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Company of Chaos - All Around Golarion
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<blockquote data-quote="Lwaxy" data-source="post: 5783176" data-attributes="member: 53286"><p>The group made a fairly good pace, considering that the street was covered with gilded rubble. The fumes from the gold canals were bothering Zaza and Wilbur, who was now perched on Cajun's shoulder, so avoiding the intersections they had gone to the main street closer to the inner wall. They stopped at every small intersection to check left and right. It was hard to make anything out in the greenish light coming from some moss above, but there were no more dead cultists, which could be seen as either good or bad. Here and there, they found gilded remains of skeletons though. </p><p></p><p>Just when everyone was beginning to relax and talk about what the cultists were really trying to get from this place, something moved in all the glittering gold. Zaza saw it first and cried out a warning. A clanging of shields and weapons now resounded as a pack of flaming, gold-plated skeletons bearing golden scimitars rose up from the nearby ruins and advanced.</p><p></p><p>"Really, again?" Cajun grunted and grabbed his hammer. "Do we have something that attracts undead, or is the world really so full of them?"</p><p></p><p>"The latter, I'm afraid," Bjön answered and was just getting ready to go against the enemy he had dedicated himself to when lightning came out of nowhere, striking the weird looking skeletons and reducing them to gilded ash. An acrid smell rose from where they just had been and Zaza grimaced. Bjön turned to Brenn and stared in disbelief. </p><p></p><p>"No need to thank me," The sorcerer grinned in a challenging way. </p><p></p><p>Anger – righteous anger, as he thought – rose within the paladin. "What, in the name of all gods, was that to be?" he asked in a barely controlled voice. "Those were just skeletons, and I could have probably taken them alone, given my training and equipment. And there is Cajun to help. It might have taken a moment, but we could have done it. Instead, you decide to waste your magic on something so simple. Did it ever occur to you that we might have a need for this type of spells somewhere down and around this road? How many of those lightnings do you have left?"</p><p></p><p>The falling face of the strange man told them he had not considered that, and that he probably only had few, if any, offensive spells remaining. Brenn was about to say something, but Bjön just walked on. The others followed after a moment, leaving Brenn to bring up the rear. Edawon loaded his crossbow and held it at the ready, and Mook decided to do the same. It was not the sort of weapon very effective against undead, but they certainly felt safer. And who could know what else was lurking. </p><p></p><p>"You know this is weird," Zaza whispered to her brother while she readied her own crossbow so that only he could hear. "Last month, we were happily or unhappily doing our daily, harmless duties around our home, and none of us but Mook had ever seen undead before. And she only knew the spirits her grandmother deals with. Now, we seem to begin to treat skeletons, at least, as the most normal thing in the world."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, and that's not the only thing. We have a kobold as... friend? At least as companion, we are on a most dangerous island and still alive and... well I begin to get a grip on this. I felt too restricted in Kassen as it was. I mean, my apprenticeship basically done and not much more to learn about alchemy in such a small town... I am not sure I can go back to small town life after all this."</p><p></p><p>"Who says we have to?" Zaza grinned. "Nothing is really keeping us there. Once we've delivered the amulet we'll hopefully get back, we can set out again." </p><p></p><p>Cajun thought about that and looked at Samin and Mook. He knew Samin would probably not be going back with his father, given the little he knew about them. But Mook had a lot of family in and close to Kassen. He could not imagine the shy, stuttering oracle to want to be out and about for too long. "We'll see."</p><p></p><p>"I could feel at home in this place," Kronk the monk grinned, showing all his teeth. "The city is just my color." </p><p></p><p>"Oh but you pale in comparison to those skeletons," Edawon said. "They were really shiny, you are kind of... dull."</p><p></p><p>"Hey, I'm anything but!"</p><p></p><p>"You are, maybe, anyone's butt," Edawon laughed. He liked the kobold, as much as he had wanted not to at first. </p><p></p><p>"Bridge ahead," Bjön pointed. </p><p></p><p>"No statues this time." Samin was relieved. "I was beginning to think there would be some sort of enemy at every gate."</p><p></p><p>It was the same sort of heat and fumes protected bridge they had seen before. The builders of the city had originally build a normal bridge over a normal water canal, and thinking about it now, the changes would have appeared ugly if the city would have still been intact. Cajun was about to comment on it when there was a banging sound as if someone had exploded one of those expensive balloon toys at a fair, and then a stench like sulfur washed over them. A few meters away, a bony being, almost like a skeleton,l had appeared, skin glistering with some sort of slime dripping to the ground with a hissing sound. The thing had horns and a decidedly evil smile. </p><p></p><p>Edawon, who by now was long visible again, lifted the crossbow he had been holding ready and fired two bolts in quick succession. "Babau," he shouted with a hatred they had never seen in him. </p><p></p><p>Zaza and Mook, without thinking, fired their weapons as well. While Edawon's bolts hit the being in the chest, Mook's found the right shoulder and Zaza's buried itself in the left leg. Bjön and Cajun readied their weapons. </p><p></p><p>"What's a Babau?" Cajun hissed. </p><p></p><p>"Some sort of devil, it looks like." Zaza replied, before she remembered her brother's fear of devils and demons.</p><p></p><p>"Devil," Cajun gulped and went visibly pale. "Not a good idea to fight those." </p><p></p><p>"Not a good idea not to," Kronk said. He kept in the back, having no fitting weapon against such a being and not planning on touching the outsider. </p><p></p><p>"It's not a devil, it is a demon," Edawon explained. "And it has to die!"