King Tytarian, Lord of Ashpeak's page

Not sure that a Barbie doll has quite the right aesthetic for a rune giant.

I fail to see your point.

Some of us are quite glamorous.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

As usual, everyone may act.

The battle continues to rage, but takes a decisive turn in your favor with the arrival of the dragon. Many of the Eyebiters begin to rout - though the larger groups remain for now.

Vashta eyes the wolf in front of her, and with a single, swift blow she stabs into the beast. The amplified pain from her withering gaze is more than enough to drop it.

Dizzy remains dead.

As the orcs flee, Grishmar turns to shout at his panicking underlings:

Orc "Fools! Cowards! If you run from this battle, I'll hunt you down and-"

At that moment, Umlo's spear, Heartspit stabs directly through the orc's helm and through his eyesocket, killing him instantly. Blood and brain matter are thrown asunder when the dwarf brings the barbed weapon back out of his opponent's skull... Grishmar is undoubtedly dead.

Spinning about, he strikes twice at the Skald but only manages to destroy two of his images...

Argea steps away from the fray, massively increasing in size and power. The power of Torag flows through her now gigantic form, and she manages to crush a fleeing wolf as it passes her.

Uriah dashes forward, channeling the healing power of Irori, master of body and mind. His mere touch is enough to breathe life back into Dizzy, who remains in considerable pain but her wounds have closed and more importantly, she is no longer deceased...

Finally, Trevil summons a desiccating bitter cold. It instantly devours several orcs, wolves, and an ogre, but the Skald, his mount, and the armored bull remain standing. Grishmar's corpse is flash frozen but no capable of being any deader.

In response to the sudden freezing onslaught, the "bull" steps backwards, and unleashes a torrent of noxious, green smoke - which surrounds all of you, as well as the Skald and his rhinoceros. To your horror (as well as his), the Skald begins to petrify. As his body turns to stone, he relinquishes his raging chant to try and force back the effect - but to no avail. His beast calls out in panic, but too succumbs to the same fate.

Common"No! Not like this! No! Gorum give me... the strength..."

The Skald and his mount are now statues.

Everyone must make a DC25! Fort Save or be turned to stone.

What remains of the Eyebiters gather in large groups, staying well away from Trevil's walls and quite focused on Naximarra. Despite their fear, they draw shortbows and begin pelting the dragon with arrows - dozens of them get through, cause the injured dragon to roar in pain.

Common"BUUUUURN... ALL OF YOU WILL BE ASHES!"

And then Naximarra unleashes a gout of dragonfire that consumes at least half the orcs, the others running away in absolute panic (many of which on fire). The hideous flames even catch the "bull", which groans in pain as its armor is heated to red-hot. It's clearly not long for this world.

Entranced by the fire, the Shaman Apgriga ushers her crow familiar to escape away, drops her spear, and walks into Naximarra's flames - and is immediately consumed.

The troops have been broken, Grishmar is dead, his mount barely alive. The Skald is a statue and so is his mount. On the other hand, many of you may be statues...

What do you do?

Initiative: Turn 4
Dizzy: 34
Umlo: 21
Argea: 19
Uriah: 19
Trevil: 15
Grishmar & Bonerender: 14
Krake & Gutsplitter: 14
Apgriga: 14
Wolves: 14
Eyebiter Warriors: 14
Eyebiter Troops: 14
Ogrekin: 14
Ogres: 14
Naximarra: 14
Vashta: 13

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

Combat has begun in earnest. Everyone may act.

Dizzy returns her foe's savage onslaught with a series of swift but crippling blows - but despite striking her enemy twice vitally, her blade seems to fail to pierce his skin as deeply. Its as though the general's body is made of iron hard scales one would expect from demonkind, not an orc.

Barely slowed, the general grins a fiendish smile exposing a mouth full of hideous fangs. He raises his weapon over his head to drive a killing blow - and an eighteen foot long spike of pure iron explodes from the ground beside him, brutally impaling the orc. Though his supernaturally toughened hide slows it, the sheer force of the attack cannot be turned aside by either armor or hide. Slick with his own blood, but eyes still glowing with abyssal flame, Grishmar pulls himself from the spike and snarls though his own blood pours from his mouth... throwing his head back he screams into the sky:

Orc "Glorious! Today we die! Fight for Gorum!"

Then he turns back to Dizzy - who has just come to terms with the situation. He swings again - the same overwhelming, driving blow from before. His greatsword smashes her blade aside, shatters her arcane shield and cuts deep into the woman's flesh. Again, the demonic runes pulse with fiendish flame, and sear her body with negative energy. Additionally, she feels an unholy terror tear into her mind - perhaps in her last moments alive...

First attack is a 41, hits for 65 damage (5 bleed but you're already bleeding) and a DC20 Fort save vs. fear (the -4 penalty applies here). If she somehow manages to make it through that, he attacks again with a 45 to hit and 35 damage. If she survives that, he'll make 2 more attacks and miss, and then make his bite attack (not included, I assume she's dead).

The other Eyebiters are quick to respond. Grishmar's faithful mount charges straight towards Argea, but she slips deftly between its horns and manages not to get impaled. The Skald drives his shaggy mount forward, and the rhinoceros charges Trevil with impossible haste. A bladed horn impales him - passing through the shimmering mist and his other defenses.

Rhinoceros beats Trevil's AC and the miss chance. 40 damage.

Both the rhinoceros and Skald provoke from Umlo. There's also a wolf who will provoke as well, if he has combat reflexes.

The Skald instead casts defensively, a series of orc runes appearing above his head before he slams his armored gauntlets against his chest, creating a terrible reverberations that explodes through Trevil, Umlo, Uriah, and Vashta. The thunderclap nearly deafens you, draws blood from your noses and ears, and threatens to throw you to the ground.

25 points of sonic damage to each and all are knocked prone. A DC20 Fort save halves the damage to 12 and negates the prone condition.

The Skald turns his gaze directly to Umlo, and challenges him:

Common"Fight me, slagbeard - if you dare! Or will you crawl into a hole to hide like the Dwarves of Janderhoff - what good that did them."

It's clear he's baiting you, but perhaps effective nonetheless...

And that's when the savage tide of Eyebiters rush in. The tribe's shaman too rushes forward, ahead of the rest, and unleashes a beam of pure flame at Trevil - but the shot goes wide. Her tattoos ignite as she does this, and her eyes burn like embers.

As for the rest, the wolves dash forward with speed usual to their kind, howling at the prospect of a hunt. The orcs charge forward yelling battle cries and whooping in excitement, while the ogres and their brood dash at impossible speed to flank you...

You're about to be overwhelmed, though not necessarily beaten, when a small red-brown eagle takes flight from her branch. As she flies, her body returns to its original shape - the shape of an enormous red dragon, covered from tail to snout in long red spines. She screams in utter fury and indigence, her words blurring into a feral roar:

Common"WORMS! FILTH! INSECTS! YOU WASTE OUR TIME AND NOW YOU SHALL PERISH IN FLAME!"

Her mouth begins to fill with dragonfire as she swoops over the assembled army.

They panic. Orcs, ogres, ogrekin, and wolves all begin to flee in utter terror in every direction. Though you know yourselves to be far more deadly than even a potent red dragon, apparently the orcs have simply more fear for wyrms than humanoids such as yourselves. And while a shiver may run through your spines at the awesome display, it is clear that the dragon's wrath is not aimed at you.

What do you do?

Initiative: Turn 3
Dizzy: 34
Umlo: 21
Argea: 19
Uriah: 19
Trevil: 15
Grishmar & Bonerender: 14
Krake & Gutsplitter: 14
Apgriga: 14
Wolves: 14
Eyebiter Warriors: 14
Eyebiter Troops: 14
Ogrekin: 14
Ogres: 14
Naximarra: 14
Vashta: 13

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

Having double checked Dizzy's character sheet, I don't see any abilities that would raise her AC enough or allow her to avoid the attack, but I could easily be wrong. I'm moving forward under the assumption the attack hits, we'll retcon (again) if needed. This is brutal, so I don't want to be wrong.

For a moment, only a moment, it seems that Dizzy has weathered the tremendous blow. But to her horror, Grishmar keeps pushing with impossible force against her arcane shield. Abyssal runes ignite into black flame along his enormous blade, and even her strongest defense cannot stop his onslaught.

Orc "Or not."

Breaking her guard, Grishmar pushes on his blade with one hand on the handle and the other on the edge and chops down down into the woman savagely. He cuts to bone, and as he does black fire washes over the woman, bursting old wounds back open and filling her body with pure agony. Blood gushes from her open wounds, and as her eyes meet the smouldering, demonic orbs that have become his eyes the orc screams in her face with such fury that shakes her to her core. And then her body begins to lock up as her muscles and joints are overwhelmed with pain.

65 points of damage, 5 bleed, Dizzy is shaken for 5 rounds (duration doesn't stack with her current shaken condition), and must make a DC20 Fort Save or become paralyzed for 1 round (the -2 penalty on saves applies here).

Orc "Submit!"

Everyone may act except Vashta, who has done so already. Unless she has a way to dodge the attack, Dizzy is in a world of pain.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

And it begins, all the words drowned out for cold steel and cunning spellcraft. The duel has begun.

No more intimidating from either side - nobody is paying enough attention anymore.

Dizzy reacts with impossible speed - hurling a crackling orb of blinding light towards her foe, which explodes in a shower of tiny, glowing motes. They cling to the hulking orc's form, clearly illuminating him and negating any advantage his invisibility would have provided. Despite the terrible flash that nearly stuns many of the onlookers, Grishmar charges forward without losing a step.

Normally, you'd not expect such a heavily armored creature to make the distance in a few short seconds, but the General moves at magically alacritous speed. As he hurls himself forward, the juggernaut raises his terrible greatsword overhead in what can only be described as a brutal but unsophisticated form. Dizzy attempts to dodge away from his mighty swing but he breaks past her guard savagely.

This assumes that Dizzy uses her Spell Shield ability, in which case the attack is not a hit. If for some reason she cannot (and doesn't have an ability I'm unaware of), the attack is a hit and I'll need to roll damage.

But where her blade fails her, the swordwoman's arcane defense kicks in. A powerful ward of force blocks the blow - but the impact is so tremendous there's a thunderclap as the greatsword strikes her magical shield.

Though she cannot see his eyes, Dizzy can hear the pure, bestial fury in Grishmar's voice. He's delighted.

Orc "Impressive!"

But even as he speaks, he recoils and prepares to unleash a full onslaught on Dizzy - yet in this time she has plenty of opportunity to make her move at the now unguarded orc. Based merely on his attack style, Dizzy has little doubt he's all offense and little defense, but there's something strange about him. As though he channels some terrible force beyond his own viciousness...

