Hamshanks ignored all pretense of pleasantries as he pounded into the meeting room in the Grand Lodge in Absalom. “Never time to do it right, is there? Gorum see us through this, then.” He grunted loudly and leveled his glare at the entire room. “Ever been to Qadira? Religion is almost a fad down there, with new cults springing up like weeds and getting crushed just as quickly. It has been that way for centuries."
“But some make a mark—on Qadira or in the Chronicles. Three centuries ago, the archdevil Moloch, preaching surrender to the desert heat, suddenly became the rage. Qadirans walked into the desert just to die just as if the heat was their paradise. The most devout sought out the hidden Citadel of Flame, where a fearsome bull-headed idol of Moloch judged them and sent the worthy to Malebolge, the sixth layer of Hell. No surprise that Sarenrae’s priests launched a mighty crusade to demolish the citadel. After two weeks, a great sandstorm swallowed the expedition—and, it seemed, the citadel and its idol. Nothing more was heard from either."
“Until ten days ago, that is. Sandstorms regularly scour the Qadiran highlands, and this time they emptied an entire valley of dunes. Poking out of that valley, visible only to those soaring above—such as a flying Pathfinder wizard—was the lofty spire of a fortress: the Citadel of Flame, presumably."
“Hopefully we are the first to learn about its reappearance and we need to act fast. The Decemvirate doesn’t expect any trouble, so they’re sending you. But I do expect trouble—who knows what’s infesting that citadel? Get in there fast and find that idol—it could be the key to the entire cult. It’s likely statue-sized, maybe as big as me, and should have a bull’s head on it. And for Gorum’s sake be careful.”
Now, after a swift voyage to Sedeq and a tiring trek through the endless Qadiran dunes, the sun beats down on a maze of red slickstone, with delicate arches and towering columns called hoodoos dotting the landscape. Somewhere within this expanse lies the Citadel of Flame and within, the idol of Moloch.
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Xien observes the disturbing hoodoos as he cleans the sweat from his scaled front. The wide shouldered nagaji steps over one of the rocks covering from the horrible Sun light of the Qadiran sands with his shield.
"I feel we are close to the place the flying wizard told us the possible Citadel was standing. What do you think Growler?" by now, the paladin has learned to trust in the hunters good orientation as the group has navigated through the dunes.
He then draws his trident into his right free hand and places all his attention on what lies ahead.
"I feel some danger ahead of us, we better prepare. Whatever difficulty we have endured until now, nothing will have comparison to what lies ahead." he then looks to his Serenrae buddy next to whom he has engaged in battle so often recently, Alexandria, and continues "I haven't had this feeling since we abandoned that ill spawned dungeon of the Emerald Spire."
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The hot desert air ruffles Alexandria’s platinum hair. The look upon this strong cleric of Serenrae is stern as she stares out over the red slickstone.
Let us be prepared to deal with the foul creatures that may block our way.
At that she readies her scimitar and shield, which is emblazoned with the symbol of Sarenrae.
Alexandria bows her head, By your power and guidance mighty Dawnflower may your light and fire shine through me and cleanse the evil that has been set upon this land so that you will be glorified.
Then looking at the others, Shall we go
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Quiella bows. "We will find and retrieve the idol."
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Quiella wipes the sweat from her brow and looks toward the maze. "Another maze. He didn't say it was a maze. Why didn't he say it was a maze? Maybe this maze will be as interesting as the last maze. Actually the last maze got boring after the first hour or three." She sighs. She glances at her plate mail, shining brightly under the desert sun, then repositions it slightly. "I chose the wrong outfit for this party."
She looks at her companions. "Are we waiting on something?"
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A tall lanky half-orc, not all bone and muscle like many, stands beside you, a tiger at his side. "It's mayhap a bit warm. No worries, maze or no, we'll figure this out, get the idol, get back. Find halfling who killed cousin...wait..No, he's dead. Find person responsible for sending halfling, yes. That's it." the half-orc says, carrying on some sort of conversation with himself, or mayhaps the tiger.
He seems to notice you all for the first time, even though he traveled with you from Absalom. "Oh, where are my manners, I am Growler Bloodlet, hunter. This is Tiger, mayhaps that's her name, mayhaps that is just who she is, we have not determined that." Growler says.
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Flying Wizards wow. I have never scene one of those before. Ib stops himself from saying anymore. He knows some people dont like his enthusiam. Ib covers his head from the sun. He then contines on his the others. He pats his weapons that are on him, his sawblade and starknife. The young halfing is dressed in armor and looks a bit fearsome.
The path descends through a maze of cliffs, opening into a slot canyon of smooth red stone surrounded by towering hoodoos. At the far side, two hoodoos carved into enormous bull-headed men leer down on the canyon, while those nearby look like stylized flames. To either side, the canyon walls rise steeply in a series of rough ledges to the clifftops above. Brass doors on a massive wall of baked gray mud can be seen through an arch at the far side of the canyon.
