Planar Odyssey [IC]

[Darvin]

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The Great Void of the Astral Plane



Perhaps growing up in a world where magic was unknown made traversing the planes harder, or perhaps in some ways it was easier as everything was equally strange and alien. You’d been here long enough to know the type of creature you were dealing with here, a devil of no small power named Talsamoch. Its corpulent red body almost reminded you of Santa Claus when it bellowed its deep laugh, and it seemed safe enough to at least remain in its presence among mixed company. Every night, in that planar tavern, the devil returned and subtly encouraged the patrons to partake in jaunty tunes as he spent coin freely.

On occasion the devil would speak to you, clearly interested in getting to know everyone who frequented that tavern but also respectful of your privacy. One day, you overheard Talsamoch in a conversation with another tavern regular, “Souls? Dear me no! I gave up on that trade centuries ago. You wanna hear the full story? Course you do! You see, it never quite sat right with me. Sowing the seeds of doubt into the pompous and self-righteous was and still is fun, but tempting them to damnation? There’s no point to that callous suffering. At first I thought I just didn’t care for the whole eternal torment thing, but as the centuries wore on it eventually dawned on me that this wasn’t who I am. So I got up, gave my boss the middle finger, and plane shifted outta there. I bummed around the cosmos for a few decades before I met an old acquaintance. An Archon who had actually put some thoughts into what I’d told him back when I was with hell, and he’d given *his* superiors the finger and got outta heaven. Told me about a place in the far reaches where no one is defined by which plane they formed from, where you can just be you, and didn’t have to worry about some archon splitting your head because you’re a devil. So, I made the trip to Basrakal, and did a few decades stint with a temple there run by an Asurendra named Ursiyam. Wise and ancient bitch who can see your inner conflicts as easy as she can see your face. After a few one-on-one sessions with her, I decided to let every soul I’d ever signed go, no strings attached. Haven’t looked back since,”

This was the first you’d heard of Basrakal, and it piqued your interest - if for no other reason than it sounded like somewhere your pursuers would have a hard time finding you. With no means of transit out of your current planar hub for at least a few days, you continued to visit the tavern. On occasion the devil would speak to you, always eager to give you advice and poking you with questions, but never pressing too deep at once.

Then one day you had a bad feeling as you left the tavern. The streets seemed *too* empty. You ducked into a back alley and broke into a paranoid run. You heard other footsteps nearby as your darted through the twisting paths between buildings before coming face to face with a half-elf. You’d remembered him from the tavern, but couldn’t quite place his name. Before you had much time to react, they were upon you. Angels on either side, trapping the two of you in between them. You instinctively fell back to back with the half-elf, holding your grandpappy’s musket and prepared to make a last stand when a familiar voice rang out, “hey now, what are you troublemakers up to?” Talsamoch bloated body floated down from up above.

“This is none of your business, devil, and we have no cause of action against you; begone,” one of the angels waved his sword threateningly at the devil.

“See, that attitude is exactly why this is my business,” he turns to Atticus and Rhennar and passes something to each of you, “head back to the tavern, give the barkeep this, and tell him to scramble the portal afterwards so these *******s can’t follow you,”

“If you think we’re letting our marks escape, you have-” the angel prepares to rush forward.

“Too late!” the devil cries as flashes of magic erupt around you. Amid the chaos you sprinted back to the tavern. What follows was a blur as the barkeep lead the two of you to a secret room in the basement containing a portal. When you next had a moment to collect yourself, you found yourself in a port on the Astral seas, Ankoro. Talsamoch’s charity and assistance were fresh upon your mind as you considered what to do next, and his earlier words about Basrakal resounded in your mind. This time, though, you had a compatriot.



Having been raised in a place that taught you they were myth, you’re unsure whether it was more or less difficult to become accustomed to this rather unorthodox devil. You knew that Talsamoch was a being of great power not to be trifled with, but at the same time his deep laugh was infectious and it seemed safe enough to at least remain in its presence among mixed company. Every night, in that planar tavern, the devil returned and subtly encouraged the patrons to partake in jaunty tunes as he spent coin freely.