</p><p></p><p>The Babau was looking almost amused at the bolts in his body. They vanished with more hissing sounds, dissolved by the acid. It was not clear if there was any damage or if the demon had healed, too. When Bjön, with his axe, and Brenn with a short sword, came at him, it swung a wicked looking longspear coated in its own acid. Bjön ducked while advancing, but Brenn got caught at the left cheek and screamed out in pain. </p><p></p><p>"Demon isn't any better." Samin's hands flew as he reached for his components and then made the necessary gestures while pointing at the outsider. A new spell flew from his lips, one he had gained from the spellbook of a cultist. Luckily, he had decided to memorize it just in case. This was the case now. The magic missile he had managed to create hit the Babau unerringly, causing it to stumble backwards. </p><p></p><p>"Do something," Zaza shouted at her brother and fired again, missing widely this time. </p><p></p><p>Mook moved backwards to get a better angle to shoot from and called her wolf back. Bjön rolled forward, hacking at the demon's leg but the quick sidestep from the Babau prevented any damage. Edawon, still cursing the demon out, shot twice again, both times hitting home. Again the bolts dissolved but their enemy now looked decidedly angry. </p><p></p><p>Brenn was spinning around, trying to stab the Babau in the ribs, but not only did the sword glide off the skin of the outsider, the weapon touching the acid was not a good thing. The weapon begun to smoke and to dissolve. Cajun woke from his shock and started to search in his alchemical supplies for something useful. Kronk was suddenly nowhere to be seen. </p><p></p><p>"Figures the kobold runs at the first sign of danger," Brann muttered while jumping out of the reach of the devil's spear. This was, of course, unfair as Kronk had been helpful against the warped wolves before, and in other situations as well. </p><p></p><p>Another magic missile flew by and hit the Babau. Bjön's attack had missed again, but after what he had noticed about the sorcerer's weapon, he was not so keen on hitting the demon anyway. His mind started going over the possibilities when he heard Cajun calling in an almost panicked voice. "Get out of the way!"</p><p></p><p>Edawon turned and ran to reach the others. Mook and Zaza were already behind Cajun, who was taking a few steps back while aiming something at the Babau. Bjön hurried to the left just when the Babau stabbed at Brenn again, seeming to want to finish off one after the other. Brenn was unable to block the attack with the remains of the sword, and the acid coated spear buried itself in the man's left shoulder. </p><p></p><p>Cajun had already been in the process of throwing his bomb at the Babau when the spear stuck. As Brenn cried out and tried to free himself, the bomb came down in front of the demon. At the same time, Mook landed another hit while Zaza missed once more. </p><p></p><p>Flames engulfed their enemy – and unfortunately splashed over to Brenn, who now cried hysterically. Zaza cried out as well, while Mook just looked more determined. To their horror, the demon looked almost unharmed by the flames as they died down. Brenn's howls suddenly ceased as he lost consciousness. Then suddenly the world went dark.</p><p></p><p>Mook cursed, one of those curses she reserved for dire situations and usually cost her a smack from her relatives back home. Stumbling backwards, she attempted to get out of the area of the darkness spell. She could hear Zaza's breathing shifting and deducted she was doing the same. The gnome felt helpless, and not knowing if Brenn was still alive made it worse. None of them, she thought, were ready to go up against a demon, except maybe Edawon – what a hatred he showed – and the paladin. Maybe if Teltz would be here they would stand a chance. Maybe...</p><p></p><p>A shriek and the noise of another bomb exploding interrupted her thoughts. Then there was a sound of something breaking, and the distinct sound of a crossbow firing and hitting something else but the demon. </p><p></p><p>Mook broke out of the are of the spell and bumped into Zaza. "What's going on?" the halfling asked, breathless from tension. The gnome shrugged and looked for Dadawin. She found her wolf crouched next to the road, out of spell range. "D-don't kn-know but it sh-should be light again s-soon, no?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't know how long a demon can maintain a spell," Zaza said, looking around for something, anything, to help them out. </p><p></p><p>A streak of pale yellow passed them by, dashing into the darkened area from which, at the same time, the dwarf emerged by crawling backwards on the ground, spouting a tear in the robes he wore over his mail. From somewhere inside the large patch of darkness emerged an otherworldly scream, and more sounds of fired bolts and the tell-tale hissing of dissolving bolts. Then in the blink of an eye, the spell winked out and they could see the body of the demon, neck looking broken, vanishing from this plane. </p><p></p><p>"What happened?" Zaza asked. </p><p></p><p>Edawon, covered in some yellow powder, grimaced. "When they die here, they just reappear in their native plane. You gotta have to go there, usually, to get them for good."</p><p></p><p>"No, thanks," Cajun grumbled, voice slightly wavering. "All things should stay on their plane, indeed, and not disturb the order of others."</p><p></p><p>"What's that y-yellow s-stuff?" Mook inquired, staring at Edawon, who also seemed to have gotten some damage on his arms from the demon's acid where the spear had scratched him. </p><p></p><p>"Gold dust," the monk explained. "I needed some sort of weapon, and I thought the best option was to blind the Babau for a bit. No sand, no dirt, so I scraped gold off of some of the rubble around here. Worked well, I'd say." </p><p></p><p>"And when the thing was blind, I hammered it down," Cajun said, now sounding proud of himself. "Nothing happened to my weapon either, maybe because I had hit his horns, and that spun the head and broke its neck. Have to admit, it already looked rather damaged."</p><p></p><p>"Nice work," Bjön nodded and then went to check on Brenn. Mook was already kneeling next to the fallen sorcerer, checking his life signs while starting on a healing spell. "How bad is he?"</p><p></p><p>"Qu-quite serious. He h-has burns over a l-lot of his b-body, he l-lost a l-lot of blood from the s-spearwound, there is a-acid d-damage and we are all out o-of healing p-potions."</p><p></p><p>"Your magic not strong enough to make him better?"</p><p></p><p>"I can m-make him better, a-as I can assure he will b-be b-breathing for a while. B-but I only can d-do so m-much a day, and only little with e-each a-attempt."</p><p></p><p>Bjön saw the bleeding stop and the wound now looked like it was a few days old and in the healing process. The acid destruction of the skin was gone, and the burns on the man's face looked less severe. His clothing remains also did not appear to be stuck on the wounds anymore. "We need to undress him."</p><p></p><p>"Y-yes, and apply b-bandages, and healing salves. I d-do n-not know if I have enough of those. H-he will be in p-pain, and we can't take him along in this state."