Everyone may act, but if anyone other than Dizzy intercedes directly there is a chance the orcs will just attack in force. All parties have acted already, so no one is flatfooted.

Initiative: Turn 2
Dizzy: 34
Umlo: 21
Argea: 19
Uriah: 19
Trevil: 15
Grishmar: 14
Vashta: 13

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

When Umlo makes his threats to Grishmar, the others can't see the orc's reaction but they hear the irritation and distraction in his voice:

Orc "You'll have your turn, dwarf."

Umlo has the privilege of seeing his words get deep under the champion's skin... not fear, but annoyance and splitting his attention between his current combat and wanting to rip out the dwarf's tongue for his insolence. Orcs are easy to manipulate in that fashion, even more so than giants...

Dizzy takes the initiative, exponentially faster than her opponent. Though she can't see her enemy, the sound of his clanking platemail is easily detectable - though not necessarily enough to pinpoint without some effort DC32 perception check to pinpoint his square at any time - you currently know what square he is in because he hasn't moved..

As the skald continues his song, he begins to include a number of verses graphically describing the butchering and far worse of a rather infamous massacre of a dwarven hold. The orcs been to laugh and cheer at the lyrics, which they find hilarious Umlo is affected by the intimidate action, and shaken for 4 turns. I imagine he's shaking with rage and not thinking clearly, not actually afraid (though it is a fear effect as normal)..

Worse yet, the seething crowds of orcs begin to specifically target Dizzy - with jeers, vulgar comments, and threats. Though she knows she could mow them down, the constant noise is enough to distract the duelist. Dizzy is affected by the intimidate action, and shaken for 2 turns. I see it as her concentration being broken, and not fear (though it is a fear effect as normal)..

None of the orcs seem to care about your preparatory actions, though you imagine that directly interfering would very much cause at the least a massive uproar. And there's at least a hundred eyes on the fight...

Everyone may act, but if anyone other than Dizzy intercedes directly there is a chance the orcs will just attack in force. All parties have acted already, so no one is flatfooted.

Initiative: Turn 1
Dizzy: 34
Umlo: 21
Trevil: 15
Grishmar: 14
Vashta: 13
Argea: ?
Uriah: ?

Argea and Uriah still need to roll initiative. You may position yourselves anywhere above the red line and between the blue lines.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

General Grishmar dismounts his steed, and enters the arena. He hefts his blade in one hand, grasping his unholy symbol in the other and utters a fervent prayer to his god:

Orc "I will bathe in blood and breathe in iron. Where there is no conflict, I will create it. Where there are skirmishes, I will make war."

He then chants a few mystical words, and disappears completely from view.

His companion, still mounted on his rhinoceros, barks out a set of arcane words, which then shift into a ferocious and infectious war chant. All the Eyebiters, save for the Shaman, begin to chant along and bang their weapons against their shields and armor to thunderous effect. Dizzy is offered this bloodthirsty boon Raging song, you may choose to accept or reject it. Without excepting it, you don't know the full effects - but it gives a bonus to STR, CON, will saves, penalty to AC, and you can't caste spells or concentrate.

The tempo hits its full, thunderous peak and without missing a beat, the half-orc skald screams:

Orc "Now! FIGHT!"

Everyone roll for initiative. Currently only Dizzy is in combat, but everyone may act (though interference that is noticed will have consequences obviously).

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

The orc hordes watch nervously as you continue to negotiate with their leader. Grishmar remains supremely confident. He and his second exchange a look, before he speaks:

"Make your choice, heroes. Indecisiveness does not look good on you."

He hefts his massive blade, whilst his mount adjusts its footing slightly and snorts angrily.

When asked about the rules of the duel, the half-orc nods. He speaks with a surprisingly refined tone which clashes with his savage appearance.

"Fight afoot, no mounts or pets, no assistance or interference save for a spell cast by both combatants and one of their allies at the beginning. The spell must be a boon bestowed on the combatant only. I will provide Gorum's favor upon both combatants equally throughout. Neither fighter may leave the 100' x 100' arena. This is a test of martial strength, trickery or cowardly tactics will not be tolerated. If you agree to this, name your fighter and we will draw out the fighting grounds."

He scrutinizes you intensely, almost as a hawk its prey.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

Grishmar listens to Dizzy eagerly, whilst the orcs behind him shuffle about awkwardly. The half-orc atop the rhinoceros appears to be his second in command, and silently appraises those of you he can see. But then the general speaks, his voice booming:

"Yes, we could simply go each our own way. But this meeting must be the will of the gods. We could simply do battle. Maybe I bring what remains of you to the Storm Tyrant, maybe you kill us. Either way, Gorum will be pleased. But I have another option, if you are interested."

He pauses for effect, and then guides his mount a few steps closer.

"One of you face me, in single combat. If you win, we abandon the giants and fight for you. If you lose... one of you promises to be my consort for a year and to bear me a child that I can raise as a warrior. To live with the blood of both a legendary Giantslayer and a champion of Urgir flowing in their veins. Of course, you have other problems right now, but once you defeat the giants you will meet me in Urgir as promised. The fight is to either surrender, defeat, or death. Though I imagine any slain you can bring back with your powerful magics."

You're not quite sure what the orc's intentions are, but they appear to be brutally straightforward. But as you would expect from a fanatical follower of Gorum, he has little interest in leaving without testing himself against such legendary warriors as yourselves.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

You don't wait much longer.

In the meantime, Trevil notices that the cave could be collapsed but it would likely take tremendous force to do, and the mouth is quite wide - between 50-60 ft. across in most places An engineering check will tell you more.

And then General Grishmar and his retinue arrive.

A small army of orcs backs him up - perhaps a hundred. About half carry the markings of the Eyebiter Tribe, the rest are unmarked or carry insignias of other orcish clans. All pay deference to their leader.

The General is an enormous orc, nearly seven feet tall and made all the taller by his black metal fullplate, covered in wicked barbs and spines. His helm is shaped like a circular maw surrounded by fangs and sports a pair of forward facing bull-like horns also wrought of the same metal. A tattered green cloak falls down his back, and he carries a blade more appropriate for a fire giant than an orc. On his chest he proudly displays an adamantine and iron symbol of Gorum. Despite his fearsome armaments and stature, Grishmar has a shockingly handsome face and piercing black eyes.

He rides astride a bull like creature, armored the same as he. Long, vicious blades have been affixed to the mounts horns, and from underneath a stylized helm the monster seems to snort tiny streams of sickly green smoke.

Behind him rides a half-orc, also in heavy armor but wielding a flail and shield. The half-orc sits astride an enormous wholly rhinoceros, barded with dried humanoid hides and metal studs. This beast's mighty horn is adorned with a savage cutting edge.

For a second, they just stare at Dizzy and Trevil.

Then Grishmar speaks, his voice filled with magnetic confidence.

"Are you really the Heroes of Trunau?"

He doesn't sound threatening or aggressive. More like a fan meeting a celebrity, disbelieving they share the same air.

What do you do? If you choose to attack, only those the orcs are unaware of will get a surprise round, and only then if they initiate it.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

About two minutes pass before the crow returns, alighting on his mistress's shoulder. The two converse in bird tongue a moment, and then the elderly woman speaks:

"The General says he will meet with you, but must make himself ready... as a champion of Gorum, it would be shameful to speak without his armor. He thanks you for your patience."

She frowns, and moves closer to Dizzy, perhaps too close and whispers to her:

"I do not think he intends to negotiate. I think he wishes to lower your guard and attack. He has shown no one such civility, in my experience. But if you can satisfy his ravenous ego, perhaps he will listen."

The woman then steps back and watches Dizzy closely.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

At Trevil's sudden (partial) appearance, the orcs startle and wheel, but do not charge. If they were on edge before, they're now a hair's breadth from attacking.

Though surprised, the shaman isn't nearly as shaken. She grins, showing about half her teeth are missing.

"A story from long ago, in a different life. I had a human mate and many sons and daughters, but those times have passed."

To Trevil she shrugs:

"General Grishmar, champion of Urgir and warchief of the Eyebiter tribe. As far as I know, his only liege is the Lord in Iron. Our warchiefs gathered to the Storm Tyrant's banner for the attack, but I doubt they hold any real loyalty to him. Merely an admiration for sheer strength of arms. But you may speak to him directly, soon hopefully."

DC10 Knowledge (religion) tells you that the Lord in Iron is another name for Gorum, god of war and popular deity among orcs (but not exclusively).

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

Dizzy suddenly and without warning walks nonchalantly into the orc encampment. The Eyebiters are just as surprised as her allies, at first jumping up and scrambling for their weapons until they realize the woman is alone. And then their alarm turns to amusement and no small amount of snickering. The largest of the orcs, a tattooed and supremely muscular woman wielding a serrated falcion, steps forward to meet Dizzy.

"I don't see any friends of yours. What's a pretty thing like you doing alone at night in such dangerous terr-"

There is a sudden and audible thwack as the haft of the shaman's longspear strikes the leering orc on the back of her head. The gnarled woman steps forward, and you recognize her familiar to be a crow, now perched on her shoulder. The gnarled crone still carries the impressive strength of her ancestry, though atrophied over a life at least double the expectancy of her peers. At first you think she too has tattoos, but a second glance confirms them to be branding scars in arcane patterns. You also recognize that she wears a charred bone unholy symbol of Sezelrian (the Orc deity of fire and magic) around her neck. She speaks, her voice deep and raspy as though she had inhaled some.

"Silence, fool! Do you not recognize this woman? This is the she-devil Dizzy, Hero of Trunau and giant-slayer. She'd cut you down before you take another step."

Sullen and rubbing her head, the hulking orc warrior steps back. The others keep their weapons at hand, but fear has spread through their ranks. Except for the ogre family, who are both leering and drooling out of what you hope is just hunger. The orc shaman steps closer, still holding her 10 ft. spear but by no means menacing you.

"You could have killed us without a thought, so I am in your debt Fire-Hair. I'm sure you know that if our positions were switched, my companions would not offer you the same kindness. We are not all Eyebiters. I am from the Burning Skull tribe, though most of my kin were killed in the attack on Trunau. But if I may ask, why do you need us to move? We've not harmed anyone from this position for two weeks now. And you say something about bad things happening here soon?"

She strokes her bristly, white whiskers thoughtfully as the crow perched on her stares at you with eyes that belie far more intelligence than you'd expect from an animal.

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

When requested to join the group, Naximarra nods and prepares to cast her signature beast shape spell. Then Dizzy asks her question, and the wyrm stops, almost stunned...

"How... what... are you actually serious? You've seen me change, several times..."

Recovering herself somewhat, the dragon snaps back at the woman in response to the suggestion that she needs "protection".

"Keep me safe?! Idiotic! I am a dragon - I am no helpless lamb, I am the savage hunger of the lioness. If anything, I'll keep you safe."

