Sakitu's page

As the archers come sweeping in, Sakitu faces them. She raises her hands and blasts them all with another cone of cold.

DC 24 reflex save for half.

dmg, cold: 15d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 6, 3, 2, 5, 5, 5, 2, 5, 4, 5, 5, 5, 1) = 63

"A cry for help? You mean, the queen is sad and wishes she had friends?" Sakitu shakes her head. "You can't be serious Quasit. You think all these bad things she's doing is just because she's lonely?"

Sakitu scoffs then peeks at the creature up on the throne just as Fin and Maka attack it.

"Well. I guess we'll never find out now."

Sakitu follows in Quasit's shadow and creeps into the large room.

"You think that's the queen? I mean, she has a crown... but I thought she'd be more... uh... well, fleshy."

Sakitu nods at Quasit's suggestion and quickly casts a spell on her friends giving them supernatural speed.

Sakitu helps Fin recover some of his arrows. Most of the ones she finds are broken but she hands them over anyway. Maybe there is something he can do to fix them.

"Fin, do you think we're actually close to finding this evil lady and ending all this?" She speaks softly. "I just want it to be done. I want to go back home." She turns her gaze up to Fin to make eye contact. "I want to take you home and you can meet my parents."

She steps closer to Fin and wraps him in a big hug then lets him go. "Look. It looks like Quasit is eager to finish too. She's already heading to the next area."

She makes her way carefully across the floor to stand right behind Quasit.

"Quasit! No!"

Sakitu starts to follow Quasit as she escapes from the line of fire but seeing Selena go with her, she pauses. It will be better to get rid of all these archers. Selena can fix Quasit. And, truth be told, Sakitu can't do much to help with healing anyway.

She turns again to the enemies and unleashes another cone of cold energy at them.

Another cone of cold at the remaining 2. DC 24 Reflex.

dmg, cold: 15d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 1, 1, 1, 5, 5, 3, 6, 6, 4) = 58

Within a few seconds, the surge of magical energy emanating from Sakitu's hands fades and the blasting cone of cold fades. Sparkling ice crystals float and swirl in the air along the path where her energy was directed. A few of the archers have fallen but there are still three of them firing at her friends. She takes a breath and releases another surge of cold energy.

Another cone of cold at the remaining 3. DC 24 Reflex.

dmg, cold: 15d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 1, 2, 5, 1, 4, 5, 3, 5, 2, 3, 1, 5, 3) = 49

Facing to her right, Sakitu sees a balcony full of archers. She holds her hands out in that direction and blasts a cone of cold energy towards them.

I'm angling it to get the archers to my right but not Fin. The range of Cone of Cold is 60 feet. I think I can get 4 of them. There's a DC 24 reflex save and SR applies. Let me know if I need to roll SR and how many times. If I needed to step in a bit to get the right angle, I did.

dmg: 15d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 4, 1, 5, 5, 2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 5, 2, 3, 4) = 57

As the group moves into the fortress, Sakitu grows nervous. The queen certainly isn't going to let them just come straight in and confront her. She follows behind the others and waits when they stop at the second set of doors. Kalchine, Bulvi, and Maka make an effective wall preventing her from seeing clearly into the room. No doubt Fin and Quasit are checking it out.

After a few seconds of intense silence, everything bursts into action. Kalchine and Maka move away from the entrance and into the room quickly leaving a gap. Sakitu steps up to where they were.

Moving up to the entrance to the room but not moving in yet.

From atop the wall Sakitu looks down at the grotesque monster. She begins forming the thoughts and actions for a spell when the creature collapses. She flies down to the ground and races over to Fin.

"Did that thing hit you? Are you hurt?"

The wall slips past faster than Sakitu expects and before she knows it, she's at the top. She focuses on one of the flying creatures and concentrates her energy on it. With a swift gesture and a few magic words, a thick wall of ice forms around the creature.

Casting icy prison on the furthest away creature. DC 24 reflex save for avoid becoming helpless. 16 dmg per round that it is helpless or entangled. SR applies so I'll roll a caster check.

caster check, spell penetration, greater spell penetration: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 15 + 2 + 2 = 29

I only have Greater Invis so that is what I cast on Fin. Won't last as long but maybe it was long enough for him to scout.

