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For decades, demons have ruled the Worldwound. Fearsome fiends of every stripe-their mottled skin harder than iron, teeth like serrated blades, and eyes burning with Abyssal flames-roam the ruined lands that were once known as Sarkoris, leaving their mark wherever they go.
Four crusades have attempted to cleanse the land, but each seems to meet a worse fate than the last. Were it not for the line of magical wards tones along the eastern and southern borders, the demons would have long ago overrun north-central Avistan and beyond.
The Fourth Crusade hasn't really ended as much as petered out, yet some refuse to accept that. Amid crippling shortages and record lows in morale among the crusaders, the Mendevian war effort teeters on the brink of collapse. Though the demonic occupation of the Worldwound
is growing, as is corruption among the crusaders, a dwindling minority of paladins and priests maintain that the Fourth Crusade is still vibrant and alive, and that the turning point in the war is only a few days away.
The Fourth Crusade is anything but vibrant, but the crusaders are more right than they know about the approaching turning point in the war. It's just that the turning point is likely destined to favor the Abyss.
One of the greatest weapons arrayed against the crusaders is their own mortal ignorance. The crusaders have long held that it is the inherent disorganization of demonic hordes, coupled with the bolstering wall of the wardstones, that keeps the world safe from the Worldwound.
Unfortunately, while a leaderless mass of demons is indeed a bickering
tangle of chaotic, directionless violence, the demons of the Worldwound are far from leaderless. Deskari and his demon lord allies do not want merely to wipe out their enemies physically. They want to annihilate their very natures; to destroy what gives them hope. They want their
enemies to fall to their own base instincts and wallow in the countless sins that will, in the end, consign their souls to the Abyss as grist for new demonic life. Only then does Deskari plan to send out the armies of the Worldwound to crush the rest of Golarion.
The corruption that has grown among various crusading companies, knightly orders, and other organizations involved in the war is in large part an unavoidable result of human nature. But over the decades, it's been subtly nurtured and encouraged by the demons. These cultists of the demon lord Baphomet have infiltrated every major group among the crusaders, working at undermining their morale and corrupting purity from within even as the demon host of the Worldwound relentlessly attacks them from without. For a time, the Templars were content to sow seeds of corruption and lay foundations for rebellion and disorder, but Deskari has grown impatient.
A hundred years after the death of his old nemesis Aroden, Deskari has set his end game in motion, and Baphomet and his cult are hastening
to comply by stepping up their acts of corruption and treachery within the ranks.
Deskari's greatest minion is, however, no longer strictly mortal. Areelu Vorlesh, architect of the Worldwound on its Material Plane side, completed her transformation from human to half-succubus soon after the Worldwound opened. Since then, she's focused her efforts on discovering new sources of power for her master. Her greatest discovery was found in a remote location in the Midnight Isles of the Abyss. There, in a
cavern below a mostly deserted and forgotten isle called Vazglar, she uncovered a vast deposit of Nahyndrian crystals; dark purple crystals that form from the spilled ichor of murdered demon lords. Areelu discovered a method by which several Nahyndrian crystals could be
liquefied and distilled into an elixir capable of infusing those who drink from it with potent mythic power. This was only the first use she devised for these rare and potent crystals. Working with a hierophant cleric of Baphomet named Hepzamirah and a worm that walks blackfire
adept named Xanthir Vang, the three managed to forge a flawless Nahyndrian crystal into a single chisel-one that in theory....
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Date: 16th day of Arodus.
Over the past few days you have each made your way in the Crusader town of Kenabres. Kenabres is located on the western border of Mendev, pretty much marking the eastern most extend of the Worldwound. Kenabres is bustling and filled to over capacity.
Each of you has taken lodgings at a nice sized inn that still had a few open rooms for whatever reason. You are staying at a place called 'Defenders Heart' it has a vary bustling tavern, even at 10 am the alehouse is standing room only. So you each decide to make your way out into Kenabres.
The normal population in Kenabres is little over 12000 souls. Right now there are roughly 40000 people in the area, mercenary, crusader, paladin armies camped outside. Nobles and their retunes as well. The city has a vary festive feel to it even with the overcrowding.