Her vanity allows no less. But she softens at the end, as Naximarra knows she genuinely needs your help.

And then with an arcane word, a gesture, and a flash of arcane runes Naximarra is an eagle again. You know that in this form she can no longer speak, but she's also much harder to detect.

As there's no way you can fail these DCs, I'm just going to give you the info and move on.

You approach the entrance of Wyvern's Maw, only to find it not as uninhabited as you'd first hoped. A score or so creatures have made a rudimentary camp in the entrance, mostly a collection of bedrolls and furs around a crude fire pit.

There are a total of ten orcs, nine brutes armed with falcions, axes and the like. The tenth is an elderly, gnarled crone with very long spear and garb that paints her as the tribe shaman. Sitting atop her polearm is what appears to be some kind of dark feathered corvid, possibly a crow or raven. The creature watches over the scene below impassively.

Among the orcs lounge five common Varisian brown wolves, gnawing on bones and gristle. The orcs treat them as pets, and the canines seem to share the affection.

Farther back in the entrance you spot two ogres and three ogrekin, whose deformed features seem almost too familial. All have crude weapons and armor, and wear unseemly if not grotesque fetishes.

None of what you seems to be in any way a match for you, but you've recently learned appearances can be dangerously deceiving (well Trevil did anyway).

You recognize the symbols scrawled onto the creatures shields, banners, and armor denoting them as the Eyebiter Tribe. Made up of outcasts that other clans deemed too savage, sadistic or insane even for orcs, the Eyebiters are notorious for their cruelty and willingness to prey on other orcs.

Supposedly they were formed by an orc champion known as Grishmar the Cruel, who took his earnings from the fighting pits in Urgir and began to gather an army for unknown reasons. You do know that the Eyebiter Tribe took part in the most recent failed siege of Trunau, so these may be the survivors.

You also notice that the Eyebiters have captured a trio of fellow orcs, and leave them hanging bound from poles with sacks over their heads. You don't know why.

What do you do? You're not discovered or at risk of discovery unless you move closer, but will need to do so to gain any further information...

Wyvern's Maw: Night Two

Sorry for the delay folks, work has been wicked busy.

Uriah visits the Denerias, and partway through their conversation Vashta arrives to make her final preparations and say any goodbyes. She catches the man up on the situation and the plan to ambush the cloud giants. The others also return to town as needed, before reconvening at the Barterstones with the increasingly impatient Naximarra. After some discussion and an emotional goodbye, Ingrahild stays behind in case of further danger to Trunau and to try and ferret out any lingering agents of the Storm Tyrant. She also pledges Trevil to to do as much research as possible into her comrades strange condition as possible.

Though you are hardly gone for long, it's clear the red dragon is having a hard time suppressing her annoyance...

"Are we good now? We don't have all night. And who is that with the wings, you smell familiar... you were at the giant camps at Skirgaard, weren't you?" she practically snarls.

Her temper melts into almost embarrassment as the proud wyrm adds quietly:

"You may... climb onto my back. This once. And you dare not speak of this to anyone, or I'll burn your bones to cinders!"

You've never seen Naximarra so defeated. But you imagine she only offers this out of pure self-preservation, meaning she's genuinely afraid.

Trunau: Night Two

Naximarra stares at you for a while, her ferocious gaze moving between each of you. Then she snorts, and agrees:

"You have done well, my... allies... this is a good plan. We should make haste to this place soon, to prepare our trap. If you must, finish any business in town and then we shall go."

It's clear that the wyrm loathes to admit that she needs you and that you've proved yourselves capable, but not nearly as much as she loathes to speak her next statement. Begrudgingly, she offers:

"My wings are faster manifold than your feet. I would be willing to... ferry you to our shared destination... so long as we never speak of it ever again."

The great red brute watches over you impatiently, almost anxiously, looking for an answer.

Trunau: Night Two

You make your preparations in what remains of the day, before heading out to the Barter Stones. You wait for about an hour and a half, as the sun slowly dips beyond the horizon, painting the landscape in fiery reds and oranges. Eventually, the last light of day disappears, and night falls to the accompaniment of chirping insects. With the darkness comes chilling winds, and the distant howls of night predators.

About another hour later, a familiar red and gold eagle comes swooping down towards you. You spot the polymorphed Naximarra in time get any short term spells off also, meeting her fully prepared in case her savage nature gets the better of her.

Before she lands, Naximarra warps and reforms into a huge red dragon. All of you an experienced warriors and have fought several of her kind, yet the sheer ferocity of the dragon keeps you on edge. Still, Naximarra keeps her fury in check. She sniffs the air, peers at you with luminous golden eyes, and then speaks:

"What is your plan?"

She waits almost anxiously for your answer. Trevil can see that she makes note of his presence and Fulk's absence, but does not speak of it.

At some point, everyone notices that Trevil and Ingrahild have been quietly conversing away from you for a considerable amount of time. It's clear she feels isolated, but Ingrahild always felt least comfortable around the tiefling...

It doesn't help that soon after escaping, Ulmo felt compelled to return to the Old Cistern and disappeared as the others did.

Otherwise, you only need to finalize your plans and prepare to meet Naximarra this evening.

Knowledge (dungeoneering) or (geography) to locate a suitable cave system. You already know about Uskeroth's Tomb, but it's close to town.

Ingrahild looks at Trevil uncomfortably, and then as best she can relays the events of the past day and a half, as well as the plans for the future. She only barely fights off her stammer, though whether that is due to being shaken by recent events or innate shyness is hard to say. Still, she's clearly happy to see the tiefling back with the group. Only if pushed does Ingrahild describe the effects at the Old Cistern, which none of her fellow party members seem to remember the same way she does...

Chief Defender Halgra of the Blackened Blades corrects Umlo:

"I'm keeping Fulk with me. Should the be another attack on Trunau, and I expect it to be only a matter of time until there is, we need a great warrior. He has volunteered for this duty, as he'll have more luck running down giants on the field of battle than sneaking through tunnels and giant fortresses."

She rests her hand on that powerful half-orc, who will certainly prove instrumental in protecting your home. You can sleep a little more lightly knowing that Fulk and his hulking mount are well suited for this task.

Trunau: Day Two

Five hours after the Heroes of Trunau entered the old Cistern building, they return victorious. Juliac has fled town, and the rest of the Sczarni follow suit soon after. None but Ingrahild retain any knowledge of their desperate fight, nor the mysterious mage. When she emphatically demands that you return to the building for the sake of evidence, you find no proof of anything more than a small scale criminal operation now cleared out. Eventually, an exasperated Ingrahild gives up trying to convince you otherwise.

Only Umlo feels a tinge lingering of hatred and rage that he cannot explain...

You do discover a tunnel at the bottom of the now dry well that leads into Uskeroth's Tomb, which the Sczarni were using for their operations. You amend this vulnerability to the town's defenses.

You also have the opportunity to heal your wounds and any other damages from the fight with the Sczarni. You also give your report to the council that the threat has been neutralized, a sullen Ingrahild silent in the corner.

It is now mid-afternoon, and you are promised to meet the dragon Naximarra at the barterstones once the sun sets. According to her, the dragon hunters should arrive in Trunau the next day. You'll need to plan to ambush them, and deprive the Storm Tyrant of powerful agents and perhaps even learn more of this new weapon he has deployed.

What do you do?

Pad300 will set in once they have their character figured out.

Trunau: Day Two

All: For the moment, it appears combat is over. This isn't a traditional loss for the party, but as far as I am aware all of the conscious PCs are currently under the effect of either charm or dominate. We have a couple of options moving forward, more on the discussion thread (as to not derail the IC thread.

Argea: The first command that Argea is given is to stabilize Vashta (via the stabilize spell, or her lowest level cure wounds spell and in that order). I'd assume this does not provoke a second save.

Vashta: Unless there is a significant intervention, Vashta is stabilized in 3 rounds, which does not give her time to bleed out. You should still roll 2 attempts to stabilize just to see if you lose HP.

The battle is over. Their skills honed against the raging strength of giants, the Heroes of Trunau could not stand against the insidious power of mental command.

Ingrahild looks around, disoriented but quickly realizing that her friends are under the influence of your enemy. Out of options and needing to make a quick decision, the woman quickly casts a spell without giving up her guard. She reaches out and touches both Argea and Umlo before disappearing.

Argea cannot be willing to be Dimension Door'd, and I'll leave it up to Umlo whether he goes with Ingrahild or not.

Though wearing an illusion of Fulk's skin, the "Mage", the creature brings to press its dominance over the remaining creatures. After giving a command to Argea to staunch Vashta's wounds, then quickly gathers the survivors. This completed, it commands Dizzy to dimension door Argea and Vashta to the bottom of the well. It will then also dimension door Fulk and Umlo (if he's still there) down to the bottom of the well as well.

"Come friends, I have something to show you..."

This is assuming that we go ahead with the playing things as is (options 1 or 2).

Initiative: Combat over
Dizzy: 29 (dominated)
Umlo: 27 (charmed)
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20 (dominated)
Vashta: 18 (unconscious)
Ingrahild: 16 (escaped)
Fulk: 4 (charmed)

The Sczarni Spies: Round 9

All: With no actions from Dizzy, I'm going to NPC her for this round, based on the instructions given to her by the "Mage".

Dizzy: With no one attack the "Mage" meaning Fulk anymore, Dizzy just readies to defend him. I think that's the fairest resolution of her turn.

Umlo: We'll say that Umlo was able to make his sudden outburst before the charm effect took over, especially with the roll being so close.

Additionally, it appears you took two standard actions in the same turn (casting cure critical wounds and true seeing), so unless I'm missing something (and I may be) you should only have a move and swift action left for this turn. I'm going to apply the CCW to Ingrahild once she got breath of life'd so it isn't wasted, and technically you could have done it anyway unless you dropped the charge.

Vashta: As far as I can tell, you only get one parry. If you have combat reflexes or another way of getting AoO's (and therefore parrys) let me know as well as rolling them to see if you can stop the other two attacks.

The battle is not over- not by far. And now Umlo too has succumbed. One by one, the party falls to the will of the "Mage". How long until the others are overwhelmed?

Following her orders, Dizzy spins her wicked blade and prepares for more threats towards her companion, but otherwise takes no action.

Umlo's eyes are opened to the true nature of your insidious foe, but a powerful ward carved into its very flesh compels him to treat the monster as his trusted friend... all feelings of hatred for the creature pushed back into the recesses of his mind.

Argea breathes life back into Ingrahild, who wakes and gasps to life. Confused, anguished, and terrified, the dwarven woman doesn't even attempt to stand - just does her best to defend herself while scooting slowly closer to her brother... still, she clears her throat (spitting up still fresh blood) and begins her chant, this time with some gurgling Everyone gets toughness and mobility again

Realizing that she must prove herself to be the true Vashta, Vashta vanishes into thin air and reappears on the balcony beside her pretender - ready to defend herself and give back twice as much.

