week, the opera can move forward with the enhancements—doing so earns the PCs 1 Production Point. If the PCs can accumulate at least 8 Victory Points by the end of the week, increase this reward to 2 Production Points. Once the week ends, the crew’s focus must be on other parts of preproduction, and there’s no further time to pursue Magical Enhancements.
Helanora blends in with the crowd as Theresa finds a quick path to sneak around the cramped buildings of the High Quarter.
PAST THE WALL
An ancient wall divides Corentyn. While it’s mostly a relic of history and citizens can move freely between neighborhoods, the typical passages between the west and east halves of the city swarm with dottari. Scrambling over the walls or finding crumbling sections to knock down creates alternative paths.
Chase Points 3; Overcome DC 27 Athletics to scale the wall, DC 27 Crafting to demolish a crumbling wall section, DC 29 Deception or Stealth to evade the dottari’s notice
Since you got enough Chase Points after Helanora's and Theresa's rolls, I'll use Sesothos's and Taerine's for this challenge. Tearine can use her roll as Athletics instead of Stealth since that is a higher bonus. That gives her a critical success and earns you 2 Chase Points. One more is still needed to progress. It is now round 2 and everybody may roll to try to overcome this obstacle.
Bringing the goblin snake corpses back to Fernsby helps to prove that no actual goblins were involved in the vandalism of the town square, especially none for Stumpfield. You have increased the reputation of the Hellbreakers, and as thanks for uncovering the truth, the citizens reward you with a runestone with a +1 weapon potency rune and a lesser healing potion.
With a few big hits, the last skeleton is destroyed. You are able to collect the magical gear here, which includes a lance of sun's radiance, a dragonslayer's shield (poison), hero's plate, and a hunter's anthem bow.
This scene uses the chase subsystem as the PCs try to reach a safe house before dottari reinforcements reach them. Each round of this chase represents 1 minute. The dottari reinforcements appear at the first obstacle in the third round of the chase and advance automatically at the rate of one obstacle per round.
THROUGH HIGH QUARTER STREETS
Crowds and cramped streets provide ample cover as the you try to avoid the dottari. Those who notice the illicit shrines to gods other than Asmodeus can seek temporary sanctuary, though the caretakers will quickly turn them back out to the streets once the danger passes.
Chase Points 3; Overcome DC 25 Deception to blend in with the High Quarter crowds, DC 29 Religion to locate hidden shrines that offer temporary sanctuary, DC 27 Stealth to sneak around the cramped buildings
Taerine strikes the diabolist and shocks him with her rune, allowing Theresa to critically slice him from behind. Theresa slices him again before Sesotho and his thrall finish him off.
You only have a few moments to collect yourselves before you hear alarms begin to blare through the streets. Reinforcements are on their way! The masked halfling woman curses as she breaks the chains on the curator who seems quite shaken up. Both of them make a dash towards the gates, shoving the barricades out of the way to open them up. You have time to collect the diabolist's staff of control.
Back in the plaza, the other rioters have scattered and dispersed. The Hellknight yanks the spike out of her shoulder and staggers away as well. From a nearby alley, you hear a sharp whistle, and see a woman gesturing for you to follow her. "This place is compromised. It's no longer safe to stay here. Come with me if you want to live!"
"Of course! Blossomheart is a vast valley filled with endless beautiful gardens, inspiring artist studios, elegant amphitheaters, and many other types of venue to make or inspire art. The realm is open to anyone willing to show love and respect to those who dwell within it. I lived there for the past decade or so, studying divine magic and rituals under various azatas before homesickness brought me back to Golarion. I struck up a friendship with the high priest here in Kintargo, Zachrin Vhast, and it was through him that I met Fallenta."
When you arrive at the Opera House, Duvall shows off the adjustments that have been made there in the past few days. Beneath the stage, in the so-called "underworld," various stage mechanisms for scene changes and complex effects are being constructed. The props you commissioned for the Blade Witch are here as well, and they are of quite fine craftsmanship.
One of your sponsors has insisted that a new chandelier be installed in the main theater. The huge structure is suspended in the center of the hall, 40 feet above the lower seats and orchestra pit, but it hangs high enough that it doesn’t block the view from the box seats. Most of the rest of the Opera House remains as you remember it.