</p><p></p><p>"So, we leave him behind, then?" While not liking the man, this idea seemed wrong to Zaza. "Then who will care for him? Burn victims need a lot of water, no?" Zaza saw Mook, who had taught her a lot about healing, nod gravely. Their water supplies were scarce, as with the negative energy outside, Mook had not been able to purify any water. In here, they had not seen any water resource.</p><p></p><p>"We stay the night, and you use more magic on him tomorrow?" Samin, who only now returned from studying the spot where the demon had vanished, suggested. "Although, that would set us back and we could have camped out right back at the gate."</p><p></p><p>"Maybe we should put him out of his misery," the kobold offered."Just saying, if he is dying anyway because we are out of healing supplies..."</p><p></p><p>"H-he won't d-die!" Mook exclaimed, contradicting her former statement. She already put some medicine into a small flask filled with a greenish liquid, shook the components and then carefully made the still unconscious sorcerer swallow it all.</p><p></p><p> "Didn't you have a wand from the crypt, to cure light wounds?" Bjön suddenly remembered. "Or did you forget that in Teltz' backpack together with most of the other useful things he had?"</p><p></p><p>Samin looked defeated. "I brought some of the stuff, but not all."</p><p></p><p>"That is a no, then," Bjön sighed. He would never again make the mistake not to cross check the equipment his companions traveled with. </p><p></p><p>Kronk had been going through his small backpack and now finally produced a small vial with a silvery powder. "Maybe this will help," he said with hesitation. "It does not heal but it turns you into one of your ancestors for about 3 days. It is part of a kobold ritual that..."</p><p></p><p>"It would shapechange him?" Bjön inqured. "And thus cover his injuries? And when it runs out he returns to what he is now, am I right?" The paladin had heard of potions like that, but they were usually taken to make you tougher in battle for a short time.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, but he would continue to heal normally in that time. Sometimes, the rich in my tribe use it to make someone stay alive for quite some time. But..."</p><p></p><p>"We'll try that," Bjön decided. "It has been used on other races before, yes?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, but there are risks..."</p><p></p><p>Mook took the vial from the kobold's hand and stared at the powder. "How do I g-get it into him? C-can I m-mix it with water?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes." Kronk tried to keep up with the speed of events. He had not even explained the risks. The side effects. But then, the man would otherwise die. </p><p></p><p>"He will be able to come with us?" Cajun asked. The sorcerer, while arrogant and distant and quite a show off, had been useful after all, having one less member knowing how to use a sword was not a good thing. </p><p></p><p>"Yes, he will just look different and may be confused. And he might now have all of his spells, if any, and maybe some others in their place."</p><p></p><p>"So, if he comes out as his great-great-grandfather who was a farmer, he might only know how to tend fields and cows, is that it?" Zaza asked. </p><p></p><p>"Basically, but usually you take on the form of your most heroic ancestor." Kronk showed all his teeth in the attempt of a grin. "And he has been going on how he was from a long line of sorcerers."</p><p></p><p>In all the talk, Mook had already given the powder to Brenn, and a weird change took place in front of their eyes. The flesh of the sorcerer became pale, his frame slimmer and his eyes turned yellow. He began to look like he had not had a good meal in a long time, and the fingers looked a lot more like claws now. </p><p></p><p>"What, in the name of Desna, is that?" Bjön gasped. </p><p></p><p>"I believe," Samin said while staring at the transformation, "that is a Fetchling."</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Bjön's Pathfinder Diary</p><p></p><p>3rd of Neth</p><p></p><p>Isle of Dread, City of Xin-Grafar</p><p></p><p>I have the feeling we are running out of time. And I am probably losing control of the situation, if I ever had control, that is. We made it into the city just fine and found it full of canals of molten gold, eerie green light and a stench accompanying the molten metal. There were some minor skeletons here, nothing we can't handle. Brenn got ahead of himself and wasted his magic on the first group we encountered. We have to hurry, because there is a timer set to flood the city in gold once the gates were opened. </p><p></p><p>After being badly injured in a fight against a summoned demon, the only way to save Brenn was using an ingredient for a kobold ritual turning him into one of his ancestors. Brenn's transformation into Krall Dalingh the fetchling – or, as they call themselves, kayal – had us all stumped. We know little about fetchlings other than that they are from the plane of shadow, but at least the sorcerer's ancestor was not hostile. </p><p></p><p>At the same time, we heard the sounds of battle far behind us. It is likely that the twisted lizardfolk still following us had come across the guardian construct at the first bridge. </p><p></p><p>As we soon figured out, Brenn kept all of his memories, but they were overshadowed by the memories and skills of his ancestor, and he could only act as Krall Dalingh. This was to our advantage, though. After disposing of more gilded skeletons we finally reached the bridge to the next ring of the city. Standing before the gates to the city’s 2nd Ring were two hulking skeletons in shining golden breastplates, their thick bones plated with gold. Their huge, gold-plated halberds were crossed in front of the gate, barring the way forward. This was the first time I ever encountered the skeletons of ogres. </p><p></p><p>They attacked as soon as they noticed we planned to cross the bridge. I do not know what exactly Brenn-Krall did, but he touched them one after the other while turning himself into some sort of shadow they could not hit, and they were drained of all color and, as it seemed, were pulled into the shadow plane. And Krall didn't even appear to be exhausted. </p><p></p><p>Immediately across the bridge, the gold-plated road reached a crossroads and disappeared beneath a mound of partially melted treasure. Gold coins, weapons, armor, and glittering gems covered the entire intersection in a mountain of wealth that reached ten feet high. It was a sight to behold. </p><p></p><p>It had to be a trap, and Zaza made out the gilded skeleton wearing a Razmiran mask just next to the pile. It seems likely that there is a fountain of molten gold to be expected when touching anything, so we gave the trap a wide berth. Not even Zaza looked twice at any of the treasure, we aren't even sure if all of it is real. </p><p></p><p>The gold coating everything from the former floods didn't reach all up to the top of the buildings here, so there is hope that even if we can't get out before the flood, we will be relatively safe in the upper floors or in the 3rd Ring. The whole 2nd ring has walls as high as the ceiling, it almost looks like a cave within a cave. It slopes upward in here, and Mook was so tired she had to ride on her wolf to keep up. We had to backtrack once because the bridge we planned to take did not stand anymore. </p><p></p><p>The inner city seems to have taken little damage. On our way around to the bridge leading to the 3rd Ring we noticed two destroyed citadels though. They spouted a weird sight, with skeletons nailed all over the walls. We guessed it was the original defenders of the city, and the evil that conquered them made an example of them.