Making a decision, Fulk fires a volley of powerful arrows at what he believes to be a monster impersonating his friend. Yet a better combatant in melee than archery, none of his shots connect.

The hardened Sczarni takes a swift step backward, dropping her dagger and handcrossbow to the ground. She instead unwraps her scarf from her neck and wields it as though it were a weapon. She then channels her mind against Argea and just barely manages to unravel her angelic form, stripping her of her celestial wings and divine protections. Worse yet, Argea stands above the treacherous lip of the well, and with poor luck may fall in...Argea must make a DC10 acrobatics check or fall into the well. I've already rolled to 50% to see which side she fell in.

She then levies her gaze on the closest victim, hoping to allow her master to overpower their mind...

All: Depending on whether Argea falls or not, Juliac will either focus her gaze on Argea (if she does not fall) or Ingrahild (if she does fall). Whoever is affected by the gaze takes a -3 to Will Saves, attack rolls, intimidate DC and opposed sense motive checks.

Still sitting nearly motionless above the well, the projection of the "Mage" begins to glow, eyes and tattoos again aflame. This time, it focuses its power on Argea, who has been stripped of her wings and celestial protections.

The sudden appearance of a heavily battered and bleeding Vashta seems to do nothing for the archer who has taken her form. The creature simply reposition out of her reach, drops its bow, and lashes out with long, tendril-like arms. The first Argea manages to knock aside with her blade, but is unable to return the favor due to the distance. The second blow slams into her waist, smashing the arrow shaft deeper into her gut 28 points of damage, I believe with the Toughness bonus HP that puts Vashta to exactly 0, but I could be wrong. before making a securing a crushing grip around her abdomen Vashta is grappled. Though the creature takes her appearance, Vashta sees through the ruse. She can feel its suckers latch onto her flesh, they do not drain her blood, not yet.

Cliffhanger

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 8

All: Since Umlo fulfills the conditions of Juliac's readied action, she will take it- attacking the unconscious Ingrahild with her knife.

Umlo charges forward, casting a powerful healing spell in defiance of the Mage's telepathic orders. But before he can reach his sister, Juliac makes good on her master's threat- slashing her blade across Ingrahild's throat. A geyser of hot blood sprays out on her brother- and the dwarven woman's eyes pop open and meet Umlo's only for a second before rolling back into her head.

Ingrahild is dead.

The Sczarni Spies: Round 8

All: Since Fulk is still size large so I've created a square to show his actual space- but without succeeding against the DC23 illusion effect on him you still believe him to be medium sized (and the Mage)

Argea: Sorry, got the turns wrong. You wallop Fulk, and beat the illusion DC. You know there's an illusion spell on Fulk, but you don't piece the disguise. You know that you're hitting a size large humanoid creature- but otherwise aren't aware of what they are under the disguise.

Fulk: I'm assuming you moved 5 ft. back so drawing your bow and firing it provoke from Vashta, who would take both attacks. Also, I've rolled a Will Save vs. the illusion spell on the Mage (who currently looks like you) to see if you pierce the disguise. Unfortunately, you fail.

Vashta: I've rolled a Will Save for Vashta because she interacted with Fulk. You succeed with a 30, and know that you are attacking a size large creature humanoid creature. Possibly the Mage, but possibly Fulk? Regardless, you are no longer under the compulsion.

The tide seems to finally be turning against your slippery foe. Only Fulk and Vashta remain enthralled. But Ingrahild still hangs on the precipice of death- what will be the cost of victory?

Laying in an ever-increasing pool of her own blood, Ingrahild's innate dwarven toughness would have staved off her own death- were it not for her savagely hemorrhaging wounds... -7 hp of -15, 3 bleed.

Dizzy remains a vigilante sentinel, and when Vashta attempts to assail Fulk she does her best to disarm her friend- but Vashta is the better swordswoman and easily parries the attempt. Yet the single-minded Varisian forgoes an opportunity for riposte and instead focuses all of her fury on the half-orc, disguised as the Mage...

Fueled by desperate fury, Umlo lashes out with Heartspit- and true to the weapon's name, it pieces his target's heart- or whatever equivalent the aberration has in it's place. A gout of blue-purple blood sprays in a ten foot arc as his weapon pieces the creature- and as he drags it back through the creature's flesh the barbs badly mangle the monster. The brute is dead before it hits the floor... nothing short of divine intervention can save it.

Argea charges forward on furious wings, and swings her powerful warhammer into the "Mage", only to realize that the creature is not quite what it appears to be... some sort of giant perhaps?

Vashta lashes out at her own friend, driven by a powerful compulsion and deceived by treacherous illusion. Even as he screams out silently in pain, she skewers him again and again- coating her blade in half-orc blood...

Deeply confused and torn, Fulk takes a step backwards from Vashta (who just injured him for seemingly no reason at all) and draws his massive hornbow. He notches and looses an arrow - which reduces back down to normal size the second it leaves his grasp. He can feel a sense of terrible distraction in the back of his mind, but even without it his shaft would have still missed. The shot buries itself in the makeshift cover of boxes and barrels on the balcony...

Having dispatched Ingrahild, Juliac grabs the dwarven woman by her hair and drags her slowly backwards- leaving a line of blood on the floor as she goes. Having moved outside the range of the silence, she pulls Ingrahild up by her hair and places her wicked blade against her throat...

The faceless archer above reacts to Fulk's arrow and cries out in protest- in perfect mimicry of Vashta's voice (despite still looking like a monster):

"Fulk! It's me, Vashta! That down there is the monster, not me! They're trying to trick you- and it's trying to kill you! Let me help!"

The creature gets a 33 to bluff. Vashta can make an opposed diplomacy check to try and convince Fulk that she's the real Vashta.

"Vashta" then looses a trio of arrows- the first pieces the woman just below the collar bone. The second pieces her stomach directly above the navel to agonizing effect. Despite the overwhelming pain, she still manages to duck out of the way of the third shot47! damage. Pretty sure Vashta has already used her immediate action for a dodge. If she can dodge, the critical hit still hits and confirms (two 20's).

As the creature stands there, the archer suddenly shifts appearance- whether this is a disguise being applied or an illusion pierced he cannot say (with no knowledge of the arcane). But now Vashta stands both on the balcony and before him...

"Fulk" turns back to the door and closes it, likely preparing to lock it as well...

The ruse continues, ultimately becoming a battle centered on which side Fulk chooses- his true friends, or the "friend" that overshadows his mind...

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 7

Vashta: Due to the magical silence, no one can hear you speak. Unless they have lip reading, they'll need to make a DC20 linguistics check to understand you (only if they're within 10 ft.)

Fulk: Due to the magical silence, no one can hear you speak. Unless they have lip reading, they'll need to make a DC20 linguistics check to understand you (only if they're within 10 ft.)

Umlo: Without litany of vengeance, against DR/5, and a sudden burst of temporary HP, the faceless stalker is actually still up. Since it's my mistake, I will still let them drop it's grapple on Argea.

The party stalls for time in order to suss out who is friend and who is enemy, but this may not be time that they have to spare... your enemies certainly don't offer you the same kindness.

The sudden inaudible void hits Ingrahild harder than the others. Her war chant is immediately snuffed from existence, and all of her magic relies on sound. Trying to keep her calm, the dwarven woman runs towards what she believes to be her only means of egress that doesn't involve retreat. Unfortunately, the invisible Juliac remains in her way- and Ingrahild slams into the invisible woman, rebounding with the same force. In equal parts confusion and instinct, Ingrahild swings out with her trusty axe- and despite the wildness of her blow, the weapon connects with the surprised Juliac's exposed arm, blood dripping onto the floor from apparently nowhere.

Following the Mage's orders, Dizzy interposes herself between Vashta and Fulk (who appears to be the Mage).

Umlo drops his ancestral weapon and brings his massive metal fist to bear. Realizing that the silence would negate his prayer of fury, he forgoes it and simply lays into his enemy. His first blow staggers but does not drop the monster- but creates an opening. The enraged dwarf punches with such force at the faceless brute the impact reverberates throughout it's whole form. Despite the monster's inherent resistance to such attacks it nevertheless begins to collapse under the second blow- dropping it's grasp on Argea. But a quick glance from Juliac seems to pull the monster back up on invisible strings, like a puppet- and your foe still stands, though it's movements are even more unnatural, like a limp marionette on taut cords...

Taking advantage of her foe's temporary weakness, Argea escapes and struggles to get out of the silence, with intention to call upon Torag's intervention and rid herself of all her wounds. She pushes between the space between the desk and well, but it is too narrow for her armor and takes some work to push past. Nonetheless, she escapes the oppressive lack of all sound.

Vashta moves towards the Mage (actually Fulk), only to have Dizzy stand in her way. Nonetheless, her actions seem to satisfy the compulsion in her brain, and like a terrible itch now scratched, the demand is sated and her mind her own again. Unfortunately- the other compulsion to kill the Mage at disregard to all other threats now takes over...

Fulk speaks to his friends (without success due to the silence)- only to realize that some sort of battle seems to be still taking place- though not visible to his eye. The only enemy he can see is the faceless brute with a longbow up on the second floor, firing arrows at Argea.

Juliac in turn swiftly draws a curved dagger and strikes back at Ingrahild with brutal efficiency- the dwarven woman simply cannot defend herself against an invisible foe. And as the blade digs into her flesh, Umlo can see a familiar flash of amethyst light in the woman's eyes as his sister is staggered by a sudden bout of pain.

The creature that was facing off with him slips backwards into a flanking position with his already beleaguered sister. Ignoring Umlo entirely, the creature already invisible attacks the vulnerable Ingrahild from behind. It's first blow simply flings wide- a misjudgement or due to its awkward movements is hard to say. But the monster then takes both limbs and wraps them around her neck from behind- crushing her throat in like was done to Argea. As Ingrahild fights for breath, you see Juliac's eyes alight with fire again- and this is enough to drop your sister to the ground, spraying blood. Unlike before, the faceless brute simply drops her from his grasp and turns back to you Ingrahild is down, at -4 hp of -15, with 3 bleed.

The other brute- now armed with a bow, opens fire with a salvo of arrows against Argea, but her masterful armor blocks all but one, which itself is turned partially aside by her divine protection 6 piercing damage after DR 5/evil.

"Fulk" moves towards the door, making as though he was shouting into the silence, but you cannot hear anything. The towering orc plants himself in front of the exit, apparently make sure that no one can escape.

Having not moved an inch during this whole skirmish, the image of the Mage again flashes with arcane light from across it's runic tattoos- the same light that still burns in it's eyes, and unleashes a very real enchantment on the remaining unaffected heroes.

This is the endgame. Can the Mage pull off his (improvised) master plan? Will this treacherous illusionist be the end of the Heroes of Trunau? Or can the intrepid heroes unmask this villain for who he truly is?