At the conclusion of the tour, Duvall turns to you. "As Fallenta said earlier, there's still a lot to do in these last few weeks before the premiere. The invitation list for the premiere must be finalized soon so they can be delivered on time. The stage crew needs help getting sets and rigging in place for technical rehearsals. The costume makers could also use some extra hands for needlework. Additionally, High Priest Vhast will provide a blessing for the production. Final rehearsals start on Toilday three weeks hence. The fourth and last week before the premiere are for dress rehearsals and promotions. There’s also a private dinner party with the sponsors the evening before the premiere. As producers, Fallenta suggests at least one of you should attend. It would be best if all of you did."
Duvall hands you a folder. "But let's start here. Inside this folder, you'll find a list of influential and important movers and shakers in Kintargo. We've set aside seats for sponsors, patrons of the arts, and other important individuals who might merit a complimentary invitation to the premiere. The problem arises from the simple fact that only two
dozen or so seats are available to give out for free. The task of looking over the list involves deciding who should receive a complimentary invitation, and while this task mainly falls to me to determine, I'd like you to help me with one problem in particular."
He points out one name on the list: Maestro Quendle Strikrunner. You recognize the maestro as the owner, composer, and prima donna of the Warius Opera House in Egorian, the capital city of Cheliax. "Maestro Strikrunner has made it known that she intends to attend the premiere and has implied that a complimentary seat would 'go a long way toward soothing certain ruffled feathers' in Cheliax. Her influence in Cheliax’s artistic circle is enormous, and a favorable review and reaction from her would be a vast boon for the opera’s longevity and critical success, but Fallenta has concerns over the maestro’s rumored ties with Cheliax’s queen and potential allegiance to House Thrune. While Fallenta has put her feelings aside, she doesn’t trust herself to make decisions about how to respond to Maestro Strikrunner’s request and has asked me to recruit you to compose an invitation to the potentially problematic foreign entertainer."
Strikrunner’s initial request is not only for a dozen seats (for herself and her entourage), but for the best dozen seats in the house. Simply giving in to this request doesn’t guarantee she’ll provide ongoing support for the opera, but it certainly angers and annoys Kintargo’s elite, who chafe at the implication that “the best seats in the house” have been, in effect, given to House Thrune. Fallenta hopes the PCs can work together to create a diplomatic invitation that minimizes the number of seats comped to Maestro Strikrunner in a way that doesn’t infuriate her.
Each PC can take part in the composition of the invitation via the following activity. The party has until the end of the week to complete this task, as tradition demands the invitation must be delivered with plenty of time for the recipient to hem and haw about whether or not they wish to accept—another example, Fallenta notes, of the ridiculous paperwork Cheliax’s high and mighty are so fond of.
A PC spends the day working on an invitation to Maestro Strikrunner then attempts one of the following checks to earn Victory Points. You need at least 6 Victory Points to make a passable invitation, or 11 to make an exemplary one. You can opt to seal and deliver the invitation at any point, should you decide that your time is better spent pursuing other tasks rather than chase the highest possible amount of points.
DC 33 Theater Lore to diplomatically cite the maestro’s contributions to plays and operas.
DC 36 Kintargo Lore to address the political complications of providing too many seats to someone from Cheliax.
DC 38 Diplomacy to help edit the final invitation to be worded perfectly.
DC 40 Society to use logic and appeal to her business sense about the problems that could arise from setting aside too many complimentary passes for too few movers and shakers.
DC 43 Crafting to ensure the calligraphy, envelope, and other physical elements of the invitation are properly extravagant.
Each day this week, you can also participate in the following activities if you are not pursuing the previous one:
Week 1 Secondary Tasks:
MORALE SUPPORT
DOWNTIME
A PC spends the day preparing meals and drinks for theactors and workers by attempting a DC 28 Crafting checkor a DC 28 Food or Drink Lore check. Alternatively, the PCcan provide entertainment for the actors and workers with a DC 28 Performance check. If the PCs accumulate at least seven critical successes by the end of the week, increased morale results in the earning of 1 Production Point.
PICKING UP THREADS
DOWNTIME
The tailors from the Silver Spindle (previously known as The Devil’s Threads) have been hired to take up the remaining costuming tasks left undone by Fenton’s abandonment of his duties, but without help, there’s no way they’ll be able to finish in time. A PC can pitch in for a day to help with the remaining tasks by attempting a DC 38 Crafting or a DC 40 Theater Lore check. If the PCs fail to do so at least three times this week, Fallenta is forced to hire additional help, and the PCs lose 2 Production Points.
