1]The Axe isn't in that room you would have seen it when you opened the door.
2)You have cleared this level..I tell you this so that you are not wasting any time looking for stuff that is not here.
3)I'm off to Paizocon UK in about 40 minutes so I don't have time for a long list of what's where..see you on Monday
Eltariel thinks a long moment.
"I think we need to scout the stairs we found before asking more questions. Perhaps there are other levels bellow this one but before we encounter the Axe itself."
The steps follow the curve of the wall into the darkness and descend almost 150 feet before debouching into a strange cavern..
The stairs you found behind the immense gate lead down in a lazy arc, spiraling deep into the earth. After a great while, the stairs finally terminate at a landing with a plain stone door.
The door opens into a dark space smelling of deciduous blossoms and needles of pine. At first it appears you have found an evening forest, but you soon realize it is an expansive chamber whose dimensions are shrouded by the gloom. The star-filled but moonless sky, clearly artificial, is a mere fifteen feet above your heads. Verdant life pervades the space, and the floor is a turf of soft moss and green grass extending to the far wall, 30 feet distant.
The wall curves slightly, as if rounded
Just outside the door, a well-trodden path winds to your left, which is east. After about 15 feet, a wall of tangled brush, rife with sharp thorns, completely blocks the path, spanning from the wall of the shaft you just exited to the “forest’s” wall.
Suddenly, to the west, there is a flash of glimmering green light. It came from amidst a nearby grove of firs before it vanished. Between the trees and your position is a small brook that seems to sprout spontaneously from the far wall and meander north until it meets the wall of the staircase-shaft you just exited, where it turns west and disappears from sight
Considering the tight confines of the forest, Holgur hangs his axe on his belt and draws his sword instead.
"Do you think the stream is an invitation for us?"
"I do not know," Eltariel confesses. "One of the three deities referenced in the temple above us was a nature deity, by her look, we may suppose that this is a place sacred to her. Possibly this water is 'water sacred and pure' ..." she looks at the stream, then around at the surroundings.
Perception:
Knowledge (nature):
Amazed and intrigued by this unusual underground nature preserve Layjiani looks around interestedly and scans her memory if she has ever seen or heard of the like before.
Perception:
Knowledge(nature):
The brook seems to be about 3 feet deep, the thorn wall is thick but Eltariel could pass it using her druidic powers.There is another flash of greenish light from the pines to the west.
"I think we are being beckoned."
"It would certainly look that way," Eltariel nods. "Let's investigate this brook first, then the firs. I can pass the wall of thorns, if thats what it be, but I would rather find another way than cut through it ... it seems wrong, somehow."
The brooks waters are fresh and surprisingly cold. It even contains small fish. However apart from that nothing stands out about it.You make your way towards the firs.
Within the small grove a ball off greenish light hovers..small tendrils and arcs of energy emenate from its surface only to be reabsorbed..
"Ah friends, you have come to me at last.It is most gratifying to see you friends I was beginning to think noone would ever show up"
The voice crackles and hisses with energy.
"Greetings then," Eletariel smiles. "We came to this temple seeking the source of unnatural weather that sweeps the lands for many days' ride in all directions. From what we have found, it would seem that this is due to the bonds on this weapon of chaos weakening and disrupting the natural order."
"Oh no friends that is not so..listen while I tell you the truth"
“Time itself has finally come to these antiquated halls, friends,” the creature whispers, “As is right. Too long has judgment held to this fortress. Unforgiving laws, tradition without reason, cruel mandates from forgotten gods still playing out needlessly! The balance of Chaos needs return here. Tried I have to set right the fulcrum, friends, but I am but one small creature against the stinging darkness of ignorance.”
Aude perks up hearing this
" Interesting , tell us more "
Nevertheless sense motive
Layjiani pays particular attention to the words of the creature as well
(Sense Motive:) yet her reaction is a less friendly one. With a frown and suspiscious tone to her voice she says
"Before you speak further of your ideas creature, this one would know your name and what manner of being do you be? For you speak of the necessity of chaos when it is obviously law and order which hold the destruction of the world at bay.
More, you do speak of the (insert race name we learned) with derison yet all this one has seen do show them to be a good, honerable and law abiding race. So what cause do you have to speak ill of them"
If her companions are surprised at the length of the speech from the normaly quiet scout she does not notice, her attention being focused on the glowing presence.