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 6

Apologies on the delay, I've had to wrap my mind around what is becoming an increasingly complex encounter. I also misjudged the strength of the "Mage" and I have made a few errors in the combat itself. Normally I go with a policy of "hands off the chess piece", but I also have a policy of "favor the players" and in this case it wins out. In regards to hp that shouldn't have been lost, I've rectified it below:

Argea: Argea gets back 22 hp. Any hp past her maximum is gained as temporary hp (which lasts until the end of the encounter).

Umlo: Umlo gets back 6 hp. Any hp past his maximum is gained as temporary hp (which lasts until the end of the encounter).

Dizzy: Dizzy gets back 15 hp. Any hp past her maximum is gained as temporary hp (which lasts until the end of the encounter).

For better or worse, the battle is quickly coming to an end. The PC's have regained their footing, and will be reunited much sooner than expected...

Ingrahild steps further into the room, and weaves her song into yet another powerful boon, this time a boon of celerity haste for herself, Umlo, Vashta, and and Argea. She continues her rhythmic chant, and hefts her dwarven axe more for her own comfort than the threat it brings. But without the ability to see invisible foes, she doesn't actually see any opponents.

"Where, where are they?"

Still enthralled by the Mage, Dizzy remains faithfully by his side- waiting for her next orders.

Umlo staggers backwards, stabbing wildly at his now visible foe. Only one thrust strikes true- but it strikes deep, viciously wounding the brutish creature. Still, the monster does not fall- but you imagine another blow or two of that caliber would fell it.

Argea swings her blessed hammer with reckless abandon, but manages to connect only with the air. She's not even sure that she's swinging in the right direction.

Vashta dashes to the side of the well, dropping down her magical rope- which begins to snake its way downward, slithering effortlessly through the illusion of water down into the unseen depths...

Fulk remains by the side of his newfound friend, still somewhat confused on his new condition.

Visible only to Umlo, the Sczarni boss takes aim with her hand crossbow- but apparently misses. The bolt immediately becomes visible, sticking into the ground just in front of Argea's feet DC 51 sense motive to realize she did this intentionally. Simultaneously, all noise simply vanishes from the room- as if all sound had simply been removed entirely Unfortunately, this also means that Ingrahild's war chant and discordant voice are no longer in effect. Spells and abilities with verbal components automatically fail, and you cannot hear anything. Juliac then reloads her hand crossbow and steps a bit closer to her daughter- but her gaze alights back on Umlo -3 penalty to will saves, attacks, sense motive and intimidate DC. Argea is no longer affected.

The fled aberration appears from atop the balcony above, a fine longbow in hand. It draws back an arrow and unleashes it at Umlo before he can react- but his stoutly built dwarven armor reflects the shot without issue. One of the giant nails is chipped, but is otherwise no worse for ware.

The other, invisible creature goes after Argea again. It's tight grip on her slackens- but only for a moment. It then grabs her neck with both arms, squeezing the life out of her- a horrific sensation made all the worse by the fact that the woman cannot see it and that the suckers on its hands continue to greedily drink her blood. Sadly, as it grabs her exposed neck, her armor does little to interfere Fortification sadly failed this time. 49 points of damage, and 1 point of CON damage. She is also grappled.

And then something completely unexpected happens. Dizzy, enlarged Fulk, and the smirking Mage simply appear in the room. The Mage could be another illusion- they could all be illusions for all you know. But the hovering image above the well remains unfazed.

Any creature that interacts with either "Fulk" or the "Mage" may make a DC23 Will Save (vs. illusion). Interaction is generally physical interaction or anything else that might betray the nature of the illusion. On a failure, they completely believe the creature to be as it appears (including touch, smell, etc.) If they succeed, they recognize that the illusion for what it is but not the identity of the creature obscured by the illusion.

Finally, your true foe shows his face, though not his true face. But will his gambit to turn the party against each other succeed?

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 4

Vashta: I hope you're keeping track of Vashta's HP, because I'm almost certain it isn't 48.

Vashta: As the alien influence is purged from your mind, you feel a second and perhaps more insidious compulsion sprout in your mind, threatening to take root.

The confusion continues. But secrets are both revealed and kept.

Ingrahild suddenly realizes Vashta's strange actions were due to outside influence- and stares deep into the woman's eyes for just a second. Vashta can see something in the dwarven woman's gaze but Ingrahild blinks away before she can quite analyze it. Was it fear? Concern? Something else? Regardless, the scholarly woman reaches out and touches Vashta's most vicious wounds while weaving a powerful restorative spell with her words. A sudden warmth replaces much of the pain in Vashta's body 35 damage healed, bleed negated. Without missing a beat, Ingrahild turns the last words of her spell into the beginning of her war chant, rising anew Everyone gains the Toughness and Mobility Feats, and everyone within 30 feet gains +1d6 sonic damage on melee and ranged attacks that take place within 30 feet of Ingrahild. Additionally, Ingrahild will use Saving Finale if needed. The woman gruffly adds:

"Don't die, Vashta."

Dizzy continues her controlled descent, reaching the bottom of the well, now standing beside both Fulk and the Mage, though she's fairly certain their identities as switched... and unable to communicate this to her allies to due the Mage's iron grip on her mind.

Realizing this new threat is beyond his sight, Umlo calls upon Torag to give him the ability to see the unseen. His deity answers- and Umlo immediately is able to see both the invisible brute as well as the crime boss. They know he can see them also...

Argea's freeing of Vashta was a powerful shift in the tide of the battle. Torag has little patience for tyranny, much less those who impose it upon the mind.

Vashta is freed from one fell influence only to be immediately assaulted by another- should she succumb, it would prevent her from casting her spell.

Fulk remains below with his newfound friend, though bizarrely he now looks like the Mage. Is this what his new friend meant by lifting a curse? Obviously, a good friend wouldn't lie to him...

A sudden and unexpected feeling of distraction, self-doubt, and vulnerability washes over Argea whilst leaving Umlo as he was before.

You now have a -3 penalty to will Saves, attack rolls, sense motive and intimidate DC's.

The Mage- watching the scenario unfold impassively begins to weave another enchantment, his glowing eyes attempting to burrow deep into Argea...

DC22 Will Save or Dominate Person.

Above you, the clearly mortally wounded stalker does its bed to hide behind a series of crates and barrels DC32 perception to locate

The other, realizing that Umlo was no longer "vulnerable" - a stretch of the word - turns instead against Argea. With incredible speed, it brings a limb crushingly down on her leg, dropping the woman to a knee. But the force of its blow actually throws the monster off balance, causing its other attack to miss its target entirely. Yet due to its impossible celerity, it manages to strike out again with the errant appendage- slamming into the back of her head with vicious force. Each time she feels the pain, a spike of agony explodes in her mind 73! points of damage, 3 bleed. Worse yet, the tendril-like limbs wrap around her lower leg and neck- exposing her flesh to the voracious suckers which begin to drain her of blood 1 point of CON damage, don't forget to decease current and max HP

With a third of the party still in thrall of the hidden puppetmaster, and his compelled minions still striking hard against them, the Heroes of Trunau are in an extremely difficult position - but they've also discovered an extremely potent counter to the Mage's greatest weapon. But can they take the fight to him and free their comrades from his mental yoke?

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

Hi, friendly GM here. Super sorry about the delay, especially considering the circumstances.

The Sczarni Spies: Round 4

Vashta: Technically, you can only move to the door and close it. This turn you can lock it.

Dizzy: Let's go with you still have your sword on the weapon cord. Move to retrieve it.

As the mage continues to assert his mental influence on the party, the Heroes of Trunau continue to be too divided and distracted to mount a successful offensive.

Ingrahild appears suddenly outside the building, trying to fight through the pain. She weaves a curative spell and closes many of her wounds, before returning to singing her military chant. The dwarf then steps to the door- just as Vashta closes it. Surprised, she opens the unlocked door and looks at Vashta with confusion:

"Vashta, what are you doing...? What if you need to retreat?"

Dizzy dashes forward, her feet not touching the ground. With perfect agility, she dives down the well- passing through the illusionary water without any resistance. What she sees is most bizarre- two identical Fulks.

With indomitable fury, Umlo makes a trio of swift spear strikes, but only the first and most measured manages to dig even deeper into the lanky brute before him. As he withdraws the weapon, yet more blood pours from the wound. It's clear that the monster is barely standing under its own weight- and looks around for an avenue of retreat.

But then Umlo feels a weakness, a buzzing at the back of his mind- a distraction that cuts through his resolve like a terrible blade. Moments later, a shimmering missile simply appears from mid-air and explodes over both he and Argea DC 18 Will Save or be blinded. Covered in sparkling particles regardless of save. Umlo includes penalty below.

Umlo: You have a -3 penalty on will saves, attack rolls, sense motive, and intimidate DC.

The visible monster pulls away from Umlo as he is hit by the blinding blast full withdraw action. With prowess born from either incredible skill or incredible desperation, the semi-humanoid creature charges towards the balcony and leaps into the air. With help of its suckered limbs, it barely catches the bottom of the second floor and pulls itself up and over the barrier. It then shuffles into a hiding position. Whether this is a full retreat or just a temporary respite is hard to say, but Umlo left it incredibly wounded...

On the other hand, the invisible brute is not so quick to give in. Moments after the explosion of light surrounds him, a tendril slams around his throat. It pulls in hard, squeezing his neck- while a simultaneous pang of agonizing pain jolts through his head 36 damage plus 3 bleed. Worse yet, the appendage has an iron grip on him- not merely by strength, but the dozens of blood-drinking suckers that begin to drain him dry successful grapple + 1 CON damage.

You then hear a voice come from down the well- it sounds like Fulk's voice but you can't see him and it echoes DC24 sense motive to realize the voice is a mimicry of Fulk, but not him

"I've found the stupid mage. Help me subdue him!"

The situation has at the least grow a great deal stranger... if not significantly worse.

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Fixers: 20
Mage: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 4

The party has been stalled and divided by your enemy. But you have not fallen- but neither have any of your enemy.

Umlo stabs thrice in quick succession- but only the first attack hits,
nonetheless badly impaling the brutish monster, and it barely escapes the third Pretty sure you miscalculated your attack bonus on attacks 2 & 3, otherwise, attack 2 misses as well. Even the thunderous pulses, thanks to your sister's song aren't enough. Bluish-purple blood drains down the swirling, featureless being... but it refuses to back down.

Bewildered and in crushing pain, Ingrahild retreats back out the door of the building, bleeding and with at least one broken bone. You can hear her gasp for breath and blood still flows freely from the circular marks where the monster suctioned onto her flesh...

Dwarven "Brother... forgive me... I can't, I can't..."

