Looks like Ferdrin gets a boon, which will be...
"Debt to Society".
Ferdrin, could you please DM me your e-mail address so that the organizers can send you the boon?
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Las: 1. No, just the Plane of Water.
Everyone: Almost forgot, you all get to make boon rolls!
Tsomo twists away from the spray of flame again, but Hildan connects with two solid thumps. The malenti collapses, gasping, "No... there are more..." He seems to be scanning for allies, but none come to help him as he loses consciousness. * * * Lileone soon catches up with you, pale but healed. "Good, you have him!" she says. "The guards intercepted some others on their way here. We'll get to the bottom of this now. I... may have been hasty in my judgement. Perhaps there was more to the expedition's failure than I realized." * * * After a search of Tsomo Qorra's offices and homes, evidence is found tying him directly to the mysterious purchases of cement and ironflame powder, and the sabotage of the expedition. He seems to have been working on behalf of a new sahuagin leader by the name of Baron Zendar. Zahra's good name is restored. She and Lileone join forces to try to fight the poison bloom, though as it sweeps past Vialesk it wreaks havoc
Even lying on the ground, Tsomo easily twists aside, only being singed by the flames. Andy knocks the sphere into the water, where it sinks out of sight. Unwilling to give up, Tsomo scrambles to his feet and tries to back away to spear range.
Blue drops bonelessly to the dock after meeting Hildan's fist. Hildan effortlessly follows up by slamming Tsomo to the ground. Even as Tsomo begins to gather himself and glare even more murderously at Hildan, Las's bolt strikes home.
Tsomo steps back and thrusts at Hildan with his spear as he hisses, "If I fall, others will seal your doom. You may as well die now!"
Tsomo's spear bounces off of Hildan, leaving no damage.
Ferdrin's cold ray brushes past the nearest shark, which seems to wriggle in irritation. Las's bolt whizzes past Tsomo uselessly. Hildan's charge gets him past the wicked-looking spear, but Tsomo just laughs and steps aside, ungrappled. Blue snarls and runs up to aid Tsomo against Hildan.
Tsomo laughs at Ecthelien's missiles and runs lightly around the dock toward Hildan. He stops a few lengths from the oread, and tosses one more metal orb to the dock behind Hildan. Then he waits, brandishing a multi-pointed spear.
GM screen:
Deep in the water, where the first sphere sank, there seems to be a brief flash of light and flame.
Blue swings its crossbow around toward Hildan.
But Hildan's magical armor protects him.
The ball clatters to the deck just beside Tsomo. Blue staggers under the effect of Ferdrin's missiles, but remains standing. Tsomo looks at the ball next to him in horror for a moment before it explodes!
GM screen:
Tsomo expertly jumps aside to avoid the worst of it, while the end of the dock is consumed by flames. He dances through the resulting conflagration and runs around the far side of the dock.
Tsomo gracefully twists aside as Las's bolt goes by. Blue tries another shot at Ferdrin, confident that it has its eye in now.
This time it scores a solid hit. The sharks swirl impatiently in the water...
Hildan's foot connects solidly and Red slumps, unconscious.
Tsomo barely flinches at the two missiles, while Red shivers at the ray of frost. Tsomo then moves forward smoothly and flings another sphere, which rolls to a stop at Andy's feet. GM screen:
Red wobbles and falls to the dock with a look of fishy surprise.
Blue adjusts its position and also tries taking a shot at Ferdrin.
This one barely grazes him. Meanwhile, the sharks wait in the water for any potential victims that might come their way.
Hildan kicks the sphere expertly in the direction of the shark; it plops into the water right next to the shark and sinks into the depths. Red fires a crossbow bolt at Ferdrin...
...or in his general direction, to no effect.
Ferdrin's ray barely passes near Red, but Ecthelien's fire comes close enough to scorch it...
...a little. GM screen:
Tsomo runs along one of the projecting docks, and hurls a small gray sphere to the other one, where it lands with a thunk and rolls to a stop.