For several weeks men, women, children small armies have all gathered here in preparation for Armasse! Armasse has traditionally been an opportunity for scholars and priests to come together to study the lessons of history from wars past, since Aroden's death, this Holy Day has become more about training commoners in weapons, choosing of squires, ordaining of priests and knighting of crusaders. Over the past hundred and ten years it has grown to encompass jousting competitions, mock duels, formal battle reenactments and many other festive events.
Armasse rotates to a different crusader city easy year. Today at noon the beloved High Inquisitor Lord Hulrun is to give a benediction and blessing over the Crusaders and civilians gathered in Kenabres. There are rumors that with so many people gathered here magic shall be used to make his voice carry to everyone within sight of the walls of Kenabres. You don't care about that, the magic that is.
Over the next couple hours you each make your way into the Clydwell Plaza, somewhat near the cathedral of Iomedae. You don't really know each other at all. But you do remember each others faces, as you did all come your rooms at about the same time. Its about ten or twenty minutes before Noon when Lord Hulrun is to speak.
Niesen towers over many in the crowd, using his great height to help take in the sights, though he takes care not to knock into or rough up those he passes by, or let the barbs of his vest catch on anyone. He holds a staff in his hand, its wooden length thicker than some men's arms.
He nods a greeting to several familiar faces. "Hello again. What are the chances of all of us starting at the same inn and ending up here at the same time?"
"Not good." Tanith makes sure no one is standing behind him. It isn't his first. Armasse and he's hated them all. The crowds and the noise make it impossible to watch every potential threat properly. Still, this year at least he's managed to keep his sword in his scabbard. With a little bit of luck he won't finish Armasse in jail for brandishing his weapon in public ... again.
"It is either the work of the Gods or a plot against one or all us . Blind chance is much less likely." Tanith is tall, but not reaching Niesen's great height. His dark hair is cut short to better fit under his helmet to his heavy armor. His hazel eyes scan his surrounding over and over as if looking for something...or as if he doesn't trust what he's seeing.
"Can I help you find someone?" Niesen asks, noting the wandering eyes, though not their intent. He grins. "If you describe her to me, I might be able to spot her for you?"
Seeing familiar faces from his hotel in the crowd, Leto directs Blackpaw gently in their direction.
The tiefling was uncomfortable in this city. It was not a good idea to be tagged as part of the demonic horde.
The humanoid moved with a sense of purpose throughout the town. He looked like he belonged, and, although a few gave him a curious glance, he was not challenged yet. So far the large hat covered his horns.
The words of an obscure bard kept ringing in his head:
It's the end of the world as we know it..and I feel fine.
An athletic, wiry tall man, with a thin sharp-featured face joins Niesen and Tanith. His skin is very tanned, showing that he has spent significant amount of time in the open. He has long, blonde hair, worn in a single braid at his back, no facial hair, and radiant blue eyes which seem to be constantly in motion. Smile rarely leaves his face. He is wearing an obviously very old and quiet dented green breastplate armor, with only a few hints of blue. The armor has obviously seen better days, seeing that it was punctured, bruised and patched in several spots. However, despite obvious patches, it seems that armor is still functional, offering ample protection. Strapped across his back is a round wooden shield, with a metal rim running at it's edges. Shield itself has a simple five points white star painted on it. At his hip there is a curved sword just a bit shorter than a long sword. The outer edge is viciously sharp, and the back is flat, giving the blade a triangular cross-section. The sword also has faint green-bluish tinge to it, showing that both the sword and armor were forged from similar metal.
"Good to see you again gentlemen. Dolok's the name, I remember seeing you at the Defenders Heart. Benediction should start at noon, right?"
"I think so," Niesen says, scratching his head with a thick finger and gazing up, trying to estimate the time until noon.
Tessara fell in beside Leto, offering the militant halfling a warm smile.
Tessara was the picture of elven beauty, all soft curves offset gentle, gliding angles. Her violet eyes glittered with an icy blue that came from somewhere inside and were framed by a length of platinum blonde hair. Dressed in exotic Tian lamellar armor and wrapped in a vibrant green cloak, she was clearly dressed as a warrior; a fellow member of the 4th Crusade.
"Hello, friend. I couldn't help but recognize you from the Defender's Heart. I was hoping to share some time with a familiar face during the festivities."