Sakitu watches the rope slither its way up the wall before Quasit grabs it and starts climbing. She cranes her neck back to look at the top of the wall it is so far away. Just the idea of climbing that whole length makes her arms ache. Shaking her head, she casts a quick spell on herself. A moment later she lifts off the ground, flying past Quasit who is already several feet off the ground.

"I'll meet you at the top." She waves and smiles and continues ascending.

I think my fly speed is the same as my land speed so I get about half way up the wall.

"Once we're over there, by the fortress, how will we get in?" Sakitu gazes across the dry plain at the dark fortress. "Maybe there's a tower with a window that we can fly up to and enter that way. I can't tell from here."

She watches Kalchine sink into the rock then turns to the rest of the group. "I'm sure we'll figure something out when we're closer. How long will this teleport thing take?"

Sakitu follows everyone else through the dark portal. She finds a seat next to Fin and waits. She shakes her head at the offer of coffee. She never did acquire a taste for it.

If Fin's, Maka's, Quasit's, and Selena's attacks haven't taken then both down, then I direct this at the remaining one closest to me.

It only take a second for Sakitu to realize that her spell didn't affect the drake. These creatures are surprisingly resilient to her magic. She waves her hands in the arm and with a few more magic words five missiles of pure magical energy zip through the area towards the closest drake.

magic missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
magic missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
magic missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
magic missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
magic missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Total = 19

Did the drake save against my Confusion spell?

There's a brief moment of elation as Sakitu feels her magic take hold of the drake. But only a second later her excitement fades. The monster should be an immobile lump hurling through the air but it was still moving. Still flapping its leathery wings and turning in the air. Sakitu shakes her head. That doesn't make any sense. But no time to figure it out now. She focuses on that same drake one more time and throws another barrage of magical energy at it.

Cast Confusion on it. DC 23 Will to negate. SR applies.

overcome SR, spell penetration, greater spell penetration: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 15 + 2 + 2 = 34

Was that all the way back in book 2? Wow. Time flies.

Reflex: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25 Half dmg

If they weren't so deadly, Sakitu would find beauty in the formation of the drakes as they fly swiftly across the bright blue sky. They spin and weave then one dives straight towards her. As it nears it shoots a ball of acid from its open mouth. Sakitu tries to dodge out of the way. She avoids a direct hit but is still burned by the caustic substance.

She turns to follow it's flight through the sky. She raises her hands, moving in a complex gesture, and shouts an arcane command directed at the drake.

Hold Monster at one of them. I can't access the map right now so I don't know which one in particular. I'll take the one closest to me. DC 24 Will to save. SR applies so I'll roll a check.

Caster check, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 15 + 2 + 2 = 39

”I say, Lady Sakitu, how many kingdoms would you care to run? Three is m’absolute limit. M’social calendar gets eveh so full, dewn’t you knew.”

Sakitu grows wide-eyed. "Me? Run a kingdom. Oh. I don't think I could run any at all." She looks from Quasit to Fin then to the others before she notices a grin on a few of their faces.

"Oh. That was a joke." She blushes but the fur on her faces hides the color. She straightens her shoulders and lifts her chin.

"I do say, I believe I could run nine kingdoms with the swish of my tail."

Skip ahead to the encounter. Not my turn to act yet.

Almost before it's started, the fight with the monster is over. Sakitu looks over to Fin. "That didn't take long. That monsterous thing looked a lot scarier than it was. I guess." She is about to give him a hug when the norm steps out from the tree.

"This thread represents Baba Yaga's fate. Twine the thread around the doll and soak them both in the poison blood of the beast. Then bathe the doll in the pool and the bars of her prison will weaken."

Sakitu cocks her head to the side, suspicious of a trick. But before she can say anything Selena steps up to take the thread and get the doll from Quasit. A few moments later the deed is done.

”That’s my cue,” Fin says as he draws his bow and warily leads the way down the northwest passage…

Sakitu touches him on the arm just before he starts. "Be careful. I know I always say that and it's probably not necessary. But still..."