Aude
Layjiani
The Sphere crackles with energy..
"The balance is all..it must be maintained..chaos..law..two sides of the same scales.... should one side overweigh the other then the whole structure crashes down and utter ruin ensues"
The green light continues to flutter which each syllable of its speech.
“I will tell you more about these troubled halls. But first you must stamp out the…thorn in the side of Balance. A dryad of sadistic judgment lies beyond the prickly wall. Silence her for me, and we will speak again!”
"The balance is all..it must be maintained..chaos..law..two sides of the same scales.... should one side overweigh the other then the whole structure crashes down and utter ruin ensues"
“I will tell you more about these troubled halls. But first you must stamp out the…thorn in the side of Balance. A dryad of sadistic judgment lies beyond the prickly wall. Silence her for me, and we will speak again!”
Eltariel remains impassive as the creature demands that she slay what she knows to be a servant of nature. Internally she seethes.
"We will consider your words," she replies calmly and gesturing to the others to follow, withdraws.
When they are out of earshot ...
"I do not trust this creature. At least, I do not intend to follow it's words blindly. While it speaks truly that law and chaos must be in balance, we have already seen that this balance is being disrupted by events here - I would think twice before taking action which could make things worse, not better. As there is no way for the rest of you to pass the barrier without damaging it, I will go and speak to this dryad alone. Have no fear, I can approach her amicably and I have weaponry and ability enough to at the least escape her and retreat should she prove hostile."
The creature is lying but that does not mean he is not saying the truth ...
The creature is lying but that does not mean he is not saying the truth ...
"How is that?"
"I think Aude means that the creature is being dishonest, but presenting us with it's own unique point of view rather than outright lying," Eltariel supplies. "We know that the balance is out of kilter, and so far as I am concerned it is because of too much chaos in this area, not the lack of it. It the lawful restraints here can balance that chaos, all the better. As I said, I'll speak to the dryad - her kind I know well, and if I have problems, rest assured I have more than sufficient ability to fight or escape."
"Just be careful...there is a madness I think infecting all who dwell within these halls..maybe the axe corrupts anything that stays too near for too long"
"I'll be careful," Eltariel promises, and casts mage armour on herself for good measure.
She approaches the wall of thorns and slips easily through it ...
"Hello!" she calls in the sylvan language.
Eltariel
Suddenly a mesmerizing face comes into view with skin the color of mahogany and framed by efflorescent green hair resembling the strands
of a willow tree. Soon you can make out a woman’s slender shape separate from the massive oak she stood behind, her body robed
modestly in a mantle of silks and woven leaves. “Greetings,” she says sharply, “What are the outlanders’ intentions?”
Eltariel admires the beautiful tree and it's lovely dryad for a long moment. She eyes the thick ivy pods, and can guess what they may contain.
"For now, to talk: my friends and I came here because the weather for hundreds of miles around is disrupted and out of it's natural pattern. The oracle in the temple above told us this is because the axiomatic bonds on the anarchic weapon imprisoned here are worn thin. We sought to restore them, but a being yonder," she waves vaguely in the direction of the green glowing thing, "says otherwise. What say you?"
Eltariel..
Sense Motive:
"As preist of nature, I am far more inclined to act on your behalf than that of the creature out there," Eltariel assures her. "I am not blind to the potential of your having been corrupted by your closeness to the Axe, though. Are these," she gestures to the cocoons, "the remains of those that attempted to follow the will-o-wisp's direction?"
The Dryad shakes her head sadly.."Those are the tombs of the Fae folk who once assisted me in tending this place..they were killed by orcs..strange corrupted orcs from the lower reaches of this place. I gave them what burial I could. help me outlander..destroy the wisp and let me restore this place to the light and joy it once had"
"I will return to my companions, and we will do what we can. If we defeat the wisp, will you open the wall of thorns for us to pass?" Eltariel asks.
Eltariel returns to the others through the wall of thorns.
"Well met again, my friends. The dryad is hardly deceptive of dangerous. The being in the pines is a will-o-wisp that works against her, and she is holding the line against it and against what she describes as 'corrupted orcs' from the lower levels. If we destroy the wisp she'll assist us, and I have no trouble believing her."
