Children of the Mud

The tool shed looks very ordinary, and you open the door to find a very basic, and largely empty, shed. A few rusted tools, a few broken crates, and one large brick made of dried mud that you wouldn't ordinarily give a second glance are pretty much everything you see in this small room. You step inside to investigate the mud block, and find yourself in a dimly lit antechamber of one of the strangest temples you have ever set foot in. It's more like a cave than a temple. Seemingly made entirely of mud, there are no right angles to be seen anywhere and the floor, while mostly flat, unlike most of the walls and ceiling, is still not particularly level. Shdows abound as depressions in the wall and ceiling reflect what little light is in the room to many directions. There are doors on each wall of the squarish room. Behind you is a set of double doors. On either side of the are smaller doors leading to what looks like a gathering room and a coat closet. In front of you is a large archway opening up to the main sanctuary, which looks to be as nonsensical in it's construction as the other rooms. The benches seem to be erratically shaped and positioned; even the altar is in a seemingly random position. You hear voices coming from the sanctuary, but will need to enter the sanctuary to see any details.

Menik says "I see two possible courses of action. One, we walk in and try to act like we belong there as mud worshippers or whatever the hell they are. Two, I burn my one and only flexible bonded item spell for the day to cast invisibility sphere and we try to sneak in that way. In either case, if the deception fails, we fight if need be."

Lem smiles and says in a manner that shows he was oblivious to his recent failure in dialogue, "I say we just walk in like we own the place and let me do the talking. Everyone likes a cook, right?"

Larissa opens her mouth, seemingly about to contradict the halfling, but stops. "That might actually be a very good plan," she observes, seemingly unable to believe the words as she speaks them. "This cult is founded on chaos. They will surely be ready to counter an organized attack or a well-planned infiltration. But will they know how to respond to chaos?"





[sblock=Larissa stat block]
Larissa
Initiative: +0
AC: 22 (22 flat-footed, 11 Touch)
HP: 93 Current: 93
CMB: +11 CMD: 22
Fort: +10 Reflex: +2 Will: +9 (currently wearing Cloak of Resistance)
PER Roll: +3
Move: 30’ (w/boots of Striding & Springing)
Current Weapon in Hand: Greatsword

Weapons:
+2 Greatsword Attack: +14/+9 = [BAB(6/1) + STR(4) + WF(1) + Magic(2)]
Damage: 2d6+8, Crit: 19-20/x2,
Special: pommel is hollow, contains scripture
Pow Att w/+2 Greatsword Attack: +12/+7 = [BAB(6/1) + STR(4) + WF(1) + Magic(2) +PA(-2)]
Damage: 2d6+14, Crit: 19-20/x2,




Spells prepared:
0 Level (4) Level 01 (5+1) Level 02 (4+1)
* Detect Magic * Bless * Shatter
* Read Magic * Protection from Evil * Resist Energy
* Light * Detect Evil * Grace
* Guidance * Obscuring Mist * Zone of Truth
* *unassigned * D: Spiritual Weapon
* D: Shield of Faith


Level 03 (4+1) Level 04 (2+1)

* Speak with Dead * Summon Monster IV
* Remove Curse * Divination
* D: Holy Smite
* Dispel Magic
* Searing Light
* D: Heroism



Channeling at current level: Channel 4d6,
DC 18 =(10 + 1/2 Cleric lvl + CHA +2 for Glory) for
Undead to Save.





[/sblock]

Menik says "Hmm. Hmm. It's going to require saying some things that sound weird, crazy, foolish. I think that if any of us can pull it off, maybe you can, Lem. After all you did have communication with one of them. Let's try it."

You enter the sanctuary, more than a little concerned about what it will look like fully, and are surprised to find a reasonably normal room. There are a lot of partial and full columns of mud emitting from both the floor and ceiling, the seats are all random sizes and are placed randomly, and there are no true corners to be found anywhere in the room, but otherwise, it's pretty standard. The altar is more or less where you would expect it to be after seeing the whole room; the location of the seats, while random, is organized enough to allow everyone to see the altar; and there are enough torches and other light sources to keep the room free of excess shadows, even if the light is dim. As you walk past two mud statues, you see that there are four individuals in the room. A very pretty assimar female acolyte and a Whitecloak guard are chatting in one of the corners, and there is a male dwarven acolyte and what you guess has to be the high priest standing near the altar, with the high priest doing most of the talking and the dwarf looking very reverant as he listens. The acolytes are dressed simply, wearing fairly standard brown robes. The high priest is a stark contrast, looking beyond bizarre; it looks like his outfit tries to incorporate every single piece of clothing, male and female, ever conceived using every single material ever used for clothing, all in one outfit that covers the high priest from head to toe, including a mask over his face. The high priest seems to note your presence briefly before continuing his lesson to the acolyte; no one else seems to notice or care.

"So, it looks like no one is taking serious notice of us. Should I still try and talk to these folks or should we continue to walk around like we belong here," Lem asks.

Menik tells Lem "Ah so, muddy buddy. Perhaps the Whitecloak would be good to speak with first among our fellow Children here."