Focusing on the monster, Sakitu casts a spell. If she can get the monster paralyzed, it will be a quick matter for her friends to finish it off.

Casting Hold Monster. DC 24 Will Save to avoid. SR applies so I'll roll Penetration.

Overcome SR, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 15 + 2 + 2 = 26

Sakitu glances up at the ceiling as if she's able to see through it to the attic. It seems too much to hope that whatever there is up there will be simple and safe. But that doesn't bother her. Even just a couple months ago, the thought of facing the unknown sparked bursts of anxiety in her chest but now it was different. Sure, she acknowledged the risk and potential danger, but she had confidence in her friends and even in her self. They had faced so much already and come out ok, mostly. Maybe it was naive but she believed they could do it again.

She gave a quick nod of her head. "Right. We should go up there and see what she wants."

Tez marched out of the kitchen with his normal imperious air and walked down the hall leaving the living room. Sakitu guessed he was going to a private room to do the ritual to bring Selena back. It seemed fitting to Sakitu that he would be the one bringing Selena back from where ever it was that her spirit floated. Those two really were cut of the same cloth. She bet that neither of them would be pleased to hear that though.

While waiting she watched Fin fiddling with his new gear. He had another stone floating around his head. Those things seemed strange to her but they never got in her way when she kissed him so it was fine. And, whenever he laid down he always put the stones away. He had told her that they gave him some extra magical properties. Maybe she should think of getting a couple of them floating around her head.

She tried to imagine what that would be like. Maybe then, when she leaned in for a kiss, her orbiting stones would bump into his. Or, since he was so taller than her, maybe one of her stones would circle around and hit him in the eye. He would half to bat them off like shooing away flies. She raised a hand to her mouth to hide a giggle.

At that moment Selena, the new Selena, came walking into the living room. Tez followed behind her. Yep. They both walked with their noses in the air. The same cloth. In fact, Selena was wearing Tez's cloak.

Everyone's reaction was predictable. When Selena finally made eye contact with Sakitu she gave a brief smile and waved.

"Welcome back." She didn't add 'we missed you' because she wasn't sure if she did miss Selena. But she didn't want to be mean. She expanded her smile and added "I hope your time in limbo wasn't unpleasant."

Thanks for the note on the Quasit spoiler. Fixed it.

DT is known for long songs. Some are around 20 minutes long.

I like the song selections (the ones I recognize) but I'm completely uninspired when it comes to making up suggestions. And I think my musical tastes overlap very little with what you guys have listed. I don't know all the songs mentioned but I recognize most of the artists. Couldn't necessarily identify those artists by hearing them...

My all time favorite band is Dream Theater. You know, I might be able to match you guys to Dream Theater songs. Let me think a bit.

As for PF2e, I like it a lot. I like that they've shifted the focus away from simulation and more towards story telling. No where near as many fidgety rules.

Sakitu wakes to find Fin has left. She's starting to get used to that. He told her once that he doesn't need much sleep, if any, and so often, after she falls asleep, he rises. He says it's because he doesn't want to 'disturb her slumber' but she thinks it's also because it's boring to just lay there in the dark next to a sleeping body.

Bright sun streams in through one of the hut's windows and the smell of breakfast food floats in the air. She hears someone open the front door. It's Fin. She recognizes the sounds he makes just in the way he moves. A moment later he comes around the corner and spots her. She smiles and lifts her arms to him as he approaches.

After he kisses her lightly, he murmurs, ”Hlao-roo, I’m beat…and I smell like four Hells…I’m gonna take a bath with Izzy. I’ve neglected him for far too long and need to maintain my bond with him. When I return, can we take a nap?”

Her nose squishes up in a tight wrinkle and blinks tightly a couple times. "Yeah, you, uh, really do smell bad. I'm not sure that Izzy will want to get in the water with you." She giggles and rubs his forearms. He has such nice muscles in his arms.

"A nap? But I just woke up and I'm starving. You go take a long bath then when you're done, come find me. Maybe we can go for a walk outside or something. I don't even know when we're making this hut move to the next place though."