Leto smiles at the halfelf next to him.
Well then be welcome! There were so many people at the inn, i honestly don´t remember all the faces, but i guess that is allright. Let´s share the festivities!
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Armasse officially begins at noon. It is now Noon.
A hush goes over the crowd within the plaza as the Lord Hulrun, the aged inquisitor, takes the stage, clad in shining, resplendent armor. He clears his throat...
BUT......
...just as he is about to speak, a bight light shines forth from the west. It is so bright you feel as though a second sun is rising from the wrong direction. High Inquisitor Hulrun's Shadow falls huge and distorted across the Cathedral's façade. A moment later, the sound of a thunderous explosion rip's through the air and the earth shakes with a violent tremor. [I]
[I]To the west, the fortress known as The Kite – The well defend location of Kanabres's Wardstone – had vanished. In its place, a brilliant plume of burning walls of fire, many bolts lightning of lightning striking down from the now darkened skies. Deeper Darkness envelops the rest of the fortress.
A moment later, a powerful roar accompanies a welcome sight. Rising up from the crowd to your left is Kenabres's greatest guardian, the Silver Great Wyrm Terendelev, who had until that moment been attending the opening ceremony disguised as a human a few feet from your sides.
Above, another form appeared, as Nightmarish as the Dragon was breathtaking. A humanoid shape ten times the size of a mortal man, with skin coated in fire and lightning, gripped a flaming sword and whip. The creature's identity was immediately obvious: Khorramzadeh, the Storm King of the Worldwound, had come to Kanabres!
As the ground continues to shake and disgorge demons into the streets, the Dragon and the Balor Lord clash above. The fight was over in a few harrowing moments as the Balor cut deep into Terendelev's body, swooping down to strike the dragon and arresting her charge. A few more blows, and the titanic duo spiraled downward to the crowd.
The sight of the dragon smashing into the façade of the Cathedral of Saint Clydwell is one no witness would ever forget. At that moment, a titanic demon erupted at the far end of the plaza, reducing several buildings into ruins as it smashed into this world. The rift it created shot across the plaza, and this time there was no escape – it opened below your feet, angling away into darkness.
Even as you were falling, the dragon noticed your plight. Though she saw death standing over her, she seized this final chance to save a few more souls,[b] YOURS heroes[/I]. After she uttered a few arcane words and stretched out a bleeding talon, you felt her magic take hold of you, slowing your plummet into the darkness as if you were feathers falling into a pit. Yet the fall remained as inexorable, and as you drifted downward into the depths, the last thing you saw was the Storm King standing before the ancient silver dragon, his sword lashing ut and cleaving full through her neck. As her severed head falls, the rift above you slammed shut, and the light of the world above was gone.
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As you dust yourselves off and take stock of the situation you notice the wall of rubber behind you contains numerous examples of how close you came to death. Here and there, bodies are mixed in with the rubble – Citizens of Kenabres whom the dragon could not save. Men, women, children as dead.. it almost appears half the city is dead in this cavern with you.
There are three others with you as well down there. An elderly male elf whos eyes are bleeding hes trying to bandage them with a bit of cloth he cut off from his robe.
a human female that appears to be mostly unscathed is sitting next to a couple dead bodies she has a good longbow near her and a quiver over her shoulder.
A human male with numerous cuts and scrapes, you can tell from the cut of his cloth he is noble or perhaps even royal he has an empty rapier sheath at his side.
I assume there's light enough to see? Perhaps something burning, so they can see these people?
Niesen takes a moment to check himself for injuries, and his gear. He hauls his quarterstaff out from under a bit of rubble, then moves to check nearby bodies for signs of life.
The comely man looked around and rushes to the human female. Raised by women, he always rushed to help one injured. Tamaell produces a monagrammed handkerchief out of reflex from a pocket. What it can do in this situation, he has no clue.
He bows: "Milady, are you all right? We, it appears, were saved by a dragon."
Concern is evident on his face.
Tanith channels healing energy before even getting to his feet, casts light on his shield and then moves to where he can help the most people and channels again.
"Well" he says softly, mostly to himself, "at least I didn't end up in jail this time."
"What was that?" the big man asks, voice booming. Seeing the source, he adds, "Oh. Thanks." He massages a now not bruised shoulder and turns his attentions back to the dead child at his feet. "Doesn't fix you though does it?"