</p><p></p><p>It was here where the priestess Iramine left some of her remaining cultists to try and stop or at least delay us. One of their herald asked us to surrender, trying to make it sound as if there were hundreds of them. Kronk moved out of sight – easy for him with his yellow color in all the gold, I guess – and took care of some of them while the fetchling vanished into the sparse shadows and dealt with the rest. I was not too happy about that, but I was not asked. I begin to get the feeling I am not made to lead anyone. Neither Kronk nor Brenn-Krall left any of them alive. For some reason, Mook seemed to be even more upset about that than I am, but I hope no one noticed my anger. After all that has happened, I can understand why they did it. Brenn is not himself, and Kronk is a kobold after all. I have yet to be completely convinced that he is truly on our side, which might not happen unless I know what is going on with him and Zaza. </p><p></p><p>The good thing about that was that in the gear of the cultists, we found useful things. The best was a potion of cure moderate wounds, which we gave to Brenn.Krall so that his healing process would be speedier. Once he returns to his normal form, he might still die otherwise, and he understands that very well. </p><p></p><p>We came up to the bridge we had to cross to move upward to the last ring. Two gold-plated columns carved to resemble female warriors flanked the entrance. But they were alive, as we soon found out. The cultists didn't have to fight their way through all of these guardians, as they have the key to the city. Iramine, with whoever she has left, must be far ahead now. </p><p></p><p>Brenn-Krell's shadow touch did nothing to those statues. We had not expected it to, but it was worth a try. On the bright side, they couldn't harm him in half-shadow form, so he just went over to the other side to aid us from there. He cannot use this ability again for the day either, as he explained. </p><p></p><p>We had found more invisibility potions with the herald of the cultists Kronk and the fetchling killed. So we could get more of us to the other side, and we still had the gaseous form potion. My guess was that the statues would only attack who moved over from this side, so anyone on the other side would be able to do ranged attacks against those guardians without being targeted.</p><p></p><p>There was one little issue with this – we didn't have a lot of ranged attacks which were hopeful to do damage against constructs. Cajun had a few bombs left, but fire isn't that effective against constructs, and neither is his cold version of the bombs. Samin had a lot of cantrips available, but only a few would cause the constructs minimal problems. </p><p></p><p>Mook instructed Dadawin to try and get to the other side, to see if the statues would see an animal as a threat. They did not. This was a good thing, as it meant only one of us would not be able to get to the other side. I was about to devise a plan, when Kronk chimed in and ignored my attempts at leadership. The kobold told Mook to use the oil of invisibility and join her wolf, and for Samin to "be a gas" and follow, then asked the rest of us to get the potions ready and distract the statues so they would move over to the south west. He assured us he would be able to get past and once they noticed him we should just drink up and follow. </p><p></p><p>No sooner had he said that he left to the side, and almost became one with the golden rubble. Well, we did as he was asking, no point in arguing a good idea. The gist of it is that it worked. Kronk is fast and agile, and he can climb like the best of them. He crossed on top of the bridge, and the constructs lost him from view. </p><p></p><p>Maybe I am just not cut out to lead people. As a paladin, I was taught it is important to take on a leadership role, and that only a few of us would not do so. I seem to be one of those. </p><p></p><p>In any case, we met out greatest challenge yet, and none of us is confident we could manage this. It is an undead dragon coated all in gold, and from what Samin says, it might have been a real gold dragon when it was alive. That would be a twisted curse of fate indeed. </p><p></p><p>This skeletal being stands guard on the last bridge over a narrow canal of gold leading to where we know the remaining cultists must be. It has not noticed us yet, Wilbur has warned us in time. Mook is making a desperate plea for the dragon and his fate to the others, but I have retreated from the dead end conversation. </p><p></p><p>Mook is all upset, saying she can sense good deep within a twisted, tortured mind. She wants to help this aberration. I think it is beyond help, despite admiring her good heart. Millenia of being here, supposedly guarding the inner sanctum, must have left the remaining mind of this poor creature totally corrupted. Maybe we can find a way to put it to final rest, but I am doubtful. We have no one to turn an undead being into a true dead, and the possibility to find something similar in this city seems to be slim. Ironically, we are now resting in the building that is the twisted dragon's hoard – it seems to have kept some sense of self, although the hoard is mostly made up of gilded rubble otherwise worthless. I found a battle axe of gilded adamantine, though, and as sure as I am one of Desna's own, I am going to keep it. I can feel it is special. Samin has also found an equally gilded brooch of shielding and another horn of fog. The latter reminded me that it might have been wise of me to use the horn I am already carrying to hamper the demon earlier on. I know that I everyone is prone to make mistakes in the beginning of their work for the greater good, but I can't help thinking I might have spared Brenn a lot of anguish. We also found more potions to cure moderate wounds though, and Mook had them all into Brenn-Krell in no time. She assures us that with her healing spells of the next day, should she not need them for anyone else, he will be almost fine when he returns to his normal self. </p><p></p><p>Kronk seems to be a little depressed. I think it is because of the ritual powder he gave up for Brenn. Maybe it is expensive or hard to come by. I will ask him when it seems to be a good time. </p><p></p><p>Despite the countdown on the gold flood, we need rest. We cannot take on this undead dragon or the cultists without new spells and full strength. We still have no idea what they are doing in there, what they are searching for. It could be anything, and we need to be prepared. I have the first watch, and I hope nothing will fall upon us.