As Quiella makes it about half way across the valley and before anyone can make a good examination of the area, two small sized beings composed of pure fire emerge from behind a hoodoo in the north and a hoodoo from the south.
One fire creature slides down the ledges to confront Alexandria. It's fiery fist slams against the clerics armor, but luckily does not burn her.
The other burning monster swiftly makes its way down to confront Xien, attacking him as well with a slam. The Nagaji Paladin isn't as fortunate as the cleric, as its fire makes it past Xien's defenses and begins to burn him.
Initiative
2 Fire Creatures
Xien (2 dmg, Ref Save needed) <= Up
Muirdarcaien <= Up
Ib <= Up
Alexandria <= Up
Quiella <= Up
Growler/Tiger <= Up
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Quiella tries to thump one of the fire creatures with her hammer, but it swerves just in time to avoid the blow.
Muirdarcaien has more success as he slices through his flaming target, while Xien finishes it off with his trident. The Nagaji then steps up to the remaining creature and bashes it soundly with his shield.
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Growler, Ib, and Alexandria all attempt to attack the fire monster with their weapons, but none of them are able to hit the fast moving creature. After Ib opens his defenses in order to get a better position in combat, the ball of living fire strikes the halfling fighter and threatens to light him on fire. Apparently unsatisfied with the minor burns he gives the halfling, the fire creature slams Ib again, intensifying his injuries.
Initiative (Round 2)
Fire Creature
Xien (2 dmg) <= Up
Muirdarcaien <= Up
Ib (4 dmg, 2 Ref Saves needed)<= Up
Alexandria <= Up
Quiella <= Up
Growler/Tiger <= Up
Ib manages to extinguish himself twice before igniting, while Muirdarcaien's scythe cuts the fire creature in half, destroying it.
With the bull-headed statues leering down on you from above and the hoodoos standing gracefully up to the sky, the group can now take its time exploring the valley. The feature that perhaps stands out the most is the arch at the east end of the canyon with a multitude of faint runes carved on its front.
Having spotted it just before the elemental attack, Alexandria's attention turns to a small outcrop near the brass gate which just might bare some examination.
Inside the outcropping, Xien discovers two mummified and perfectly preserved corpses of what appears to be dervishes based on their clothing. A closer look reveals 4 identical potion-like vials of liquid and 4 extremely well made arrows on the bodies.
All four are Oil of Bless Weapon
As for the arch, Xien notices that that a few of the more ancient glyphs are written in a different language than the rest and have been partially rubbed out recently.
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Quiella sheathes her greatsword and then retrieves her Lucerne Hammer. She taps the door with the butt of her hammer.
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Xien rubs the ancient glyphs and tries to read them .
"It seems and old culture has been here before us. Perhaps the cultists of the Citadel themselves wrote them time before." while the specialists try to decipher them, Xien just starts walking closer to the fortress.
"Perhaps it is a good idea to check the exterior before trying to go in." the nagaji moves around the structure and checks what is in the laterals and back.
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Alexandria sheaths her scimitar and pulls out a wand. She walks up to Xien and smiles.
Seems like you are always getting hurt. What ever shall I do with you?
She lowers the wand down to and touches it to each of Xien’s shoulders.
By the power and glory of Sarenrae your wounds shall be healed.
She then walks up to IB and smiles to him as well.
Brave master Halfling please allow the warmth of Sarenrae to heal you.
She again touches the wand to the shoulders and repeats,
By the power and glory of Sarenrae your wounds shall be healed.
She then puts the wand back away and pulls out her scimitar.
Well we should be more wary as we proceed it seems as if we will be under constant attack if my feelings are correct.
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Xien shivers at the cleric's caring touches and looks at Alexandria a bit overwhelmed by the emotion "Th-thanks Alexandria."
The nagaji feels how the blessing touch of Serenrae heals his burned shoulders "Those fires were tricky. I expect we will have to fight flames even bigger than those inside the Citadel of Flame."
After a brief examination of the undecipherable languages carved into the arch and finding nothing else of interest in the immediate area, the group continues the opening and towards the Citadel itself.
Beyond the arch, the red stone hoodoos open up to a massive citadel. The stronghold appears to have two parts: the nearest is a squat, square fortress covered in decaying plaster and topped by an enormous minaret from which a thin plume of smoke escapes. The plaster walls are richly decorated with intricate geometric carvings of dancing flames, and smaller minarets rise from the corners. At the east end of that building, the valley floor drops suddenly and a windowless second structure perches on a plateau beyond, rising gracefully from the void in a tangle of minarets and spires. Even though centuries of sand have scoured away most of the gold leaf that once decorated the structure, the sunlight reflecting off the deep red stone of the citadel makes the entire structure glow like a massive bonfire. A delicate, red, enclosed bridge links the first fortress with the second one beyond. A pair of massive brass doors covered in a flowing decorative script blocks access to the near fortress. The writing seems similar to one of the languages on the carved into the arch.
Wasting no time, Quiella taps the door with the butt of her hammer. After waiting a few moments, no one answers the door.