Knowledge (duneoneering):
Knowledge (nature):
What does Eltariel know of will-o-wisps (and dryads for that matter)?
Eltariel
Continuing to glare at in the direction of the sickly green glwing being, Layjiani considers what she knows of such creatures.
Then as Eltariel goes to visit the Dryad, the Ranger also considers her knowledge of those beautiful creatures as well.
Knowledge (dun):
Knowledge (nat):
When Eltarial comes back, Layjiani listens intently to her tale she answers "Yes of course this one do be ready to destroy that deceptive creature of chaos"
" We are not anymore trying to restore a balance there , we are being manipulated into making the law triumph .
I have nothing against lawfull creature but the way they are manipulating us is something I have to react to.
I was waiting to see if the brainwashing would help us finish our mission but this is getting a little too much there.
I won't be a part of this in the current conditions."
"Are we, Aude?" Eltariel asks. "What I see is a disruption of the natural order: the axe is chaos, the bindings are law. The two are cancelling one another out, nothing more or less ... only now, they aren't, and the weather patterns are being influenced by chaos. By siding with law, we are only restoring the balance and ensuring the natural order is maintained."
Holgur and Avinar look at each other and move away slightly.
I would have said the weather pattern are influenced by the balance being out of order nos especially by chaos .
I aggree with you that Chaos seems guilty of trying to rock the balance especially with this dryad.
Now, my problems are that we have to take care of not overbalancing there . And sincerely , the way Law has affected Layjiani is certainly not a part of the natural order ...
"Then we can agree that with the balance out of kilter we shouldn't be siding with the chaotic forces? That said, both dryads and wisps are normally chaotic in nature, but in this case it seems the dryad is siding against the overtly chaotic forces ... this implies to me that it is siding with the natural order, as is it's nature, rather than with law."
We should not side with anyone there . Killing tends to be definitive . Let us explore a little more , we could find something which would be more indicative
"I don't think we can explore anywhere without taking a side here. It would appear that we need to kill one creature or the other in order to proceed. So Aude which is it to be the good one or the evil one?"
Layjiani
Read the last spoiler for Eltariel
"I am going to speak with the sphere once more ."
Aude approach the sphere :
"It seems we have problems. The dryad claims you are the one disrupting the balance . I succeeded in convincing my friends to let you explain a little more before they attack you. Can you explain a little more about how you came to be there ? "
diplomacy
Eltariel winces at Aude's introduction ... will-o-wisps can become invisible at will - should it choose to avoid us now, there is little we can do about it ...
"Attack me...ah I see the witch dryad must have enthralled your friends and subborned them to attack me..ah well then.."
The wisp attacks Aude lunging at her with murderous intent
Surprise round
Wisp damage
initiative
Wisp 29
Eltariel 15
Holgur 12+
Gashelle 12
Avinar 10
Layjiani 5
Aude 3
Eltariel flips open the book she holds ready and recites the words of a spell ...
Damage:
The page she reads from disintegrates and ath glowing balls of force slam into the wisp ..it's hard to tell what effect they have but perhaps the pained howl from the wisp is a clue.Holgur moves towards the wisp ready to strike when he can.
Gashelle?
Gashelle moves towards the fight.Avinar follows along. all three fighters are within striking distance for the next round.
Layjiani?
"That was unwise, my erstwhile friend. I wish you a happy afterlife"
Aude moves back from the wisp putting herself behind Holgur.
At first the scout just listens to and observes the back and forth between the priestess and the druid. But when Aude says this ". And sincerely , the way Law has affected Layjiani is certainly not a part of the natural order ..." Layjiani frowns and replies with some heat "What mean you! Do not speak as if this one do no be here!And this one do no be affected by anything! This one simply do speak as things must and should be! A Law and Order to the world keeps evil and chaos at bay! Always has this one felt that..." A look of confusion crosses her face for a moment as Layjiani for the first time since their arrival in this place contemplates her past feelings compared with her present ones. Shaking her head she continues "This one do be sure that always have I known Law..." again she falters.
Further contemplation shall have to wait though for by now battle has commenced and, her instincts kicking in, the ranger quickly strings a bow and arrow and lets loose.
Layjiani's arrow enters the wisp and seems to damage it further.Aude moves away the wisp lashing out at her as she goes
AoO from the wisp damage