Undaunted, or maybe even attracted, by Andy's singing, the third shark edges closer.
Tsomo swims wide around the submersible as Hildan pushes it into his path, and frantically moves toward the docks. The Pathfinders chase him down a passage to a circular dock. Here a gate can open to allow ships to enter and leave, and rollers to the north can let a ship be pulled onto dry land. "My friends! To me! The Pathfinders..." Tsomo begins, but looks back to see the party moving up behind him. Hastily he takes up a defensive position.
In the space enclosed by the dock, you can see sharks swimming toward you. Sharks: Knowledge (Nature) DC 11:
These are jigsaw sharks. For every 5 by which you exceeded the DC, you can ask one question. Sahuagin: Knowledge (Local) DC 12:
These are more run-of-the-mill than the specialized sahuagin you fought earlier. For every 5 by which you exceeded the DC, you can ask one question. Tsomo: Knowledge (Local) DC 14:
Tsomo is one of those highly mutated sahuagin Razethka warned you about, the malenti! For every 5 by which you exceeded the DC, you can ask one question.
You don't lose from not catching up with Tsomo-- even with 6 active players the odds would be pretty small. (Especially as, depending on how prior events work out, he can start up to 4 spaces ahead.) In fact, it looks like we have enough rolls to determine the final result, so back to the gameplay thread...
With the crowd distracted by the show, and the other Pathfinders running into the middle of it, Hildan attempts to thread his way through quietly and gain on Tsomo.
Though Ecthelien manages a masterful ride on one of the dolphins, Tsomo gains a little on the party as a whole. ===Engineering Bay=== Tsomo follows the waterway to a huge, water-filled chamber holding submersibles for rent, not unlike the ones you saw at Yuka's workshop. Knowledge (Engineering) DC 18:
You use the pincers mounted on a nearby submersible to reach out and harry Tsomo. Disable Device DC 20 or Strength DC 13:
You are able to move one of the submersibles to block Tsomo's way. Cast any lightning-based spell of 1st level or higher: Using a submersible to attract the electricity, you are able to force Tsomo out of the water briefly.
Poked and prodded by the rest of the party, the squid receives Andy's request poorly, and is left spluttering about the utter rudeness of air breathers as everyone races after Tsomo. ===A Masterful Performance=== Here a group of marketplace performers are putting on a show with trained dolphins and penguins. DC 20 Handle Animal or wild empathy:
You can command the dolphins to grab at Tsomo. DC 16 Ride:
You can grab hold of a dolphin and speed toward Tsomo along a waterway. Maneuver vs. CMD 22:
You manage collar Tsomo with one of the hoops for a moment.
Hildan and Las force Tsomo to swerve and dodge as he seeks a new route to the docks. ===An Obtrusive Customer== An awakened giant squid, laden with brightly colored parcels, blocks everyone's way as it peruses the stalls here. Diplomacy DC 19:
You are able to ask the squid to grab Tsomo as he runs by. Knowledge (Nature) DC 18:
You force the squid to squirt ink at Tsomo. Attack (of any kind) vs. AC 20: You are able to poke the squid in the eye and make it drop its packages on Tsomo.
Thanks to Ferdrin and Hildan's efforts, Tsomo is unable to gain any advantage on the party, but neither is the party able to catch up.
===Gondolier's Canal=== Tsomo attempts to dart between the two halves of a movable bridge that has been raised to let gondolas pass through. DC 18 Swim:
You are able to block Tsomo's path and force him to go around you. DC 16 Knowledge (Engineering):
You are able to lower the bridge and force Tsomo to take another path. DC 18 Acrobatics: You take advantage of a trio of passing tojanidas, using them as platforms to move ahead and cut Tsomo off.
Hey folks. This is an FYI that I'm going to be away on a camping trip this weekend Nov2-3 (US/Pacific time), and unable to post until I return on the evening of the 3rd. Please bot as necessary. Thanks for the heads-up. Have a nice trip!