Once Fin is off to find his hot water, she cleans herself up and follows the smell of food. Approaching the kitchen she hears Maka and Quasit talking but strangely, she sees Kalchine standing just outside the kitchen door, his ears twitching. Is he listening in on their conversation? That is not like him. Maybe there's something else going on. She doesn't want to embarrass him so she backs away without him noticing. She goes back to her backpack to scrounge a snack from her stash.

After quite a while, Fin returns. He's smelling much nicer now.

"Good bath? Want to go for a walk or did you have something else in mind?"

"I’m already 115 years of age…"

"Wait! What? You're 115. That's older than my dad. I mean, I knew that elves aged differently but I didn't know it was that different."

Sakitu looks more closely at Fin. He doesn't look like an old man but then he's not. He's a young elf. Didn't he say that he could live to be 700? So then at 115 he is only a fifth of the way through his life. So in elf terms, he's barely an adult. Just like her.

"As for magic, you’d know much better than I. While I know of none that can extend life directly, other than reincarnation I suppose, there is magic that can let you avoid the affects of age, in both appearance and physicality…"

Sakitu scoffs and shakes her head. "Nope. That's not good enough for me. From what I have seen, magic doesn't follow any rules. So I'm going to find the magic that let's me live as long as you."

She shifts from her vulpine to human form and scoots towards Fin, leaning into him. This close, she feels the radiating warmth from his skin. She never wants to lose that feeling.

"If I can change like this, then I think anything is possible."

"Wait? You are going to live to be 700 years old? What about me? I won't live that long."

Sakitu pulls back and folds her hands in her lap. "I thought we would be together forever. I guess that's stupid, right? So I'll grow old and ugly and you'll just keep being young."

She looks out over the snow covered forest floor before her. It's mostly white but there are black patches around the bases of trees where the snow was unable to fall due to the evergreens' branches. Other dark areas appear where she and her friends have walked and stomped around the house. Thick and heavy clouds hover above the trees, hanging low enough that it looks like the tops of the tallest of the pine trees might rip open the sagging belly and dump more snow on them.

"You know, it doesn't feel cold to me." She turns her head to look at Fin.

"The snow. I think it's my magic. I mean, the magic in my blood or something. But all this," she waves her hand in a wide arc, "It's just the same as if we were having a nice spring day and the forest floor was covered with grass and flowers. I wonder if it is cold for you? If my magic changes that little bit of reality, maybe it can change other things. Other more important things."

As Fin shares more of his past, Sakitu's eyes grow sadder and sadder.

"Oh. That is so terrible. Why would people do that? I mean, shunning you like that." She doesn't really expect an answer. She's seen it happening before, even in her own village, but it has never made sense to her. It wasn't that long ago that Selena really bothered her and made her so mad. But even then, she didn't want to push her out and ignore her. Well, maybe she did ignore her sometimes. But that was just temporary.

He looks down at his feet, staring at nothing, still stroking her hair. "Let’s just treasure the moments we have for now...and cross that bridge when we get to it..."

Sakitu's eyes grow wide. "What do you mean?" There's an edge of concern in her voice. "I mean 'for now'? What's that mean? Don't you want to stay with me forever."

She pulls out of his arms and twists her body to face him straight on. "And what bridge are you talking about? Are you already planning something?"

"As for going back to Golarion, there or here, makes no real difference to me. Unlike most of you, I have no family to go back to…I have no home…right now, the Hut has been as much a home to me as anywhere else I’ve lived…although I do find myself remembering rafting across the River Kingdoms, watching the sunrise, watching the sunset…nothing so soothing as watching the sunlight reflect off the river at those times…"

Sakitu pulls back so the she can get a good look at his face. "You don't have a home? I didn't know that. I mean I know that you've talked about losing people in your past but I didn't know that meant everyone."

She paused for a moment to think then she started slowly. "If you don't have a home, maybe you can come to live with us. At my home. I mean, I still live with my parents. Or I did, before I left on this trip. But when we get back I'm sure you could stay with us."

Afterwards he goes and slumps down next to Sakitu, puts his arm around her and gently strokes her hair as he closes his eyes for a moment…

Sakitu snuggles into Fin and smiles. After a few moments of soaking in the comforting feeling of his arms she takes a breath and sighs.