Similar to others, Dolok checks his equipment, blindly flailing in the dark which was enveloping them. Foe a brief second he was more than thankful for Tanith's light source, but then he saw the bodies of the dead citizens. Something stirred in his stomach, and Dolok's needed all of his strength not to vomit right there. The sight of dead man, women and...children, this was almost too much for him.
With tears in his eyes, Dolok moved slowly after Niesen, his sword hung limply in his right arm, his eyes racing across the cave, trying to find anything else but the dreaded carnage around him.
Tessara rose to her feet slowly, warily feeling for any injuries she might have received from the fall. Finding herself largely unharmed, she checked her gear and found it secured. It was not until she looked up did she realize the extent of the devastation.
Seeing so many bodies, so many innocent lives snuffed out in an instant, lit a cold flame in her stomach. It was rage, the sort that wanted to lash out at the beings that had done this and erase them. She recognized the feeling; she had felt it before. Valor had awoken.
Tessara felt the power of the spirit surge through her limbs. It was a euphoric sensation, one that she was not certain she would ever get used to although Valor had been with her as long as she could remember. She fought the spirit now. She couldn't let it take her over. Valor wanted blood. It wanted to make the demons pay. Tessara needed to think.
She breathed deep and walked over to the wounded elf. "Here. Let me help you with that." She gently took the bandage from his hands and tied it herself.
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The area is lit by burning embers, well not really embers more like half of a building has fallen down here with you all and its on fire enough to see by. As Tanith casts like, it sorta bitter sweet. It is as bright as day down here now, but all the bodies, parts of bodies. Even if you wanted to it would sadly take a day or two to bury everyone and gather all the parts. You feel you are needed elsewhere, you need to make it back to the surface.
The ceiling and far walls of this vast cavern recede into darkness, even beyond the light of the fires and the Light upon his Shield. On the far side the wall has collapsed into an enormous mound of rubble, here and there you can see the arms and legs of a victim that didn't manage to get caught in the mass featherfall. In the far back of the cavern a disturbing shape looms. Its nearly the size of a horse.. even with the horrible perception checks, it appears to be a giant spider, and I do mean giant sized, its bigger the a heavy warhorse.
The woman, as you go to help her to her feet she thanks you."Thank you ser, I am unscathed. thank you for your assistance. I am Anevia."
As Tanith's First channel goes off, everyone's wounds begin to knit together. Ragathiel's power flows through him filling you all with a renewed sense of urgency and not as much fear as one would expect at seeing a spider of that size across the large cavern.
Tessara helps the old elf bandage his eyes."I thank thee lass, your kindness is to much."He reaches a hand up to touch the side of your face, he realizes that you are elven. and begins to cast a spell."For your kindness, the next three circles worth of spells you cast will be drawn from my mind not yours, so they will not use up one of your daily uses."
The human noble walks up to Tanith."To you I am grateful. Tell me priest, Whom do you Serve?"
"I serve my lord Ragathiel - the General of Vengeance. I'm sorry to say that I think my lord will be extra busy this day. I'm Tanith Petrovich, come lets check and see who else can be helped. I feel the need to leave this place quickly.
"Assess our capabilities, plan our exit, and get you to the surface."
The smiling human adds "Tamaell of Cheliax. I owe a dragon my life and the demons have made me their enemy this day. May they regret this."
Seeing that those buried are all dead, Niesen pushes himself to his feet, pulls out his lantern and lights it from some of the burning debris.
"My name is Niesen Kurch," the big man says by way of introduction. "I think we should get out of here as well. Demons came from down here, and I don't wanna fight any demons on their terms. Course, I'm not looking forward to fighting giant spiders, either."
For the first time Leto opens his mouth. Before he seemed just stunned by the happenings.
A thousands gold you say? Well, we might be lucky just to be alive here. That dragon saved us. Such a huge and beatiful creature. We should thank her!
He then mounts Blackpaw and rides to the woman kneeing next to the death.
Are you allright? Were those your friends or family? I´m sorry for your loss, but you are still alive and should really join us!
"Where are we?" asked Tessara. She had never heard of an area beneath Kenabres.