Lileone's wound closes under the healing power of the wand. Though still pale and weak, she nods at Ecthlien in thanks. "Now-- don't let him escape." As Tsomo sees he is being pursued, he dives into a part of Vialesk's great market criscrossed by waterways...
You spot Tsomo diving into the market's animal tanks. Nearby sharks move as if commanded to cover his escape. Handle Animal DC 16 or Wild Empathy:
You convince an ill-tempered leopard seal nearby to swim up and bite Tsomo's leg. Combat maneuver vs. CMD 18:
You grab a cluster of jellyfish and get close enough to fling them into Tsomo's eyes. Ranged attack vs. AC 16, dealing at least 10 points of damage, multiple hits can count toward the damage:
You are able to shatter a glass tank of piranhas and spill the hazardous fish into Tsomo's path.
Hildan spots another impending leak for the guards to repair, while Andy and Las shore up two more.
All three of them, plus Ferdrin, converge on the last two spots and are able to temporarily stop the damage. The Glass Pit has been stabilized in time, and the local merchants are muttering about why no one did anything about the leaks until now.
As evening falls and the party is accepting congratulations from the residents and guards, you hear Lileone call out, "Guards! That man-- aughhh!" Rushing to the sound of her voice, you find Lileone mortally wounded and a figure running off toward the city marketplace. "Catch him," Lileone gasps. "Tsomo Qorra... he's the one..."
Las is able to find and shore up another site of sabotage with the assistance of the city guard, while Andy's theatrics are finally able to convince the locals that something is up.
Ecthelien is unable to spot anything, but Hildan is able to pinpoint a leak on the second pass and direct helpers from the city guard to it. The residents of the Glass Pit continue to ignore Ferdrin.
Ecthelien is unable to help convince the locals or find any of the damage at this time.
At the first location, Las finds that the explosion has already happened and the wall around the Glass Pit is badly cracked. Making use of some of the debris, he is able to arrange a barrier that will hold the water back until the wall can be fully repaired. Meanwhile, Lileone's eyes widen as Andy shows her the map. "And you don't know who is responsible yet? But never mind, this is enough for now. I'll alert the city guard."
Ferdrin's pleas to the locals fall on deaf ears, while Hildan is unable to spot the sabotage in the location he has chosen.
On searching the warehouse and further examination of the map, Las's hunch proves to be correct. The ironflame powder appears to be the main ingredient in an explosive, with the cement used to direct the explosion. If the Glass Pit is weakened enough, it will flood with water, causing a massive steam explosion and destroying that entire neighborhood. If all the locations have been sabotaged, it may happen very soon. (The hollow bars have no apparent use in bomb making, but Andy notes that they make a distinctive clanging when banged together that might match the sound said to have happened before the attack on the caravan.)
As Las strikes it and Ecthelien's last missile hits home, the last sahuagin collapses.
If they are searched while unconscious: Black had a masterwork harpoon, a potion of cure light wounds, a potion of air breathing, and 50' of silk rope.
Red and Blue both carried potions of air breathing, potions of cure moderate wounds, feather tokens (anchor), thieves' tools, masterwork tridents, daggers, masterwork underwater heavy crossbows, and a combined total of 37 remaining regular bolts, 5 human bane bolts, 5 elf bane bolts, and 6 merfolk bane bolts. All three also carry mysterious hollow iron bars, and maps of part of Vialesk around its massive forge, the Glass Pit. Around the Pit, eight locations are marked with notes indicating something has been placed there.
Red is completely helpless against Hildan's assault, while Blue collapses under the hail of missiles.
Both remaining sahuagin are stung by missiles, while Blue endures a solid hit from Las's whip. Red drops its crossbow and advances on Hildan, wielding its trident.
Red hardly seems to be able to look more annoyed as Ecthelien's missiles land true...
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