On occasion the devil would speak to you, clearly interested in getting to know everyone who frequented that tavern but also respectful of your privacy. One day, you overheard Talsamoch in a conversation with another tavern regular, “Souls? Dear me no! I gave up on that trade centuries ago. You wanna hear the full story? Course you do! You see, it never quite sat right with me. Sowing the seeds of doubt into the pompous and self-righteous was and still is fun, but tempting them to damnation? There’s no point to that callous suffering. At first I thought I just didn’t care for the whole eternal torment thing, but as the centuries wore on it eventually dawned on me that this wasn’t who I am. So I got up, gave my boss the middle finger, and plane shifted outta there. I bummed around the cosmos for a few decades before I met an old acquaintance. An Archon who had actually put some thoughts into what I’d told him back when I was with hell, and he’d given *his* superiors the finger and got outta heaven. Told me about a place in the far reaches where no one is defined by which plane they formed from, where you can just be you, and didn’t have to worry about some archon splitting your head because you’re a devil. So, I made the trip to Basrakal, and did a few decades stint with a temple there run by an Asurendra named Ursiyam. Wise and ancient bitch who can see your inner conflicts as easy as she can see your face. After a few one-on-one sessions with her, I decided to let every soul I’d ever signed go, no strings attached. Haven’t looked back since,”

This was the first you’d heard of Basrakal, and it piqued your interest - if for no other reason than it sounded like somewhere your pursuers would have a hard time finding you. With no means of transit out of your current planar hub for at least a few days, you continued to visit the tavern. On occasion the devil would speak to you, always eager to give you advice and poking you with questions, but never pressing too deep at once.

Then one day you had a bad feeling as you left the tavern. The streets seemed *too* empty. You ducked into a back alley and broke into a paranoid run. You heard other footsteps nearby as your darted through the twisting paths between buildings before coming face to face with a human. You’d remembered him from the tavern, with his distinctive firearm slung over his back, but couldn’t quite place his name. Before you had much time to react, they were upon you. Angels on either side, trapping the two of you in between them. You instinctively fell back to back with the human prepared to make a last stand when a familiar voice rang out, “hey now, what are you troublemakers up to?” Talsamoch bloated body floated down from up above.

“This is none of your business, devil, and we have no cause of action against you; begone,” one of the angels waved his sword threateningly at the devil.

“See, that attitude is exactly why this is my business,” he turns to Atticus and Rhennar and passes something to each of you, “head back to the tavern, give the barkeep this, and tell him to scramble the portal afterwards so these *******s can’t follow you,”

“If you think we’re letting our marks escape, you have-” the angel prepares to rush forward.

“Too late!” the devil cries as flashes of magic erupt around you. Amid the chaos you sprinted back to the tavern. What follows was a blur as the barkeep lead the two of you to a secret room in the basement containing a portal. When you next had a moment to collect yourself, you found yourself in a port on the Astral seas, Ankoro. Talsamoch’s charity and assistance were fresh upon your mind as you considered what to do next, and his earlier words about Basrakal resounded in your mind. This time, though, you had a compatriot.


The room is set; two fires burn on either side of the table, with the harrower sitting across from the siblings. In the center of the table a deck of cards sits. The woman looks at you, “there is something that the cards want to tell you. I have seen this only a few times, and I must warn you that it has always portended ill omen. You still have the choice to leave now, but I doubt you will. The cards already know what you wish to ask, so speak it,”

Sasha clearly articulates a deceptively deep question, “what is our fate?”