"Don't you ever get tired of all this? I mean, like always in danger and fearing for our lives?" She twists and squirms a little bit, not pulling away from Fin but just repositioning.

"Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get back to normal? Will we even get back to Golarian?"

Sakitu is still dumbstruck at whatever it is that happened to Maka. Or maybe it was something Maka did to herself. She can't tell. But in any case, the strangeness of it is just too much to process. Sakitu sits by herself and eventually Fin comes up to her. He explains that he's going to go off to do some exploring and needs some spells. She quickly casts them on him, without paying too much attention, gives him a quick kiss and admonition to 'stay safe', then continues staring off into the distance.

The others are milling about. They all seem to be making plans and that's fine with Sakitu. She doesn't know what is next but she hopes that whatever it is, it gets her a little closer to home. She misses home.

I am leveled up. I know I missed the purchase deadline but that's fine with me because I have no idea what to purchase. I'll save my money for the next time.

Hoping to have time to level up this evening and then start looking at things to buy. As always, I never know what gear would be useful so I'm open to suggestions.

Sakitu accepts the stew from Maka and finds a spot to sit near Fin. As always, Maka's food is good. Sometimes it's a bit spicy but not today. She enjoys the savory flavors and somehow they make her feel more relaxed.

She gladly hands the doll over the Quasit and then watches to see what Anastasia will do with the doll. She isn't surprised to see her hand it back. Even though she doesn't want it, Quasit is almost certainly the best person to hold onto the doll. She always knows what is going on. If anyone can figure it out, it will be her.

Sakitu finishes her bowl. The warm feeling in her stomach makes her drowsy . She looks around the room for Fin but he's not around. He's probably in with that card guy again, she realizes.

With nothing else to do, she finds a soft spot to sit and just waits to see what everyone else is doing.

It seems that the horrors will never end. Just when she thinks they've seen the worst of it, someone finds a new building or room full of some other atrocity.

Sakitu helps Maka bring the living soldiers out of the room and to the tents. She has limited innate healing abilities but she does have a wand. She rummages through her bag then pulls it out. One by one she goes to each of the soldiers and applies the magical healing.

I have 43 charges on the CLW wand. How many would it take to get everyone healthy? Does anyone stop me from doing this?

Sakitu is about to object to Fin's suggestion but Quasit beats her to it. "Right. There's no way you're going to just rummage around this place by yourself." She grabs his arm protectively. "I like Quasit's plan. Get all this stuff and get back to the hut."

She watches the doll as Quasit hands it to Kalchine. Quasit said it 'talked' to her? How? Sakitu tries to make eye contact with the painted doll face while it's passed. Would the doll 'talk' to anyone else?

She reluctantly lets go of Fin and helps gather up the other dolls. She puts as many as can fit into her bag then carries a couple more in her hands.

The world shifts all around her in unsettling ways. One moment she feels like she's about to topple over and the next she feels like she's slowly floating up from the ground. The disorienting sensations last for only a few seconds then fade leaving Sakitu feeling slightly dizzy.

With her arms held out for balance, she looks around at the others. They all, well, except Maka who is never knocked off kilter, seem to have had their sense of reality jarred too. But it has passed.

"Ok. That was strange. But everything seems so normal now."

"Yeah. That's it." she says with more confidence than she actually feels. "Hopefully we just opened up Baba Yaga's prison. She might be upstairs at this very moment."

The idea of Baba Yaga being so close sends a shiver down her spine. Maybe they had gotten rid of one terror only to release and even greater one.

Fin glides up the stairs in a way she has seen him move hundreds of times before. The anxiety that surges when he's putting her in danger is less now than it was just a few weeks ago. She's getting used to it and that's probably a good thing. Even so, she keeps her ears on alert for the first sound of alarm.

It seems to Sakitu that so much has happened in such a short amount of time. She knows that she should feel a sense of relief -- Rasputin is dead, the undead monsters are dealt with, and they all survived. But the arcane machine spewing electric energy is still there.