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lwaxy, post: 5783176, member: 53286"] The group made a fairly good pace, considering that the street was covered with gilded rubble. The fumes from the gold canals were bothering Zaza and Wilbur, who was now perched on Cajun's shoulder, so avoiding the intersections they had gone to the main street closer to the inner wall. They stopped at every small intersection to check left and right. It was hard to make anything out in the greenish light coming from some moss above, but there were no more dead cultists, which could be seen as either good or bad. Here and there, they found gilded remains of skeletons though. Just when everyone was beginning to relax and talk about what the cultists were really trying to get from this place, something moved in all the glittering gold. Zaza saw it first and cried out a warning. A clanging of shields and weapons now resounded as a pack of flaming, gold-plated skeletons bearing golden scimitars rose up from the nearby ruins and advanced. "Really, again?" Cajun grunted and grabbed his hammer. "Do we have something that attracts undead, or is the world really so full of them?" "The latter, I'm afraid," Bjön answered and was just getting ready to go against the enemy he had dedicated himself to when lightning came out of nowhere, striking the weird looking skeletons and reducing them to gilded ash. An acrid smell rose from where they just had been and Zaza grimaced. Bjön turned to Brenn and stared in disbelief. "No need to thank me," The sorcerer grinned in a challenging way. Anger – righteous anger, as he thought – rose within the paladin. "What, in the name of all gods, was that to be?" he asked in a barely controlled voice. "Those were just skeletons, and I could have probably taken them alone, given my training and equipment. And there is Cajun to help. It might have taken a moment, but we could have done it. Instead, you decide to waste your magic on something so simple. Did it ever occur to you that we might have a need for this type of spells somewhere down and around this road? How many of those lightnings do you have left?" The falling face of the strange man told them he had not considered that, and that he probably only had few, if any, offensive spells remaining. Brenn was about to say something, but Bjön just walked on. The others followed after a moment, leaving Brenn to bring up the rear. Edawon loaded his crossbow and held it at the ready, and Mook decided to do the same. It was not the sort of weapon very effective against undead, but they certainly felt safer. And who could know what else was lurking. "You know this is weird," Zaza whispered to her brother while she readied her own crossbow so that only he could hear. "Last month, we were happily or unhappily doing our daily, harmless duties around our home, and none of us but Mook had ever seen undead before. And she only knew the spirits her grandmother deals with. Now, we seem to begin to treat skeletons, at least, as the most normal thing in the world." "Yeah, and that's not the only thing. We have a kobold as... friend? At least as companion, we are on a most dangerous island and still alive and... well I begin to get a grip on this. I felt too restricted in Kassen as it was. I mean, my apprenticeship basically done and not much more to learn about alchemy in such a small town... I am not sure I can go back to small town life after all this." "Who says we have to?" Zaza grinned. "Nothing is really keeping us there. Once we've delivered the amulet we'll hopefully get back, we can set out again." Cajun thought about that and looked at Samin and Mook. He knew Samin would probably not be going back with his father, given the little he knew about them. But Mook had a lot of family in and close to Kassen. He could not imagine the shy, stuttering oracle to want to be out and about for too long. "We'll see." "I could feel at home in this place," Kronk the monk grinned, showing all his teeth. "The city is just my color." "Oh but you pale in comparison to those skeletons," Edawon said. "They were really shiny, you are kind of... dull." "Hey, I'm anything but!" "You are, maybe, anyone's butt," Edawon laughed. He liked the kobold, as much as he had wanted not to at first. "Bridge ahead," Bjön pointed. "No statues this time." Samin was relieved. "I was beginning to think there would be some sort of enemy at every gate." It was the same sort of heat and fumes protected bridge they had seen before. The builders of the city had originally build a normal bridge over a normal water canal, and thinking about it now, the changes would have appeared ugly if the city would have still been intact. Cajun was about to comment on it when there was a banging sound as if someone had exploded one of those expensive balloon toys at a fair, and then a stench like sulfur washed over them. A few meters away, a bony being, almost like a skeleton,l had appeared, skin glistering with some sort of slime dripping to the ground with a hissing sound. The thing had horns and a decidedly evil smile. Edawon, who by now was long visible again, lifted the crossbow he had been holding ready and fired two bolts in quick succession. "Babau," he shouted with a hatred they had never seen in him. Zaza and Mook, without thinking, fired their weapons as well. While Edawon's bolts hit the being in the chest, Mook's found the right shoulder and Zaza's buried itself in the left leg. Bjön and Cajun readied their weapons. "What's a Babau?" Cajun hissed. "Some sort of devil, it looks like." Zaza replied, before she remembered her brother's fear of devils and demons. "Devil," Cajun gulped and went visibly pale. "Not a good idea to fight those." "Not a good idea not to," Kronk said. He kept in the back, having no fitting weapon against such a being and not planning on touching the outsider. "It's not a devil, it is a demon," Edawon explained. "And it has to die!" The Babau was looking almost amused at the bolts in his body. They vanished with more