Maybe we are in the Abyss? I surely don´t hope so. What i heard it should look different then. Who knows what those demons can do?
One thousand gold! To each! - Dolok's mind swims with the implications of what could be done with such a huge amount of money. Being so young, he was easily impressed, and seeing the tragedy around him depicted clearly in all those bodies, his mind was almost chasing for the opportunity to think of something else, anything else.
"No idea where we are, but I assume we're in some cave deep bellow Kentabres. Is anyone aware how long have we been falling? Seconds, minutes?"
It's a very good thing my horse is not here, at least. I hope nothing has happened to the stable I've left him in...
Raising his shield into a defensive position, he twirls his scimitar towards the general direction of the huge spider (spiders?) and adds: "Quickly, lead the wounded towards the other direction. I will cover your retreat. If any of you are warriors, you are welcome to lock shields with me."
Niesen twirls his staff and comes to stand next to Dolok. "I'll help you cover our flank."
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The cavern you find yourselves in, now that you get your feet back under you, looks like this. To the west is that pile of rubble, completely negating any chance of going that way unless you spend a day or two digging out the rubble and building a large carn for the dead here.
To the east you can not see the far wall beyond the light of the rubble burning and Light spell.This is where you see that one Huge sized spider, its about 60' away and not moving, there is a even larger chunk that fell from above off the cathedral.
to the south the chamber also extends past the Light.
To the north the chamber also extends past the light.
Anevia, the human female goes to help the old elf to walk, she has but four arrows in her quiver, her blade was lost somewhere in the fall. She does have her bow out though with an arrow knocked, hes following behind her (the elf moves at half movement or 6)."No my only family was in the Cathedral.
Horgus, the human male picks up a couple small rocks and a piece of wood that will serve as a club. He will stay in the rear and watch over the two others. he has basically hired you all to get him out of here and doesn't want to stand in the front line."Go deal with that spider, ill keep these two safe.
"Is that a good idea?" Niesen asks Horgus. "Wouldn't going around be safer?"
Tanith takes his pack off and hands it to Horgus ."Food ,water, and more importantly flint and steel and torches are in there. I'm going with these two to check out the spider and my light goes with me. Oh if I don't die I'll want that back so take good care of it alright?"
Tamaell reluctantly leaves the pair to check out the spiders.
"Let us see what Under Kenabres has to offer. I hope the Under Inn is wells stocked."
Better we take out that spider before it falls in our back or something.
Leto lights his torch and mounts it on the shield sconce.
"I'm more worried about what it'll do to our fronts. How do we do this, just charge it?"
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spider is 60-ish feet east, not moving.
You have one light spell active sheading light for 20' around Tanith's shield.
You have one Torch burning in Leto's shield sconce sheading light for 20' around him as well.
The Spider is roughly 60-ish feet east, 40' into the darkness. But some of you have lowlight vision and darkvision so you can pretty much make it out. It still has not responded to the lights or your movements for that matter.
"With a bit luck that thing is dead already. If we're unlucky it is just knocked out by the falling stone ... and we're about to wake it up. Well let's so go see if this day can get any worse, unless someone else has a better plan for finding out if the house sized spider is alive or dead?"
If it´s knocked out we should kill it off beofer it comes awake. I´m getting a different suspicion though. Not quite the wizard, but it may well be an illusion. Let´s find out!
"In the dark like this, it could be a giant statue! Or, it could just be waiting for us to walk over and get eaten. It's kinda chubby, maybe doesn't get much exercise. Could be a lazy gigantic spider."
"I could always loose an arrow at it. If it were alive, I can't imagine that it would simply let me pincushion it," Tessara offered while unslinging her bow.
"Do it Tessara. Let us see what we are dealing with. Everyone - get ready!"
Tessara notched an arrow and fired at the giant spider, taking a moment to aim carefully.
Leto readies a charge by attack on the spider.
"Not a statue," Niesen says. "Got any more arrows. That seems like a good plan to me."
"I'm an idiot" Tanith mutters. He then casts guidance.
"Keep stuffing it with arrows girl! Leto, please do not do anything foolish, we do not know if the are more of those creatures out there in the dark! Hold!" - Dolok raises his scimitar high, but holds his ground, his shield held firmly in front of him.