STAGE TECHNICALITIES
DOWNTIME
There remains an almost overwhelming amount of miscellaneous jobs that must be completed as well as checked and double checked for quality control. A PC can spend the day helping with these tasks around the opera house with a DC 28 Acrobatics or Athletics check, or a DC 26 Engineering Lore check. If the PCs accumulate at least three critical successes with this activity by the end of the week, they gain 1 Production Point, but for each critical failure a PC gets, the setback costs 1 Production Point.
Fallenta greets you once you've had time to recover from your trip to Vyre. "Welcome back! It’s a relief to see you all and Oriole safe. Now, I have good news... in a sense. Oriole’s abduction sort of became sensational news while you were away. Your success and Oriole’s return made an enormous splash. As a result, everyone from noble to cobbler expects the performance of the decade once we premiere. And now that we’re only one month out, Hell Month has officially started! Oh, I don’t think I’ve been this nervous since my first libretto at the Ivy Playhouse! Time to dance in double time, triple time, and overtime. On with the show!"
Fallenta enumerates the challenges she faced while you were away, from hiring seamsters to replace Fenton (which strained the budget), to fretting over who gets box seat tickets, to several other unfortunate but ultimately minor incidents: sportlebore infestations, conflicts between the Abadarans and Kuthites, unruly teens “haunting” the alleys around the opera house, and more. Luckily, an unexpected visitor to Kintargo stepped up, volunteering his aid to Fallenta as an assistant director. At the mention of this visitor, Fallenta dreamily sighs, saying she’s eager to introduce him to you.
She leads you toward Aria Park. Soon after you enter the park, you spot a stunningly beautiful young man dressed in the seven-colored vestments of a Shelynite cleric sitting on a bench. As you approach, he stands, then bows gracefully as he greets you.
“Good morning, Director Fallenta, and to your friends. I am ready to help.”
Fallenta smiles broadly. "Friends, may I present Duvall Wolfsgeheul, just returned from an extended stay in the pastoral paradise of Nirvana!"
Duvall inclines his head. "Indeed. I dwelled within Shelyn's realm there, studying magic and the arts."
"Well, I will leave you in Duvall's capable hands," Fallenta says. "I'm off to make some last-minute arrangements with a small publisher who's agreed to print the opera's program. Ta-ta for now!" She bustles off.
Duvall turns back to you. "I am pleased to finally make your acquaintances. Fallenta has told me much about you. When you are ready, we can head to the Kintargo Opera House so I might show you the new features that have been recently installed there."
The priest has the troop take the hit from Gig's needle darts again. Brijetta shifts her aim to the soldiers, blasting them with a critical hit and sending a line of shards into their ranks and hitting the priest as well. The spectral guardian takes the hit for her and absorbs some of the damage from Uhe's arrows. Mal sweeps her horns through the mass of endings, finishing off the last soldiers and injuring the battlepriest despite the spectral guardian's waning protection.
Confused by Mal's blow to her head, the priest turns to Gig and fires a lance of divine power at him, missing by a wide margin!
The swarm of rocky critters scatters to evade Pen's fireball. Visna slices through them by the dozen with her axe, but enough remain to still pose a threat. Briar quickly dashes and clambers up the series of short cliffs to get up next to The Avalanche.
The Avalanche glows and spews forth a burst of molten rock at Briar! The earth monsters continue to batter Visna.
Briar takes 38 fire damage (basic Reflex DC 41). Creatures that fail their Reflex save are swept 15 feet away by the lava (30 feet on a critical failure). The lava cools almost instantly, allowing creatures to walk over its path immediately after resolving the effects of the disaster.
Visna takes 26, 20, and 23 bludgeoning damage (DC 41 basic Reflex for each one).
Alessandria burns up the most damaged skeleton and scorches the two others. Gentle Storm trips one of the two remaining foes and smashes it with his tail.
The tripped undead stands up and makes a broad swipe to rip into both Gentle Storm and Kilitsi. The other two skeletons each focus on Gentle Storm and Kilitsi, respectively. Kilitsi swings wildly, landing one hit on the prone skeleton, then Wispil shatters it with a wood blast before healing Gentle Storm.