hissing sounds, dissolved by the acid. It was not clear if there was any damage or if the demon had healed, too. When Bjön, with his axe, and Brenn with a short sword, came at him, it swung a wicked looking longspear coated in its own acid. Bjön ducked while advancing, but Brenn got caught at the left cheek and screamed out in pain. "Demon isn't any better." Samin's hands flew as he reached for his components and then made the necessary gestures while pointing at the outsider. A new spell flew from his lips, one he had gained from the spellbook of a cultist. Luckily, he had decided to memorize it just in case. This was the case now. The magic missile he had managed to create hit the Babau unerringly, causing it to stumble backwards. "Do something," Zaza shouted at her brother and fired again, missing widely this time. Mook moved backwards to get a better angle to shoot from and called her wolf back. Bjön rolled forward, hacking at the demon's leg but the quick sidestep from the Babau prevented any damage. Edawon, still cursing the demon out, shot twice again, both times hitting home. Again the bolts dissolved but their enemy now looked decidedly angry. Brenn was spinning around, trying to stab the Babau in the ribs, but not only did the sword glide off the skin of the outsider, the weapon touching the acid was not a good thing. The weapon begun to smoke and to dissolve. Cajun woke from his shock and started to search in his alchemical supplies for something useful. Kronk was suddenly nowhere to be seen. "Figures the kobold runs at the first sign of danger," Brann muttered while jumping out of the reach of the devil's spear. This was, of course, unfair as Kronk had been helpful against the warped wolves before, and in other situations as well. Another magic missile flew by and hit the Babau. Bjön's attack had missed again, but after what he had noticed about the sorcerer's weapon, he was not so keen on hitting the demon anyway. His mind started going over the possibilities when he heard Cajun calling in an almost panicked voice. "Get out of the way!" Edawon turned and ran to reach the others. Mook and Zaza were already behind Cajun, who was taking a few steps back while aiming something at the Babau. Bjön hurried to the left just when the Babau stabbed at Brenn again, seeming to want to finish off one after the other. Brenn was unable to block the attack with the remains of the sword, and the acid coated spear buried itself in the man's left shoulder. Cajun had already been in the process of throwing his bomb at the Babau when the spear stuck. As Brenn cried out and tried to free himself, the bomb came down in front of the demon. At the same time, Mook landed another hit while Zaza missed once more. Flames engulfed their enemy – and unfortunately splashed over to Brenn, who now cried hysterically. Zaza cried out as well, while Mook just looked more determined. To their horror, the demon looked almost unharmed by the flames as they died down. Brenn's howls suddenly ceased as he lost consciousness. Then suddenly the world went dark. Mook cursed, one of those curses she reserved for dire situations and usually cost her a smack from her relatives back home. Stumbling backwards, she attempted to get out of the area of the darkness spell. She could hear Zaza's breathing shifting and deducted she was doing the same. The gnome felt helpless, and not knowing if Brenn was still alive made it worse. None of them, she thought, were ready to go up against a demon, except maybe Edawon – what a hatred he showed – and the paladin. Maybe if Teltz would be here they would stand a chance. Maybe... A shriek and the noise of another bomb exploding interrupted her thoughts. Then there was a sound of something breaking, and the distinct sound of a crossbow firing and hitting something else but the demon. Mook broke out of the are of the spell and bumped into Zaza. "What's going on?" the halfling asked, breathless from tension. The gnome shrugged and looked for Dadawin. She found her wolf crouched next to the road, out of spell range. "D-don't kn-know but it sh-should be light again s-soon, no?" "I don't know how long a demon can maintain a spell," Zaza said, looking around for something, anything, to help them out. A streak of pale yellow passed them by, dashing into the darkened area from which, at the same time, the dwarf emerged by crawling backwards on the ground, spouting a tear in the robes he wore over his mail. From somewhere inside the large patch of darkness emerged an otherworldly scream, and more sounds of fired bolts and the tell-tale hissing of dissolving bolts. Then in the blink of an eye, the spell winked out and they could see the body of the demon, neck looking broken, vanishing from this plane. "What happened?" Zaza asked. Edawon, covered in some yellow powder, grimaced. "When they die here, they just reappear in their native plane. You gotta have to go there, usually, to get them for good." "No, thanks," Cajun grumbled, voice slightly wavering. "All things should stay on their plane, indeed, and not disturb the order of others." "What's that y-yellow s-stuff?" Mook inquired, staring at Edawon, who also seemed to have gotten some damage on his arms from the demon's acid where the spear had scratched him. "Gold dust," the monk explained. "I needed some sort of weapon, and I thought the best option was to blind the Babau for a bit. No sand, no dirt, so I scraped gold off of some of the rubble around here. Worked well, I'd say." "And when the thing was blind, I hammered it down," Cajun said, now sounding proud of himself. "Nothing happened to my weapon either, maybe because I had hit his horns, and that spun the head and broke its neck. Have to admit, it already looked rather damaged." "Nice work," Bjön nodded and then went to check on Brenn. Mook was already kneeling next to the fallen sorcerer, checking his life signs while starting on a healing spell. "How bad is he?" "Qu-quite serious. He h-has burns over a l-lot of his b-body, he l-lost a l-lot of blood from the s-spearwound, there is a-acid d-damage and we are all out o-of healing p-potions." "Your magic not strong enough to make him better?" "I can m-make him better, a-as I can assure he will b-be b-breathing for a while. B-but I only can d-do so m-much a day, and only little with e-each a-attempt." Bjön saw the bleeding stop and the wound now looked like it was a few days old and in the healing process. The acid destruction of the skin was gone, and the burns on the man's face looked less severe. His clothing remains also did not appear to be stuck on the wounds anymore. "We need to undress him." "Y-yes, and apply b-bandages, and healing salves. I d-do n-not know if I have enough of those. H-he will be in p-pain, and we can't take him along in this state." "So, we leave him behind, then?" While