[section]

[/section]

[sblock=Actions/Rolls]Nuthin' t' see here![/sblock]

[sblock=StatBlock]
Weylyn Wealbetwyn
Male aasimar bloodrager 9 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 15, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 7)
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 110 (9d10+36)
Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +6; +2 bonus vs. spells cast by self or an ally
Defensive Abilities blood sanctuary, improved uncanny dodge; DR 1/—; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 50 ft.
Melee cold iron dagger +12/+7 (1d4+3/19-20) or
. . muutos +13/+8 (2d6+5/×3) or
. . silver cestus +12/+7 (1d4+3/19-20)
Special Attacks blood casting, bloodrage (23 rounds/day), staggering strike
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +11)
. . 1—corruption resistance (vs evil hr/lvl on self)[APG] (DC 14)
Bloodrager Spells Known (CL 9th; concentration +11)
. . 2nd (2/day)—elemental touch[APG], glitterdust (DC 14), ironskin, stone discus[ACG]
. . 1st (3/day)—blade lash[ACG], blurred movement[ACG], enlarge person (DC 13), magic missile, stone fist[APG], thunderstomp[ACG]
. . Bloodline Aberrant
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 15
Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 25
Feats Bludgeoner[UC], Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Enforcer[APG], Eschew Materials, Extra Rage, Iron Will, Power Attack
Traits armor expert, resilient (will)
Skills Acrobatics +12 (+20 to jump), Climb +9, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +14, Linguistics +3, Perception +12, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +4, Survival +5 (+7 to get along in the wild, endure severe weather, avoid getting lost, spot natural hazards, and predict weather), Swim +9
Languages Aklo, Celestial, Custom Language, Dwarven, Low Landellan
SQ abnormal reach, fast movement, truespeaker
Other Gear +1 mithral breastplate, muutos[UE], cold iron dagger, silver cestus[APG], boots of swift fury[ACG], ring of vengeful blood magic[ACG], basic maps (major landmarks only), bedroll, blanket[APG], candle (2), chalk, everburning torch, flint and steel, hammer, hammock[UE], knife, utility (0.5 lb), masterwork backpack[APG], mess kit[UE], piton (4), sack (2), silk rope (50 ft.), sunrod (3), tindertwig (4), torch (2), trail rations (6), waterskin (2), 161 gp, 1 sp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Abnormal Reach (Su) Increase reach by 5 ft when raging.
Armor Expert -1 Armor check penalty.
Blood Casting (Su) Cast bloodrager spells while in bloodrage.
Blood Sanctuary +2 (Su) +2 bonus to save vs. spells cast by self or an ally.
Bloodrage (23 rounds/day) (Su) +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 to Will saves, -2 to AC when enraged.
Bludgeoner Inflict nonlethal damage with bludgeoning weapons
Boots of swift fury While raging, +4 def to AC vs. AoO from moving through or out of threat area, or casting spell.
Combat Reflexes (3 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Damage Reduction (1/-) You have Damage Reduction against all attacks.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks.
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Enforcer If you deal nonlethal damage with a melee weapon, make a free Intimidate check to demoralize.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Fast Movement +10 (Ex) +10 feet to speed, unless heavily loaded.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Lv >=13) (Ex) Retain DEX bonus to AC when flat-footed. You cannot be flanked unless the attacker is Level 13+.
Power Attack -3/+6 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Ring of vengeful blood magic (3/day) While bloodraging, cast spell (std act or less) as Attack of Opportunity.
Staggering Strike (DC 17) (Su) On critical hit when raging, target is staggered 1 rd (Fort neg).
Truespeaker Learn two languages for each rank you put in Linguistics.
[/sblock]

Larissa nods her assent to Lem, uncomfortable with the strangely familiar feel of what was supposed to be a nexus of insanity.



[sblock=Larissa stat block]
Larissa
Initiative: +0
AC: 22 (22 flat-footed, 11 Touch)
HP: 93 Current: 93
CMB: +11 CMD: 22
Fort: +10 Reflex: +2 Will: +9 (currently wearing Cloak of Resistance)
PER Roll: +3
Move: 30’ (w/boots of Striding & Springing)
Current Weapon in Hand: Greatsword

Weapons:
+2 Greatsword Attack: +14/+9 = [BAB(6/1) + STR(4) + WF(1) + Magic(2)]
Damage: 2d6+8, Crit: 19-20/x2,
Special: pommel is hollow, contains scripture
Pow Att w/+2 Greatsword Attack: +12/+7 = [BAB(6/1) + STR(4) + WF(1) + Magic(2) +PA(-2)]
Damage: 2d6+14, Crit: 19-20/x2,




Spells prepared:
0 Level (4) Level 01 (5+1) Level 02 (4+1)
* Detect Magic * Bless * Shatter
* Read Magic * Protection from Evil * Resist Energy
* Light * Detect Evil * Grace
* Guidance * Obscuring Mist * Zone of Truth
* *unassigned * D: Spiritual Weapon
* D: Shield of Faith


Level 03 (4+1) Level 04 (2+1)

* Speak with Dead * Summon Monster IV
* Remove Curse * Divination
* D: Holy Smite
* Dispel Magic
* Searing Light
* D: Heroism



Channeling at current level: Channel 4d6,
DC 18 =(10 + 1/2 Cleric lvl + CHA +2 for Glory) for
Undead to Save.





[/sblock]