Siobhan scorches the snake with a pair of fiery blasts, then Venti tumbles behind it and finishes it off with a confident thrust! Its multiple heads fall silent as it collapses to the ground and lies still.
The snakes' lair holds a pair of lesser soothing tonics.
Taerine's brutal strike kills the vordine in one hit! The devil falls and then vanishes as quickly as it appeared. The dottari diabolist's eyes widen, but he has little time to react before Theresa and Sesotho flank him and start slashing him multiple times. The holy ground burns him as well.
Meanwhile, Helanora impales the unfortunate Hellknight in the plaza with an ice spike, hurling her across the courtyard and into the wall of a nearby building, leaving the Hellknight groaning in agony and immobilized. Her horse whinnies and bolts, and the Hellknight struggles weakly against the skewer, seemingly disinclined to try to fight back.
The wounded diabolist raises as shield of force and then casts another spell, trying to paralyze Theresa. With his attention fully focused on you now, a masked halfling woman quietly drops down from the museum's rafters beside the museum's curator and works to undo his chains...
Theresa must attempt a DC 30 Will save against paralyze (5th rank so no bonus for incapacitation).
With Oriole secured, you can return to Kintargo. Fallenta and the rest of the cast and crew are relieved to see Oriole safe and sound. With only a few weeks to go until the show’s premiere, the Kintargo Opera House increasingly becomes a bustling hub of activity. The buzz about the show has been building in the your absence, and posters advertising the opera are all over town. You are often recognized and stopped for autographs as you go about your daily business. Your show's sponsors check in, delighted by your progress. It won't be long now before the big premiere!
End book 2! Everybody is now level 18! Everybody gains a Hero Point!
Siobhan scorches the snake with her flames. Early hits it with his pick while Poog scores a critical hit, leaving the mutlti-headed monster reeling! It manages to avoid Rhia's shoves and Venti's blade.
The hissing, yammering aberration bites at Rhia, its fangs finding gaps in her armor!
Iravallin manages to avoid the worst of the sunburst and whirling flames, but the cultists are completely incinerated, falling to the ground in smoldering heaps. At Takarias's urging, Raneshi and Takarias surge forward, stabbing and slicing at Iravallin. The elf groans as he goes down as well, but a moment later, a shadowy figure rises out from his broken body. Red eyes glow hatefully as the shadow demon that had been possessing him snarls with rage!
The demon slashes at Telvir with its claws as the spider demons on the nearby rooftop join the fight. Two fly over head and spew down acid and rubble upon you while the third lands behind Telvir to flank and attack him from behind.
Telvir takes a total of 14 cold, 14 spirit, 42 piercing, and 20 acid damage from the melee attacks. Raneshi and Telvir take 22 piercing and 22 acid damage (DC 30 basic Reflex save). Everybody else takes 22 piercing and 24 acid damage (DC 30 basic Reflex save).
Slabs of stone repurposed as crude worktables fill this space. Shattered stone tablets, fragments of broken statuary, and shards of glass cover every surface.
Six sedachties stand ready for battle in this chamber. Five of them wield tridents, while the sixth stands behind them with a staff topped by a disc emblazoned with the symbol of the Sihedron. They seem disinclined to acquiesce to your requests for parlay, as the staff-wielder thumps his weapon on the floor. "The relics here are unfit for mortals to wield. Our glorious Baolen must destroy them all! We will not let you impede his holy work!" the sedacthy shouts before ordering his followers to attack!
As you Tearine and Sesotho fly into the courtyard and Theresa teleports, the dottari diabolist points his staff at the museum's curator. Hellish chains spring into existence, and the curator cries out as they wrap around him and hold him tight. "I'll deal with you later," the dottari sneers, then turns towards Taerine and taps his staff on the ground. There is a burst of hellfire as a red-skinned infantry devil appears. The devil raises their trident and attacks Tearine.
Out in the plaza, a group of halflings has emerged from the surrounding streets. They chant about freedom from tyranny and sing revolutionary songs. A few moments later, a Hellknight rides into the plaza on horseback! Decked out in the armor of the Order of the Chain, she begins shouting commands for the crowd to disperse, beseeching all to return to order. None of the gathered protesters seem to be listening to her.
The only objects of value you find in the remaining chambers of the keep are in the baroness's closet. Her elaborate wardrobe contains two dozen royal outfits, complete with a collection of accompanying footgear, headdresses, scarves, and decorative shawls worth a total of 800 gp.