not liking the man, this idea seemed wrong to Zaza. "Then who will care for him? Burn victims need a lot of water, no?" Zaza saw Mook, who had taught her a lot about healing, nod gravely. Their water supplies were scarce, as with the negative energy outside, Mook had not been able to purify any water. In here, they had not seen any water resource. "We stay the night, and you use more magic on him tomorrow?" Samin, who only now returned from studying the spot where the demon had vanished, suggested. "Although, that would set us back and we could have camped out right back at the gate." "Maybe we should put him out of his misery," the kobold offered."Just saying, if he is dying anyway because we are out of healing supplies..." "H-he won't d-die!" Mook exclaimed, contradicting her former statement. She already put some medicine into a small flask filled with a greenish liquid, shook the components and then carefully made the still unconscious sorcerer swallow it all. "Didn't you have a wand from the crypt, to cure light wounds?" Bjön suddenly remembered. "Or did you forget that in Teltz' backpack together with most of the other useful things he had?" Samin looked defeated. "I brought some of the stuff, but not all." "That is a no, then," Bjön sighed. He would never again make the mistake not to cross check the equipment his companions traveled with. Kronk had been going through his small backpack and now finally produced a small vial with a silvery powder. "Maybe this will help," he said with hesitation. "It does not heal but it turns you into one of your ancestors for about 3 days. It is part of a kobold ritual that..." "It would shapechange him?" Bjön inqured. "And thus cover his injuries? And when it runs out he returns to what he is now, am I right?" The paladin had heard of potions like that, but they were usually taken to make you tougher in battle for a short time. "Yes, but he would continue to heal normally in that time. Sometimes, the rich in my tribe use it to make someone stay alive for quite some time. But..." "We'll try that," Bjön decided. "It has been used on other races before, yes?" "Yes, but there are risks..." Mook took the vial from the kobold's hand and stared at the powder. "How do I g-get it into him? C-can I m-mix it with water?" "Yes." Kronk tried to keep up with the speed of events. He had not even explained the risks. The side effects. But then, the man would otherwise die. "He will be able to come with us?" Cajun asked. The sorcerer, while arrogant and distant and quite a show off, had been useful after all, having one less member knowing how to use a sword was not a good thing. "Yes, he will just look different and may be confused. And he might now have all of his spells, if any, and maybe some others in their place." "So, if he comes out as his great-great-grandfather who was a farmer, he might only know how to tend fields and cows, is that it?" Zaza asked. "Basically, but usually you take on the form of your most heroic ancestor." Kronk showed all his teeth in the attempt of a grin. "And he has been going on how he was from a long line of sorcerers." In all the talk, Mook had already given the powder to Brenn, and a weird change took place in front of their eyes. The flesh of the sorcerer became pale, his frame slimmer and his eyes turned yellow. He began to look like he had not had a good meal in a long time, and the fingers looked a lot more like claws now. "What, in the name of Desna, is that?" Bjön gasped. "I believe," Samin said while staring at the transformation, "that is a Fetchling." Bjön's Pathfinder Diary 3rd of Neth Isle of Dread, City of Xin-Grafar I have the feeling we are running out of time. And I am probably losing control of the situation, if I ever had control, that is. We made it into the city just fine and found it full of canals of molten gold, eerie green light and a stench accompanying the molten metal. There were some minor skeletons here, nothing we can't handle. Brenn got ahead of himself and wasted his magic on the first group we encountered. We have to hurry, because there is a timer set to flood the city in gold once the gates were opened. After being badly injured in a fight against a summoned demon, the only way to save Brenn was using an ingredient for a kobold ritual turning him into one of his ancestors. Brenn's transformation into Krall Dalingh the fetchling – or, as they call themselves, kayal – had us all stumped. We know little about fetchlings other than that they are from the plane of shadow, but at least the sorcerer's ancestor was not hostile. At the same time, we heard the sounds of battle far behind us. It is likely that the twisted lizardfolk still following us had come across the guardian construct at the first bridge. As we soon figured out, Brenn kept all of his memories, but they were overshadowed by the memories and skills of his ancestor, and he could only act as Krall Dalingh. This was to our advantage, though. After disposing of more gilded skeletons we finally reached the bridge to the next ring of the city. Standing before the gates to the city’s 2nd Ring were two hulking skeletons in shining golden breastplates, their thick bones plated with gold. Their huge, gold-plated halberds were crossed in front of the gate, barring the way forward. This was the first time I ever encountered the skeletons of ogres. They attacked as soon as they noticed we planned to cross the bridge. I do not know what exactly Brenn-Krall did, but he touched them one after the other while turning himself into some sort of shadow they could not hit, and they were drained of all color and, as it seemed, were pulled into the shadow plane. And Krall didn't even appear to be exhausted. Immediately across the bridge, the gold-plated road reached a crossroads and disappeared beneath a mound of partially melted treasure. Gold coins, weapons, armor, and glittering gems covered the entire intersection in a mountain of wealth that reached ten feet high. It was a sight to behold. It had to be a trap, and Zaza made out the gilded skeleton wearing a Razmiran mask just next to the pile. It seems likely that there is a fountain of molten gold to be expected when touching anything, so we gave the trap a wide berth. Not even Zaza looked twice at any of the treasure, we aren't even sure if all of it is real. The gold coating everything from the former floods didn't reach all up to the top of the buildings here, so there is hope that even if we can't get out before the flood, we will be relatively safe in the upper floors or in the 3rd Ring. The whole 2nd ring has walls as high as the ceiling, it almost looks like a cave within a cave. It slopes upward in here, and Mook was so tired she had to ride on her wolf to keep up. We had to backtrack once because the bridge we planned to take did not