Vashta again feels the same pressure in the back of her mind, and then it flairs up into a tidal wave of self-doubt and paranoia, exploding into a full-fledged panic attack. The same wave of invisible terror flows through her allies Everyone except Fulk needs to make a DC 19 Will Save or be panicked for 10 rounds. If you pass, you are instead shaken for 1 round. Vashta makes this save at a -3.

In her moment of weakness, the image turns and meets Vashta's gaze- she cannot look away from it. An alien influence tries to penetrate her already compromised psyche DC 22 Will save or be dominated (quickened dominate person). Still at a -3 and unless she is immune to fear effects, a -2 for panicked/shaken

The same inhuman voice blasts through all of your minds like a thunderous shout- though it makes no real noise:

"Degenerate beings! Submit your wills to mine, resistance is futility and ignorance!"

Fulk, interestingly, does not hear this. He instead sees the strange tattooed mage staring at him as he floats slowly downward. The sorcerous man allows himself to float downward to the floor, preparing to meet the hulking barbarian. As the half-orc approaches, the caster draws back his hood to reveal an arcane glyph drawn on his forehead. The moment that Fulk's rage-filled eyes meet the rune, it flares to life- a hypnotic energy trying to draw him in... DC24 Will save or be charmed. Regardless of whether he succeeds, the caster seems to unleash more magic- suddenly taking Fulk's exact form, as though his mirror image. Now there are soon to be two Fulks down in the bottom of the well...

Moments after the wave of horror fades, Umlo feels something powerful strike the back of his armor- but fail to do more than bruise him. Taking advantage of his distraction, the faceless monster launches an all out assault of crushing blows- none of which can break through his mighty mail.

But the greatest danger you face yet is the true identity of your assailant, yet unknown...

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 3

The fight continues, developing further into chaos.

Ingrahild, seeing Fulk fall prey to a mental domination shouts in a primal, dwarven bellow- as much scream as song- and unravels the hex before it can take root in the half-orc's mind. She continues her battle-song, but begins to change it to a military style dwarven war chant...

Sorry Umlo, you will lose Inspire Greatness. However, everyone gains the Toughness and Mobility feats. And more importantly, Ingrahild can use saving finale if someone fails a save.

The dwarven scholar then moves to block Argea and Dizzy from peril while they're vulnerable, using her own body as a shield.

Dizzy remains unconscious, quickly approaching death- until Argea's almost miraculous intervention immediately unburdens the woman from all her wounds. You hear the sound of searing metal searing flesh, though the action apparently causes no pain or scarring. The only reminders are the blood and cuts on the woman's clothing- and the sudden scent of worked metal and a wood-burning fire.

Umlo remains proactive, knowing the the "mage" is a mere image. He drives Heartspit deep through the gut of the alien being, but its strange rubbery flesh seems to hold- for now. Still, there's a bizarre burbling screech from the monstrosity- you definitely did grievous injury to it.

Vashta manages to determine that the "mage"- unless powerfully shielded from her detection is not in the room. She focuses her mind instead on the thoughts of those in the room- and picks up something disturbing. Unfortunately, this aggressive act also disrupts her invisibility and the woman reappears in the room.

And then Fulk. In the throes of fury, he tosses aside his weapon and lunges for the mage's throat. Tooth and claw he attempts to rend his foe to shreds- but his strikes pass through the illusion as thin air. And then he falls towards to water of the cistern- and passes directly through it. The waters of the well too apparently are illusory. How much of this scene can you truly trust? But Fulk has at least a hundred feet to fall down below him into the darkness- and is only saved by an expedient feather fall spell from Ingrahild. The darkness extends farther than his darksight will pierce.

All this time, the mage seems perfectly calm- even with a giant half-orc leaping through his image.

The visible stalker moves towards Umlo, dropping its weapons in favor of long but muscular arms. It strikes at him with incredible speed and precision, but simply cannot penetrate his armored hide.

His sister is not so lucky. The invisible creature attacks her for the woman's bravery, the scholar is easily overwhelmed and battered by the monster's crushing blows. Worst yet, its tendril like appendages wrap around her and press against her flesh, revealing dozens of suckers that begin to drain the lifeblood from Ingrahild. Even then, the bard continues her song.

And the ruse is up. But how many layers does it go? And how long can you last against such a potent mental force?

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 2

3D Combat: So in my original description of the room, I said the ceiling was 10 ft. up. Obviously, that's not the case. I'll instead say that it's 20 ft. up, with another floor above (with the building being a total of 30 ft. high.

Note: Dizzy and Umlo move before any of the enemies do, thus the fog cloud spell is still up on their turns. If their actions negate the enemies' actions, I'll adjust as necessary. Please try not to metagame. Going forward I'll just have Dizzy and Umlo act before all the other enemies.

Vashta: You sweep the room with detect thoughts, but don't find any other than those you're already aware of- no sign of the Mage whatsoever. Unless they are immune to the spell for some reason.

Though slow to start, Ingrahild frantically pulls her waraxe from her back. But knowing the others are more cunning and potent warriors than she, the woman steps through the fog after her brother- and touches him with an enchantment of righteous valor Good Hope. She also begins her guttural, vengeful chant inspiring both she and her brother with dwarven glory Inspire Greatness, +22 temporary HP.

Initiative: The Mage delays due to the fog, so Dizzy and Umlo's actions happen here.

Without warning or apparent trigger, the conjured cloud that sheltered you from your enemies simply disappears into ethereal wisps and even these are gone moments later.

Once the impediment is cleared, the Mage bursts into arcane action. Eyes glowing with blue flame, he speaks strange and disturbing words, almost primordial in nature- flicking his gaze from Dizzy to Fulk to Argea. Each feels a tremendous pressure in their heads Dizzy must make a DC26 Will Save with a -3 penalty, while Fulk and Argea must make DC 22 Will Saves.. Otherwise, he merely floats- his body as calm and as ever- though if Umlo and Vashta are to be believed, this is merely an illusion...

The one visible thuggish monstrocity sizes Argea up, before lashing out with his tendril like arms- leaving a shallow gash on her shoulder 10 points of slashing damage but unable to cut as deeply as before.

Dizzy is not nearly so lucky. Much like Vashta, a horrific and invisible blade slashes across her throat, nearly choking her in her own blood 54 points of slashing damage, plus 3 bleed. She also feels a horrific spike of agony in her mind, as if the hateful words of the Varisian woman are suddenly stabbed through her like a dagger If that doesn't drop her, they have more attacks- let me know.

The already hulking barbarian begins to grow in size, his tremendous form filling the space- and his lance growing double in reach.

Much is uncertain, but one thing is clear- these Sczarni are not what they seem...

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Mage: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

The Sczarni Spies: Round 1 (everyone)

Dizzy: Sadly, you cannot (partial) charge, as there isn't a straight line between you and your target. That said, you can move 30 ft. in the surprise round (drawing your weapon). And then you act first in the initiative- moving forward and attacking. I'll keep your rolls from the previous post. Treat this is your action for round 1

Unfortunately, unless you have reach (which I'm not aware of) you take an AoO from the fixer (who has 10 ft reach). The good news is they miss. If you have a way of attacking from 10 ft. away, which is where you put yourself on the map, let me know for the future.

With impossible speed and fury, Dizzy charges into the room- singling out one of the strange, faceless thugs and unleashes her full fury into the monster. Her blade swings true, and nearly beheads the creature in a single, swift strike. However, the monster dodges back just in time- her sword cutting deep into its flesh but not mortally so Crit barely did not confirm. And then the thunderous release of arcane energy- it drives the brute almost to their knees, but no farther.

Seeing the appearance of another combatant, the Mage slowly raises another 5 ft. in the air, and then casts another spell, attempting to break the will of the whole party to him. A voice slithers through each of your minds, compelling you DC23 Will Save or be compelled to attack the Mage at disregard to the other enemies. Arcane sigils carved into their skin burst with sickly light as they complete the spell.

"I am your greatest foe, bother not with the ramble and chaff. If you fail to silence me, I will be your undoing. Strike now while you can- each incantation and charm I weave is a step towards your doom."

I'm inserting Umlo here. Reading the rules on Bullrush, I don't think you can move the creature in any direction you want, just away from you- sort of a telekinetic force push. The drag action might be more appropriate, but it's not on the list. It doesn't matter in this case, because the attempt fails.

Umlo similarly reaches out with his mind, but attempting to manipulate flesh not mind. Yet despite his tremendous effort, the Mage remains in place, completely unaffected.

There is no sign of Ms. Juliac, but without warning one of the aberrant enforcers simply winks out of existence.

Dizzy quickly learns that they are still in the room, as a unseen blades strike her- she does her best to defender herself, but several break her defenses 68 points of damage. You can use your cool shield power if you want, it may or may not help.. Should any make it through, they leave deep and horrific gashes.

Vashta too is hit, but still caught of the confusion of the moment has no way to guard herself. Only one strike makes it past her dancing images- but it slashes hard across her face 24 points of damage, and all your images are gone.

Vashta: Unfortunately, since Vashta doesn't have a weapon out and hasn't had a turn yet, she cannot parry (also since she's flatfooted dodge AC won't help her). If I've missed something, please correct me.

But now the element of surprise is gone, and the Heroes of Trunau have gathered themselves for a fight...

Everyone other than Umlo and Dizzy may act now (I inserted their turns already).

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29
Mage: 27
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Vashta: 18 (oops, left her off the initiative)
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

Goshdarnit this post was a doozy.

The Sczarni Spies: Round 1

Vashta: Assuming you angle your cone to only the Tattooed Mage, you detect no thoughts. I think it's more or less inferred you sent the message to everyone in the group, and it makes no difference really at this point. The relevant party beat your bluff the first time.

Dizzy exits the building angrily, after finding the door locked (so she unlocks it first) and continues her rage-filled walk towards the Council Building. Outside, about a score of low-ranking Sczarni loiter. They immediately scatter out of her path, watching curiously.

When told to exit the building, the strange arcanist cocks his head to the side but says nothing, peering at Umlo curiously with the same burning eyes...

He makes no movement otherwise.

Juliac growls in frustration and then agrees to Vashta's terms.

"Very well, I'll send the others away. This had better be good, as I-"

And she just stops talking. All four creatures in the room suddenly act in unison, with precision that beyond unnatural.

The Mage speaks a few, quick arcane words and his tattoos glow with the same unearthly arcane flame. All your opponents suddenly move twice as fast with his boon of speed.

At the same time, Juliac shoots up from her chair, still unarmed. She too speaks an arcane phrase and disappears from sight entirely.

Almost immediately, an unsettling change comes over the enforcers. The pause a second only long enough for Juliac to finish her incantation, and then their flesh melts away into a swirling mass of rubbery leather. With impossible speed, they have their still very much intact kukris in hand and lash out both at Vashta, is very much caught flatfooted. The fact that the creatures' arms elongate like elastic tentacles- giving them inhuman reach- does not reduce the element of surprise.