You have successfully overthrown the government of of the Drelev Demesne! Free of the baron's influence, the remaining guards who were loyal to him either flee or surrender. The citizens of the town welcome you as liberators, and the whole region is now ripe for annexation for your kingdom!
Everybody is now level 12! Everybody gains a Hero Point.
Pen is unsure what sort of strange creatures make up the swarm. The falling stars prove effective, smashing and burning several of the things. Visna misses with her first attack but hits with the second, carving through a swath of little pebblites.
As Briar climbs out of the ravine and moves towards The Avalanche, it unleashes its fury on the kholo, causing a large mass of rubble to erupt from the ground and fall on Briar! Meanwhile, the stone monsters swarm over Visna, biting her and and pinning her to the ground as they bounce up and down in a pummeling assault.
Briar takes 43 bludgeoning damage (DC 41 basic Reflex). Creatures that critically fail their save become trapped under this rubble as if it were an avalanche, except a creature can attempt to Escape from beneath the rubble (DC 40). Visna falls prone, takes 3 bludgeoning damage, and is restrained by the swarm until the end of the swarm's next turn (Escape DC 47). She then takes 30 bludgeoning damage (DC 41 basic Reflex).
Gentle Storm trips one of the skeletons before bashing it with his tail. Alessandria's flying flame scorches all but one of the skeletons. Wispil scores a critical hit with his blast, shattering the most damaged of the skeletons before healing Gentle Storm. Kilitsi sweeps her axe to hit two of the remaining foes.
The tripped undead stands up and makes a broad swipe to rip into both Gentle Storm and Kilitsi. The other two skeletons each focus on Gentle Storm and Kilitsi, respectively.
Melor shoots the forge again until it finally topples over and stops moving. The rest of you work together to dispatch the last enemy orc.
Now that the enemies have been defeated, you have a limited time to sort through and recover valuables. Your Haskodar allies are already signaling you to hurry, as One Eye reinforcements have been spotted.
You have two minutes to search before needing to leave. While you could try to stay longer, any additional gains they make here would be outweighed by the loss of life suffered by your Haskodar allies while holding the escape route.
Each minute, a PC can attempt one of the following activities to appraise and gather valuables. These activities can earn the PCs Victory Points to track their overall success. Within reason, a PC can also use abilities or cast a couple spells without impeding this search, at the GM’s discretion. If a PC has an ability that dramatically speeds up how quickly they can perform one of the tasks below (such as the Quick Identify or Quick Coercion skill feats), grant that PC a +2 circumstance bonus to the associated skill checks.
• Appraise Goods: The PC assesses the finished goods stored toward the front of the workshop. This requires a successful DC 21 Crafting check, a DC 22 Society check to scan the work logbooks for ideal loot, a DC 23 Perception check, or a DC 20 Lore check associated with manufacturing or trade. If a PC can detect magic, they can instead attempt a DC 22 Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion check to locate magical gear.
• Interrogate Captives: If the PCs captured any of the smiths alive, they can question their captives to learn what’s more valuable. This requires a successful DC 21 Intimidation check, a DC 22 Deception check, or a DC 24 Diplomacy check.
• Load Gear: The PC instead focuses on loading the loot for a speedy getaway, which might include creating improvised bags and slings for hefting heavy loads. This requires a successful DC 21 Hunting Lore check, DC 22 Crafting check, or a DC 23 Survival check. A PC can instead rely on their raw strength to carry as much as possible, attempting a DC 24 Athletics check; for every 2 Bulk the PC can carry before becoming encumbered, they gain a +1 circumstance bonus to this check.
Kaz zaps two of the cultists as their mantis snatches the third in its oversized claws. Jeni blasts the grabbed disciple and pummels the others with a crashing wave. Zenobius dispatches the grabbed foe with a critical hit before whirling and decapitating a second enemy with a deadly slice of his fauchard! Nadja finishes off the final cultist with her sabres.
Double doors exit this room to the west, while a single door stands to the south.
Each of the four cultists has a +1 machete and a moderate healing potion.
The hammering sounds stop following Batman's loud proclamation. Amid the silence, you can hear faint burbling voices and the sound of weapons being drawn from leather sheathes...