stand anymore. The inner city seems to have taken little damage. On our way around to the bridge leading to the 3rd Ring we noticed two destroyed citadels though. They spouted a weird sight, with skeletons nailed all over the walls. We guessed it was the original defenders of the city, and the evil that conquered them made an example of them. It was here where the priestess Iramine left some of her remaining cultists to try and stop or at least delay us. One of their herald asked us to surrender, trying to make it sound as if there were hundreds of them. Kronk moved out of sight – easy for him with his yellow color in all the gold, I guess – and took care of some of them while the fetchling vanished into the sparse shadows and dealt with the rest. I was not too happy about that, but I was not asked. I begin to get the feeling I am not made to lead anyone. Neither Kronk nor Brenn-Krall left any of them alive. For some reason, Mook seemed to be even more upset about that than I am, but I hope no one noticed my anger. After all that has happened, I can understand why they did it. Brenn is not himself, and Kronk is a kobold after all. I have yet to be completely convinced that he is truly on our side, which might not happen unless I know what is going on with him and Zaza. The good thing about that was that in the gear of the cultists, we found useful things. The best was a potion of cure moderate wounds, which we gave to Brenn.Krall so that his healing process would be speedier. Once he returns to his normal form, he might still die otherwise, and he understands that very well. We came up to the bridge we had to cross to move upward to the last ring. Two gold-plated columns carved to resemble female warriors flanked the entrance. But they were alive, as we soon found out. The cultists didn't have to fight their way through all of these guardians, as they have the key to the city. Iramine, with whoever she has left, must be far ahead now. Brenn-Krell's shadow touch did nothing to those statues. We had not expected it to, but it was worth a try. On the bright side, they couldn't harm him in half-shadow form, so he just went over to the other side to aid us from there. He cannot use this ability again for the day either, as he explained. We had found more invisibility potions with the herald of the cultists Kronk and the fetchling killed. So we could get more of us to the other side, and we still had the gaseous form potion. My guess was that the statues would only attack who moved over from this side, so anyone on the other side would be able to do ranged attacks against those guardians without being targeted. There was one little issue with this – we didn't have a lot of ranged attacks which were hopeful to do damage against constructs. Cajun had a few bombs left, but fire isn't that effective against constructs, and neither is his cold version of the bombs. Samin had a lot of cantrips available, but only a few would cause the constructs minimal problems. Mook instructed Dadawin to try and get to the other side, to see if the statues would see an animal as a threat. They did not. This was a good thing, as it meant only one of us would not be able to get to the other side. I was about to devise a plan, when Kronk chimed in and ignored my attempts at leadership. The kobold told Mook to use the oil of invisibility and join her wolf, and for Samin to "be a gas" and follow, then asked the rest of us to get the potions ready and distract the statues so they would move over to the south west. He assured us he would be able to get past and once they noticed him we should just drink up and follow. No sooner had he said that he left to the side, and almost became one with the golden rubble. Well, we did as he was asking, no point in arguing a good idea. The gist of it is that it worked. Kronk is fast and agile, and he can climb like the best of them. He crossed on top of the bridge, and the constructs lost him from view. Maybe I am just not cut out to lead people. As a paladin, I was taught it is important to take on a leadership role, and that only a few of us would not do so. I seem to be one of those. In any case, we met out greatest challenge yet, and none of us is confident we could manage this. It is an undead dragon coated all in gold, and from what Samin says, it might have been a real gold dragon when it was alive. That would be a twisted curse of fate indeed. This skeletal being stands guard on the last bridge over a narrow canal of gold leading to where we know the remaining cultists must be. It has not noticed us yet, Wilbur has warned us in time. Mook is making a desperate plea for the dragon and his fate to the others, but I have retreated from the dead end conversation. Mook is all upset, saying she can sense good deep within a twisted, tortured mind. She wants to help this aberration. I think it is beyond help, despite admiring her good heart. Millenia of being here, supposedly guarding the inner sanctum, must have left the remaining mind of this poor creature totally corrupted. Maybe we can find a way to put it to final rest, but I am doubtful. We have no one to turn an undead being into a true dead, and the possibility to find something similar in this city seems to be slim. Ironically, we are now resting in the building that is the twisted dragon's hoard – it seems to have kept some sense of self, although the hoard is mostly made up of gilded rubble otherwise worthless. I found a battle axe of gilded adamantine, though, and as sure as I am one of Desna's own, I am going to keep it. I can feel it is special. Samin has also found an equally gilded brooch of shielding and another horn of fog. The latter reminded me that it might have been wise of me to use the horn I am already carrying to hamper the demon earlier on. I know that I everyone is prone to make mistakes in the beginning of their work for the greater good, but I can't help thinking I might have spared Brenn a lot of anguish. We also found more potions to cure moderate wounds though, and Mook had them all into Brenn-Krell in no time. She assures us that with her healing spells of the next day, should she not need them for anyone else, he will be almost fine when he returns to his normal self. Kronk seems to be a little depressed. I think it is because of the ritual powder he gave up for Brenn. Maybe it is expensive or hard to come by. I will ask him when it seems to be a good time. Despite the countdown on the gold flood, we need rest. We cannot take on this undead dragon or the cultists without new spells and full strength. We still have no idea what they are doing in there, what they are searching for. It could be anything, and we need to be prepared. I have the first watch, and I hope nothing will fall upon us. [/QUOTE]
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