The first quite expertly slashes Vashta's exposed throat- and then the image vanishes. The woman is unharmed. Two more images dance about her, but whether by canniness or luck, the second creature's blade catches her upper thigh, spraying a gout of blood across her allies 40 points of slashing damage, 3 bleed. And not all of the pain is from the blade- in her mind, she feels a sudden and agonizing spike of self-loathing and regret.

Initiative:
Dizzy: 29 (Iajitsu Focus)
Mage: 27
Umlo: 27
Juliac: 20
Fixers: 20
Argea: 20
Ingrahild: 16
Fulk: 4

Initiative notes: So the enemies get a surprise round. They just sort of all simultaneously jumped into action, without any tells or indications one would expect even with a group that was very used to working together. One second they're talking, the next they're attacking.

Which brings up the issue of Dizzy. Technically she can act in the surprise round, but she technically acts *before* any of the aggressors do and is 30+ ft. away. I'm treating it as a danger sense- she knows that something is wrong, but not what.

The Tattooed Mage is approximately 15 ft. away (10 ft. up, 10 ft. across) standing from the edge of the cistern on all sides due to how diagonals work in Pathfinder 1e. You also don't know how deep the cistern is, but presumably pretty deep.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Something about Juliac's demeanor shifts, and her bodyguards grow just a bit more tense. She speaks bluntly:

"You should leave now. You are no longer welcome here, any of you. I have nothing more to say. Linger at your peril."

The woman smiles, but it's exceedingly plastic. Almost more like the fangs of a hungry wolf than a humanoid.

The change is sudden and dramatic. You're not sure what prompted the divergence, but something is definitely off about Juliac.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Fulk: Looking at the "wizard" a bit closer, there's just something off about him. You've been around your measure of mages, great and less so, but this one- there's just something wrong about him. No one in the room gives you nearly the same amount of unease.

Juliac's smile becomes just a bit more plastic, as her sickly sweet tone grows a bit more hollow. She responds to Dizzy with more than a little bit of patronizing disdain:

"Dear child, unless your people too have been persecuted, discriminated against, and outright massacred by people who look just like... oh, well, you, I can't think you could possible understand the conversation we're having. We've done everything it took to survive after your kin took our homelands from us. Best to keep your sweet, innocent mouth shut."

She sighs, and turns back to Vashta. Her smiles becomes more genuine. To see you standing up for yourself- you can tell she's proud of you. A Varisian giantslayer and hero, even if you're currently at odds with one another.

"You still still have fight in you, good! I knew you were too good for Jardani. If it matters- and it doesn't- I fought the others to the last on this matter. But I was alone, and well, you know how the family is. Or you did know. But once a Denaria, always a Denaria. It's in your blood, even if you deny it still. But yes, I have a bottle- why not share it now? I'll even allow for your friends, though I doubt they'll take the offer..."

She produces a bottle of wine from her desk, moving slowly and deliberately enough to prove no intent of harm. Juliac then pours the drink into a simple wooden cup, takes a swig, and offers it to Vashta- a sign that the cup itself isn't poisoned and secretly a Varisian sign of a trust. Juliac sighs and continues, regardless of whether anyone drinks- she'll provide cups for the others or let them drink straight from the bottle if they wish.

"Giants, yes. And a dragon. The whole Outer Quarter is a mess, though I'm told your brave actions saved the whole town. We are quite grateful to you. I did hear rumors that the giants were quite effective in seeking you out- not something one would expect from lumbering brutes. But when they march in armies across Varisia, what can you expect?"

Another sigh, and another swig.

"Oh, we certainly did not pass information to the giants. They have no love for the smallfolk, I'm told, and we have enough tyrants in these lands as it is. But my little birds may have heard something, certainly. Something you might find very, very interesting. But what is in it for your dear aunt? Coin only goes so far in a world this... tumultuous. Unless we're talking about, well, a queen's ransom."

All the time, there's a look in her eye. Something you've really never seen in one of your relatives. Juliac is intentionally letting her guard down, just a little. You can see that she's... afraid. But what does she want? Help maybe? And afraid of who... or what?

Trunau: Day Three

With Ulmo's terrifying, almost maniacal proclamation of bloodshed, the thugs go pale- as pale as their olive complexion will allow, anyway. One of the two teenage lookouts is a boy of perhaps fifteen- a patch of wetness appears at the seam in his pants, and begins to move southward down his leg. The other teen, a girl of closer to 17 simply stands paralyzed in fear- trying hard not to hyperventilate. The three more hardened enforcers say nothing- trying desperately to conceal their terror. The doorman gestures you into the doorway.

Should you enter, you find yourself in a single large room, almost like a small warehouse. The ceiling is about 10 ft. above you- but the building is about 20 ft. tall, implying a second floor. A wide mouthed cistern fills most of one side of the floor- almost 10 ft. in diameter. Even from here you can see it is filled up to about 2 ft. from the top. On either side of the room there are a pair of doors- likely leading to offices. Beside the cistern is a stairwell leading up to the second story.

But what draws your attention is a Varisian woman, with graying hair concealed by a black scarf. She sits at a wide desk, settled beside the cistern. Flanking behind her are a pair of tough-looking Varisian men, in their early forties. They scrutinize you intensely but do not speak. Hovering above the Cistern is a cloaked man- every inch of his skin you can see is covered in tattoos. His eyes glow an ethereal blue, scanning over you It doesn't take a genius to realize he's casting some kind of divination, probably detect magic or arcane sight. There's a mild smirk on his face- in contrast to the others in the room.

With a single motion, Juliac Deneria waves her hand to the half-dozen Sczarni goons in the room:

"Make yourselves scarce. This doesn't concern any of you."

The floating mage and the two bodyguards remain behind. The rest file out of the building, relieved, unless you stop them. None have any desire to tangle with you. The mage's smirk becomes an outright grin, while Juliac's personal guards only grow more anxious.

"Vashta, darling, it has been too long! I do hope you remember your dear aunt. We should catch up sometime- but I imagine that is not why you and your... friends are here. You want to buy information, no? Or do you wish to persecute your own family, because abandoning your family and disgracing your family's name was not enough for you?"

All the time, the woman smiles- but her gaze is piercing. Her eyes bore into Vashta's mind- past all her defenses, dredging up old memories the woman thought were locked away forever.

The mage's grin has become a full smile, but he's not looking at Vashta- he's looking at the rest of you... eyes still ablaze with arcane light.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Having made your plans, you gather and move out to the Old Cistern. You may well be only dealing with a gang of low-life thugs, but you've learnt very recently the price of being unprepared.

It's not difficult to notice that you're being followed, as at no point there's less than one teenage ruffian wearing the iconic black scarf of the Sczarni tailing you. They as usual don't impede or threaten you, and back off if approached.

Your journey to the Old Cistern takes barely ten minutes, but by the time that you make it there almost a half-dozen of the Sczarni are following you. Outside the building are a trio of lookouts, two youths and a man in his twenties. They spot you with relative easy on your approach, and despite their anxiousness make no move for their weapons. The man steps forward and clears his throat, speaking with far less confidence than he'd like to project:

"Juliac said you'd come, and to let you in. As long as you don't make any trouble, you won't get any from us."

It's pretty clear that the man is well aware that what trouble they'd offer you would be a minor annoyance at most. These are punks, not trained fighters.

The man knocks on the door, which is unlocked and opened for you. The lookouts stand aside to let you pass. You can see inside the shadowy building another two thugs, who eye you suspiciously but don't have weapons drawn.

Apparently the Sczarni want a meeting. What do you do?

Trunau: The Aftermath

Argea and Vashta go out seeking more information on the possible spies. And the folk of Trunau are more than happy to tell all they know about the strangers who have begun walking the streets. You don't find a lot of instances of threats, theft, or extortion. Instead, it appears that the black scarved Varisians are asking uncomfortable questions, eavesdropping, and skulking about.

Your interrogations while successful do take 3 hours and seem to have drawn the attention of your quarry. Said sneaks follow you at a distance, not hiding but not confronting either...

If you approach them, they back off, but not going so far as to try and flee or admit troublemaking.

With your much talk about Naximarra's age, Ingrahild has had enough and blurts out:

"I'm pretty certain she's an adult dragon, between maybe one hundred and two hundred years. She'll have potent magics, but not likely those of the fourth circle as you suggest."

Ingrahild takes 10 on Knowledge (arcana) for a 24.

Trunau: The Aftermath

No actual forward progress has been made, so I don't have anything to respond to. Instead I'll review your situation.

You basically have three threads to pursue at the moment:

The first and most important is getting to Ashpeak somehow. There is an actual hard timer going until the Storm Tyrant finishes his designs- which isn't an automatic loss, but it will make your situation much, much harder. Think somewhere between a week at the least and a few months at most. And you should expect that you'll have to deal with even more dangerous and targeted assassination attempts in the meantime.

The second (possibly related) thread are the giant dragonhunters. Keep in mind that you already have Naximarra's cooperation, and that your stated purpose in facing them is to capture one for questioning. According to Naximarra they'll reach Trunau in 1-2 days now. You don't know what they know or how affiliated they are with the Storm Tyrant. Presumably at least somewhat in both cases.

The third thread is going after potential spies in Trunau. You don't know if the are actually any spies, but evidence points strongly to their existence. Again, not knowing who or what you're seeking, you don't know how much you can learn from them. Maybe a great deal, maybe very little. If there are spies and you neutralize them, it'll be a massive boon for Trunau at the very least.

There aren't really records in Trunau or a library that can really help you with any of this research wise, but feel free to make your checks if joy wish. Ingrahild takes 20 with loremaster on both the topic of possible spies in Trunau and the dragonhunters for a 34 on both.

At some point in your private conversations, Ingrahild meekly interjects into a particularly long pause. It's clear that she's been searching her painfully extensive records and equally obsessively curated mind palace for clues to you current predicament.

"I... have some answers. I think. There aren't a lot of dragon hunters, and fewer that are giants. I've heard of Strebor and Jors Vinderheim, a pair of famous cloud giants who have made their names on tracking and defeating dragons, almost exclusively chromatic dragons. They ride a pair of well trained Mindspin greyfeather rocs, and typically hunt with an entourage of dire griffins. They're supposedly peerless archers, firing arrows the diameter of tree trunks. Why they're working for the Storm Tyrant is hard to say. Probably just for the gold, as they've been known to ally with 'smallfolk' from time to time. They are the best match I can find for Naximarra's description."