The remaining dottari quickly fall before your attacks. The rioters continue to celebrate loudly, moving into the square and chanting anit-establishment mantras. There is still the matter of the dottari commander menacing the museum curator beyond the barricaded gates.
The museum courtyard houses a replica section of the Arch of Aroden, though the raid has already damaged the feature’s beauty. Drag marks scar the once-kempt lawn, and chips mar the marble benches. Past the barricade of benches, you can see the robed diabolist advancing on the curator, who jerks the bundle of documents he is holding away from him. "Stay back! Somebody, help me!" he cries.
The barricade is barring the doors. It has Hardness 5 and 60 HP (BT 30). When broken, it becomes difficult terrain, and when destroyed, the terrain is cleared. A PC can deal 5d6 bludgeoning damage to it with a successful DC 27 Athletics check to Force Open or a Thievery check to Disable a Device, doubling damage on a critical success.
As the latch melts and the cage pops open, Oriole stirs drowsily. "Ugh... my head... You came to rescue me? Oh, my heroes!" They reach out to squeeze Cerulean's arm with a wan smile. Though groggy, they are physically unhurt.
"That bastard caught me off-guard in my dressing room. He wanted to steal my voice from me. What a cur! I am glad that you arrived when you did. I much prefer to be a damsel onstage to being one in real life."
Oriole's gear lies in a neat bundle, wrapped and tied in a cloth sheet stashed behind the chest under the desk. Atop the desk lie dozens of books, scrolls, and parchments with more details about Fenton’s sinister plans, but also among these books you can find a formula book for the teleportation circle ritual (which is worth 3,000 gp), as well as 4 Bulk in supplies for ritual casting and magical research worth a total of 4,500 gp.
The chest below the table is locked; it can be opened with one of the keys on Fenton’s key ring. Within are a dozen silk bags containing a total of 280 sp, 1,600 gp, and 1,300 pp, a greater maestro’s flute, a true elixir of life, and a mask of allure. Fenton's gear consists of a cloak of swiftness, +3 greater resilient raiment greater invisibility explorer's clothing, major staff of phantasms, wand of planar seal, wand of translocate (5th rank), and a +3 greater striking greater astral keen wounding war razor.
Once you are ready to proceed, you dive down to the bottom of the pool, where a submerged opening to a deeper passageway lies. The submerged hallway opens out into another, much smaller pool. Steps rise from the water to a pillared landing on the chamber’s northern arc. The sounds of chisels striking stone issue from an archway at the back of the balcony. Across from the submerged hall, also below the waterline, there is a dark shape in the wall that suggests the western passage once continued eastward through this area.
You make your way through the ossuary to the wall of skulls, each of which is labeled in Necril. The skulls remain inert until you reach for the skull of Algh-ahri, then several of them fly off the wall. Three demiliches rise up on swirling clouds of debris while the others form into a whirling swarm!
Cerulean lowers the cage holding Oriole while Esirelle heals Kharya. Timdok pummels Fenton's eidolon, leaving deep holes in its waxy facade and causing Fenton to groan and grimace from the shared pain. Kharya's explosion further wounds the eidolon and badly burns the mannequin, though she misses with her punch.
Fenton curses as he spits a gob of blood onto the floor. "Damn you! You may have thwarted my plans this time, but you haven't seen the last of me!"
The would-be tailor turns to flee, but an unsettling chill suddenly spreads through the room and the lights grow dim. Time seems to stop for everything in the room—with the exception of an eerie creaking sound, as one of the non-creature mannequins steps down from its stand. As it does so, it becomes swathed in striped garments, garish robes, and an unsettling mask: the manifestation of Father Skinsaw himself, the god Norgorber!
Father Skinsaw surveys the room, giving you a cursory glance before he focuses on Fenton. Shadows wreath him like a cloak, and the empty mouth of his mask curves up into a smile as he takes a bow before he addresses Fenton in a deep, mellifluous voice. “Well, this is a disappointment. You were so delightfully inventive, Fenton. A visionary, gone before his time—but no sense crying over spilled entrails, as they say. I’ll just be taking my due...”
He steps over to Fenton, reaches through his mask, and pulls out Fenton’s soul—a screaming, frightened, ghostly spirit. Fenton’s soul writhes for a few seconds, then is sucked into the soulfeeding mask his body wears. As Fenton’s body crumples to the floor, Father Skinsaw’s fingers close around the mask, which now glows softly and issues faint cries of torment in Fenton’s voice. Mask in hand, Father Skinsaw turns to regard you at last and speaks to you.