Quasit looks nervous. The whole mission hinges on her accomplishing the final task. Sakitu has confidence in her. Throughout everything they've all been through, Quasit has been a steadfast support. Always knowing the right things to say and the right things to do.

Sakitu thinks about going over to sit with her friend but she decides against it. It looks like Quasit wants some time to think by herself.

Fin and Bulvi have left to get the caskets. Selena is gone. It appears that she was killed in the battle. That fact brings its own set of confusing emotions. She was never easy to get along with but no one deserves to die. But maybe, like last time, Selena will find a way to come back.

Sakitu walks over to Maka and Kalchine. "I guess we wait now? Do you know how long?"

Hopefully that was in your house and not in your body.

Nearly all my damage spells are area effects. Not going to be super useful when everyone is so bunched up. I've tried the will-based debuff against Rasputin and he saves every time. Not surprised. I think that's all I've got left though so I'll give it another shot. He _might_ roll a 1...

Sakitu shrieks. "No. He's supposed to be dead". She gestures with her hands and casts a spell at him. It's the same that she tried before and he resisted but maybe he's weaker now.

Feeblemind. DC 24 Will save. Also SR applies.

Spell resistance, greater spell penetration: 1d20 + 14 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 14 + 4 = 27

Way in the back, Sakitu has a hard time seeing what it going on. It looks like Maka was knocked out, then revived, then knocked out again. It also looks like Rasputin and his evil companions have all be killed. Sakitu notices Quasit waving her forward.

She takes a deep breath then races forward, fully expecting to get injured by the trap in the room.

Is the trap still there? If so, what do I roll?

She stops next to Quasit.

"What's happening now? Is Rasputin dead?"

FYI, made it home from the hospital and still have all my leg. :-) The infection isn't gone, not by a long shot, but it is at the point where oral antibiotics should be able to control it.

The doctor today said his current guess is that I'll be checking out Thursday. But he said that depends entirely on how well the infection responds to the new antibiotic they are trying.

This is crazy.

This came on suddenly and out of nowhere. At 1:30am last Thursday I woke with a fever and it all went downhill from there. When I went to bed Wednesday night, not a single problem. No idea...

It feels more consistent with being in a car wreck. A sudden "event" that then justifies being in the hospital for almost a week. I guess I should feel lucky that it wasn't a car wreck.

I haven't seen him yet. But I should ask the nurses for some Athelas (Kingsfoil). They haven't given me any of that yet.

They have me on an IV for Vancomycin though. I guess that's a pretty strong antibiotic.

I'll try to keep up. Got admitted to the hospital today for an uncontrolled skin infection. They've got me on heavy duty antibiotics and are keeping me here for at least 24 hours (but the nurses say plan on 48...). But I have wi-fi and a laptop. As long as I'm not exhausted or loopy, I should be able to post.

Sakitu reaches out to Fin and casts a spell on him. Suddenly he disappears from sight.

Cast Greater Invis on Fin.

I'm waiting to hear about the trap to decide if I'm going to use my move action to try and move closer.

Sakitu senses Fin behind her and turns to face him. The tear streaming down her cheeks leave wet tracks through the light auburn fur covering her face.

"Fin, what can we possibly do? Nothing is helping." She flings an arm back in the direction of Rasputin and the others. "Did you see that last spell? He destroyed Selena." Her voice cracks and she's barely able to keep from collapsing into a useless puddle.

"I've tried my best magic against him and nothing works."

She let's her arms flop to her side and stares down at the ground. A faint image of her father working his store floats into her mind. Then another image, this one of her mother making dinner. Are these views of what is happening right now, worlds away? Or maybe just her imagination. The unexpected visions cause her to pause. They shift her thinking and her attitude. She can't let Rasputin win.

She reaches out to Fin and casts a bit of magic on him.

"Maybe we can't succeed in what we're doing but we can try with all our might. I've made you faster. That might help."

Haste. I have a range of 125 ft but it only works on allies within 30 feet of another ally. So, if the map is correct, Fin, Kalchine, Chest Thumper, Bulvi, and Quasit get it.

Good idea on haste. I'll buff Fin. Is the trap in H3 still there and obvious to Sakitu?