She pauses and purses her lips, deep in thought, before suddenly blurting out excitedly:

"I think I have an idea on the topic of spies too! I've been trying to narrow down who in town would have both the means and motivation to sell us out. With the knights of Ozem around, it seems unlikely that we're dealing with possession or mental influence. For that matter, fiends, undead and the like are unlikely. Which leaves us with... people. I've heard whispers that the Sczarni had set up shop in town, and in retrospect I'm pretty sure I saw Juliac Denaria, who is supposed to be pretty high ranking in their organization. I'm also pretty sure she's Vashta's aunt. I... er... hope that it's okay I said that. Anyway, they're supposedly operating out of the old cistern and reservoir
building. There's supposed to be tunnels underneath, and the Scznari are known to love tunnels."

I deeply regret creating an NPC info-bot. Blame Umlo, it was his idea.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Morning comes with much less mercy than you'd hope. You've had long nights before, but somehow this one is rougher than the others. All are beginning to feel the full weight of the escapades of the night begins to weigh on you. All but Argea, who has just come into existence.

You make sleeping arrangements, this time a great deal more paranoid. The Ramble House and the stables that once quartered Icetusk are completely destroyed. But Halgra offers rooms to the Longhouse to you for the day, including the great hall for Icetusk and Fulk. In addition to Umlo and Argea Umlo has already slept his 2 hours and Argea needs none, you are guarded by a half-dozen of Halgra's most trusted women and men (most of which are her adult children).

You awake around 2pm, fully rested everyone gains 13 hp from resting, feeling a bit better. A late lunch is provided, along with a report from Patrol Leader Kurst Grath.

"There was only one casualty last night, a patrol trainee named Aggie Cromm who succumbed to smoke while searching for survivors in the flames. Almost forty are injured to varying degrees. Nine buildings sustained severe damage, and two tower mounted ballista were destroyed. Also, the Hopespring is filled with... metal. I won't go into the details, but to say the least it would have been far worse without your heroic actions. And sacrifices. Trunau again owes you."

The man will answer any questions but otherwise go about his day.

You have a good eight hours until you meet again with the Red Dragon Naximarra. There's still your secret concern of spies, not yet shared with anyone outside your group.

What do you do?

Trunau: The Aftermath

Earlier:

At Vashta's statement, Halgra becomes a bit more defensive and protective. She's probably annoyed that you didn't tell her in advance that you planned to probe Ruby's mind, but is wise enough to know it was a necessary precaution.

"I appreciate your assistance, but if you're done, I'd like to spend some time with my daughter. Alone."

Ruby doesn't speak. She's desperately trying to stem a thought spiral that is common among those who know that their thoughts are being spied upon.

Later (All):

The possibility of spies in Trunau is chilling. And it wouldn't be the first infiltration- some of you first made your legend battling the cunning half-orc Skreed after all.

And with the number of refugees in town, plus foreign warriors and mercenaries... the possibilities are endless. But it's clear that the Storm Tyrant sees you, not your hometown, as the threat. You also know from Naximarra that he has an uncanny way of targeting his enemies with precision, and you doubt the red dragon frequents many settlements civilized or otherwise...

No doubt this so-called celestial who visited Ruby's dreams is at least partly to blame... as the giants knew roughly where you were staying, but no more. They walked right past Clamor oblivious that Argos was sleeping and vulnerable there.

Later (Argea):

To say the least, Argea's parents are quite surprised to meet her. Agrit had witnessed her son's gruesome death, and both had seen the corpse... and more to meet their child again reborn as a daughter... is a lot to take in.

Suddenly, Sara Morninghawk begins to chuckle, tightly hugging both Argea and her wife.

"My dear, you did always wish for a daughter. I suppose that the gods have provided... but by Desna's stars do they have a strange sense of humor."

Trunau: The Aftermath

Earlier

A slow and terrifying realization strikes Ruby.

"Wait... I never said... How do you know about the Primn sisters? Are you reading my mind?"

Halgra looks at Vashta a bit defensively.

"Are you?"

Later

You make your way to the to the Hopespring. It is still defiled with several large mounds of hardened once molten slag, but you don't detect anything more than traces of conjuration magic. Otherwise there's no trace of the hellmouth.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Fulk is allowed to comfort young Ruby. She nods to his advice. When Vashta speaks, the girl listens closely. It's a lot for her to take in all at once- the gravity of the words themselves bely their simple nature.

When asked about the Primn sisters, Ruby shakes her head.

"No, I haven't told anyone."

Unless you have further questions for Ruby, her mother sees you out to a comfortable sitting room in the Longhouse to have further conversations and then returns to her daughter's side.

More disturbing revelations. What do you do?

Trunau: The Aftermath

Halgra just shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm not questioning your motives, only your reasons. I am chief defender after all, and Ruby is my daughter."

When questioned about her hair, the young girl begins to panic slightly, stuttering:

"I, I was nervous... and, and I washed my hair to calm down."

She self-consciously twists her locks with her fingers. Ruby simply lacks the internal fortitude to lie to her mother and the famed heroes of her home. Even Halgra picks up on this and gives her daughter a stern look. Ruby folds immediately.

"Please, I didn't mean anything by it! I didn't know any of this was going to happen! I was so afraid... I'm still so afraid... I didn't, I didn't..."

The girl begins to hyperventilate slightly and tears pour down her now bright red cheeks.

She pauses a moment to stare puzzled at Argea.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Halgra and Ruby sort of stop quizzically as the girl is suddenly put under tremendous magical scrutiny. Your finding are overall less than incriminating...

However, you do notice her hair is still wet, as though recently washed...

Halgra is quickly displeased with your unexplained detections on her daughter, and gruffly voices her feelings:

"There a reason for all of this? It's clear my daughter wasn't involved in the attack, right Ruby?"

Ruby silently and shyly nods her head.

While Vashta's spells don't have verbal or somatic components, they do create extremely visible effects (otherwise identifying a psychic spell would be nigh impossible). There's an FAQ on this if you need me to dig it up. There are feats that do specifically this if you want to go that route.

Trunau: The Aftermath

After fighting with the stubbornly unmoving blade but making no progress, the party eventually goes with Dizzy's advice. Attaching a makeshift harness to Icetusk and the other to the handle of the blade, Fulk leads his mammoth companion to rip the estoc from the slag. At first, even she makes no progress but after about two minutes she eventually tears it free. You hear a terrible grating noise as the adamantine sword slowly cuts itself free, but nonetheless is freed.

The only loose thread now is the missing Ruby. You don't know if her mother Halgra is aware of her disappearance.

Trunau: The Aftermath

It's clear that Silvermane's dramatic feats, first conjuring the storm to battle the fires and second bringing Argea to life, have taken a serious toll. The silent elf is helped by his young apprentice to a chair to rest.

Fifth Sword Knight Alsom Havrick motions for a pair of pages to lead Argea to a private room to get dressed and bring her clothing.

Most uncomfortably, Argos's mangled body remains behind. Dutifully, the Knights of Ozem strip the copse of any gear in preparation for cremation or similiar disposal.

Not long after the cadaver is removed from the room, Argea returns dressed in the plain tunic and breeches of an Iomadaen cleric.

When you're ready, Sara Morninghawk leads you to the partially desecrated Hopespring, where heaps of slag still sit in the waters like low metal islands.

Pointing to one of the larger mounds, Sara says gruffly:

"Didn't see it fall, but I'd recognize your blade anywhere. I forged it myself, after all. But... looks like getting it unstuck is not going to be easy without some kind of sorcery."

And as the blacksmith says, you see the hilt of your estoc sticking out of the slag, buried to the hilt in crude metal. You recognize that had the weapon not been made of adamantine, the once molten metal would have consumed it.

Trunau: The Aftermath

With the dragon's demand dealt with, you return to town and regroup away the Sanctuary. The last stragglers arrive just before Silvermane completes the exhausting hour long ritual. But he completes the last incantations, bringing an enthusiastic Argea into Golarion. She is drained of vitality 2 permanent negative levels, as per the spell, her skin unnaturally pale but otherwise Argea suffers no ailments.

And she is as beautiful as Argos was handsome, lacking his scars on her new form. It's perhaps disconcerting to see your old friend returned in the body of a woman not yet twenty, but Argea retains all of Argos' memories and experience. Though already you can see the change has changed her. And that's not to mention her new metallic hand...

Perhaps from the disorientation of returning from the dead, or simply sheer exhilaration to breathe air again, Argea has not realized she is completely naked for a thin sheet placed over her for privacy. Apparently the incantation doesn't come with complementary attire.

At some point, Dizzy is pulled aside by Sara Morninghawk, who whispers gruffly:

"I've got good and bad news. Good is I found your sword. The bad is, well, you'll have to come see. Thankfully it's adamantine or it would have been destroyed, but... getting it out is gonna be a job."

She waits patiently for Dizzy, knowing that the reunion with her comrade takes precedence.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Naximarra turns with serpent-like swiftness, and barely chokes back an angry growl:

"...Yes, the plan. We may meet tomorrow evening, here at the Barter Stones. Have your plan ready and I will judge it. My pursuers will not reach Trunau for at least two days, you need not worry."

She then turns back to Dizzy, her voice filled with disdain:

"I said don't count on reinforcements. Anything is possible. But I've found the mettle of humanoids to be flimsy at best, present company excluded. Besides, your kingdoms are fractured and disorganized while our enemy unites to a single banner. And the gods have always been impotent pretenders doing nothing and always claiming the glory that is not their own. I rely on my own might alone."

And then Naximarra's frustration hits the breaking point.

"This conversation tires me. Goodbye, humankin. We meet again tomorrow evening, here."

And with that, the hulking Red Dragon renders itself invisible with magic and then takes to flight, the force of her mighty wings like storm winds. To ask her to stay further risks her draconic wrath.

At the Sanctuary, Silvermane begins the ritual to bring back Argos, though not necessarily in his same body...

Argos is reborn.

Trunau: The Aftermath

Sensing sarcasm (perhaps incorrectly) from Vashta, anger flashes across Naximarra's draconic features as she retorts:

"Don't patronize me! I don't need your help. I've lived for almost twice your lifetimes, and I've slaughtered more humanoids than you've met, and a few oversized brutes are no threat to me."

Taking a moment to calm herself, the volatile creature rethinks her position:

"Still, you have a point. No doubt the Storm Tyrant has a near endless supply of thugs to replace them, but these giants may well be our ticket to Ashpeak..."

Pacing a bit, Naximarra flaps her enormous wings a few times to stretch them out. The force of the winds created nearly knocks you backwards.

"Very well, it is decided. We shall lure our quarry into a cunning trap. I suspect they shall catch up to me in two or three days, so you'll need to have a plan by then."

The dragon turns to leave unless stopped. Talking to you has wearied her already fragile patience and civility.

Back in Trunau, things have returned to the closest to normalcy as can be expected. The conjured storm has become a mere drizzle. Militia, dwarven volunteers, and knights of Ozem patrol the streets and ramparts. Specialized attention is given to the most wounded victims. And your comrade remains in Pharasma's cold embrace...