“I’ll be taking this. I trust you won’t object; it was dedicated to me, after all. I’d stay and chat, but I have much to attend to. What’s that phrase you theater types are fond of? Oh yes—the show must go on.”
Father Skinsaw bows once more, and just before one might expect him to straighten back up, the mannequin simply collapses, lifeless and inert. Norgorber and the soulfeeding mask are gone, and you can once again move. Fenton's eidolon melts into a puddle and vanishes while the other animated mannequin simply crumples to the ground and lies still.
As Poog starts shouting about the snake and Siobhan reaches out towards the overhang, the snake surges forward! As it draws near, you can see that this one is larger than the other snakes, and it has three goblin heads, all chattering and bickering in Goblin, yammering and sniping at one another. As it gets close, the three heads all burp and belch forth a cloud of nauseating vapor!
Non-goblin creatures within the cloud must succeed at a DC 20 Fortitude save or become sickened 1. On a critical failure, a creature is also slowed 1 for as long as it is sickened. Creatures that successfully save are immune for 24 hours.
Helanora unleashes a howling blizzard, wounding some of the mace-wielding dottari while taking out a whole swath of the crossbowmen. Tearine slices into the ones in melee before zapping one with her electric rune. Sesotho's thrall lands a hit before exploding, blasting the dottari with void energy. Theresa joins in the melee, slashing at the dottari from behind.
The rioters hurl more bricks at the crossbowmen, knocking out the last of their troop. They cheer and celebrate loudly!
Meanwhile, the entertainers on the rooftop stop launching fireworks. Several of their number rappel to the ground to capture and carry away a few of the surviving unconscious dottari.
The troop in melee continues to fight back against you, despite their depleted numbers.
The rebels in the alley cheer Helanora's words. "Down with the dottari! Down with the Archheathen!" they chant as they focus fully on your opponents. Helanora then slices into the troop of soldiers with her wind blast.
Tearine's rune drains some of the life force from the crossbowmen. Sesotho's thrall misses with its attack. Both Sesotho and Theresa evade the blasts of fireworks.
The alley rioters lob bricks and heavy objects at the crossbowmen while the performers on the roof launch more distracting fireworks which prove quite effective against the dottari.
The crossbowmen reload and fire again, shifting their aim to avoid their allies and only hitting Tearine since fewer members of the troop are still standing.
Stop Where You Are:4d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 5, 5) = 21
18 bludgeoning damage to Helanora and the thralls (DC 25 basic Reflex save). 21 piercing damage to Tearine (DC 25 basic Reflex save). On a failure, a creature also takes a –10-foot circumstance penalty to its Speeds for 1 round. On a critical failure, a creature also gains the immobilized condition (Escape DC 25).
Though Gentle Storm doesn't find any traps, he sees that the ground around the plinth has been disturbed recently, as if several creatures had emerged from it and then burrowed back down again.
Melor shoots the furnace, further damaging it, but Njinga is unable to land a good hit on it. Skaytar critically ignites one of the orcs before Caine takes him down with a spear thrust and dances away!
The forge tries to slam into Njinga with its red-hot door, hitting her once, while the last orc chases after Caine again, huffing and puffing as he closes the distance and swings his hammer. Caine swiftly sidesteps!
As Gig fires a barrage of needles at the warpriest, she shouts a quick command to the hryngar troop. They step in to intercept the attacks, several grunting in pain as the needles impale them instead of the priest. Brijetta hits the priest, though, wrapping her in molten wire. Uhe lands a hit on the priest with his bow and Mal transforms into a triceratops and gores her with her burning horns!
The hryngar priest calls the spiritual guardian to her side to protect her as she quickly heals herself and conjures a shield of force.
You bid farewell to Ishoran and continue on through the realm. Following Lahanatra's directions, you soon reach the place she told you about.
This clearing’s earth is disturbed, and the surrounding trees are dying. In the clearing’s center is the skeleton of an armored dragon slayer, with a bow slung across its shoulder and lance and shield raised high. The skeleton stands on a large plinth with a plaque that reads, "Retribution is inescapable."
Whatever is happening is beyond your understanding. As you approach the building, four glowing gold eyes blaze into existence in the smoke, moving forward without a body or legs to carry them. A monstrous red visage bleeds into air around them for just a moment, yellowed fangs twisting gruesomely out of its mouth before abruptly vanishing. Black sleeves billow around a crimson body, slipping into reality in torrents of cloth, as they leak rolling clouds of incense before collapsing into ash and blowing away in the wind. A few paces more, and the golden eyes wink out. The acrid smell of smoke remains, as do calls of help from the collapsing building beyond. It seems like the figure was performing some sort of ritual, but was likely little more than a figment created by the powerful magic afflicting the region.
As you enter the building, you take stock of the situation. Three people are trapped here, each one dealing with their own troubles:
A1. Aruka is a solidly built kitsune woman who was hauling logs when the ceiling fell all around her, knocking her to the ground and pinning her leg under a collapsed table. She struggles to free herself.
To Escape or Force Open the rubble, she or an adjacent PC must succeed at a DC 23 check. Alternatively, the rubble can be destroyed to free her (AC 15, hardness 10, HP 30 [BT 15]); if the rubble is broken, the DC for checks to Escape and Force Open drops to 18.
A2. Yu Er is a five-year-old girl who snuck into a loft in the rafters to play. When the building began to collapse, she fell through the loft floor but was lucky enough to fall into a mass of paper pulp on the ground and only suffered superficial scrapes. However, she’s quite distressed that her favorite doll, Mr. Jelly, remains hanging by its cape from a snapped bamboo pole protruding from the ceiling hole above. The doll is a straw-stuffed, six-limbed humanoid wearing a mask and a cape. One of Yu Er's parents is trying to collect her, but the girl resists, crying in fear and reaching up helplessly for Mr. Jelly.
Mr. Jelly is snagged at a height of 20 feet off the ground. The doll can potentially be knocked loose via a ranged attack against AC 24. If a ranged Strike hits, the attacker must then succeed at a DC 16 flat check to knock the doll loose; if the ranged Strike is a critical hit, it’s automatically knocked loose. Magical solutions like telekinetic projectile used to hurl the doll downward can automatically recover the doll. A PC can Climb up the crumbling wall using the loose supports to reach the doll with a successful DC 25 Athletics check, and an adjacent PC can pick up the doll automatically as an Interact action. Care must be taken when retrieving Mr. Jelly to avoid ripping his cape or some of his stuffing out—each time an attempt is made to retrieve the doll, the
creature making the attempt must succeed at a DC 22 Reflex save or Thievery check to avoid damaging the doll. Once the doll has been damaged, no further checks to avoid further damaging it are necessary—what’s torn is torn.
A3. Zhen Luoyang is a spry, elderly man. He was delivering a homemade lunch to his nephew (a particularly panicked young man in the crowd watching the disaster unfold) who works in the mill when chaos struck. When the building first began to collapse, a blast of debris showered down on him and left him senseless, but also buried him under a layer of crumbled plaster and dust.
In order to locate him while he remains buried, a PC must Search and succeed at a DC 20 Perception check while close to A3.
Complicating the rescue effort are two flickering humanoid shapes like the one you glimpsed outside. They stride purposefully across the ground, creating distortions in reality around it that cause wood to twist and decay. If left unchecked, you won't have long to rescue those inside the building before the whole thing collapses...
Each figure is a haunt. They begin at the spots marked A4. They can be attacked and damaged to destroy them, or you can attempt to Disable each haunt if you are within 30 feet of one with a DC 23 (expert) Intimidation to disrupt the haunt’s concentration and break the link to the mindscape, Religion DC 27 (expert) to banish the energy from the mindscape, or Occultism DC 30 (expert) to turn the haunt’s energy back against itself to cancel it out.
Cerulean's sticky mist clings to the invisible Fenton, outlining him enough that Esirelle can target him with a curse that temporarily ages him. He groans as his body becomes weaker and clumsier.
Timdok tumbles past Fenton's eidolon and punches it from behind, a solid blow that leaves it briefly disoriented. Kharya's explosion burns the eidolon and the wooden mannequin, and while the latter avoids some of the blast, its fire weakness ensures it is still badly damaged. She follows up with a powerful punch to the waxen eidolon.
Fenton glares at Timdok and his mask’s eyes and jaw open wide as clouds of darkness and shadow spill out and attempt to engulf the halfling! Meanwhile, the eidolon and mannequin continue to punch Kharya.