The harrow reaches for the cards, and spreads them out before you, “each of you has a role to play in this world; let us see which card represents you,” she gestures for you each to take one card. No sooner do the siblings hands retract does the harrower sweep the deck back into a tower, “so ends the choosing, and now we shall see what fate has in store for you. Such a question is the purview of the stars, and I can already feel the apprehension in this question. Please, reveal your roles,”

Looking at Sasha’s card, the harrower nods in agreement, “The Hidden Truth of the suit of books; a portentous role in light of your question. Doubtlessly the cards wish to guide you towards that truth, though we shall need to consult them further to understand what that may be,”

She then turns to the Kethor and raises an eyebrow, “The Juggler, of the suit of keys; It too is strongly attuned to destiny, but also to deities and those who would meddle with others. Like your sister’s card it is ominous in light of the question asked. These cards suit the two of you very well, and there is great power in this reading,”

The woman takes both cards and shuffles them back into the deck. She hands the deck to each sibling in turn to cut before setting it down before her. She looks at the two of you and draws nine cards and sets them before you. She hesitates as she lays down the final card, but releases it at least and waves across the row to her right, “your question pertains to the future, but fate transcends and threads through all time. It has its roots in the past, and that is where we shall begin,”

She turns to the left and flips over a column of three cards. She pauses and breathes deeply as she turns over the last card, then moves her hand up to the first, “The Winged Serpent, of the suit of Stars, is in perfect alignment; it represents balance of knowledge and judgement, and bodes great weal for our question. It is followed by The Dance, of the suit of Keys. This card represents complicated frameworks and cooperation. It too is aligned; I see great stability here. What you have told me of your own history leads me to believe these cards do not refer to your own past, but events much more distant that echo into our present. But it is the last card that causes me pause,” she points to The Hidden Truth, “this is your card, Sasha. It is in the past, not the present or future, that the truth you seek lies. And look, it is misaligned; ordinarily The Hidden Truth is a good omen, but in this position it represents woe. The truth you seek - or perhaps, that you are destined to find - is not a pleasant one,”

The harrow takes a moment to close her eyes and calm herself before she turns over the next column of cards. She seems almost shocked as she turns over the last card, but once again returns to the first of the three to speak, “Once again, the stars appear to guide you. The Midwife is our first card of the present. It represents new creation and arrivals, and is a hopeful card that I pray outweighs these next two revelations. The next card is The Beating, and represents an unrelenting assault. You will face great hardship, and there will be no reprieve from it,” she then sighs and points to the last card and locks eyes with Kethor, “you already know what I’m going to say, don’t you? This is your card, the Juggler, misaligned much like your sister’s. Your fate is being manipulated by powers beyond our ken, and they do so to your detriment,”

The woman pauses as her hand gestures to the last column, “as I dealt these cards, I felt great power. The cards want you to know something, they desperately sing answers that you cannot hear and that I can only interpret. Let us see what they have to say,” she turns over only the first card before speaking, “The Empty Throne; this card breaks a pattern,” she gestures to the top row containing the Winged Serpent and the Midwife, “The previous two cards were of the suit of stars and were in perfect alignment. This is the suit of crowns, and it is misaligned. Moreover, the card represents the ghosts of the past that are now gone. The stability that these previous two cards embody does not continue into the future. All that remains is the wisdom and lessons that have been passed down,” she touches the next card then recoils in pain she looks at both of you before reaching out again and gently turning it over, “this is The Owl; our suit of stars once again appears in this column, but in a different row. This is a harsh and unforgiving wisdom, of a natural order that can create new life… or destroy it. Where the stars saw stability and weal in the past and present, they are undecided in the future. Let us see what the last card has in store,”

She reaches for the last card, flinching but not releasing it as she flips it over. She looks down at the card for a few moments, then at you, “I am sorry,” she shakes her head, “the Waxworks, of the suit of shields. It represents torture, imprisonment, and helplessness,” the woman pauses, but then her demeanor shift, “but look, this card also breaks a pattern,” she gestures to the bottom row, “your two cards are misaligned, but this one is in perfect alignment. Perhaps… perhaps this card represents not an inexorable fate, but what awaits you if the status quo remains unchanged. Your misaligned cards bode ill, but perhaps the trials they portend will save you from a fate far worse,”

The harrower places the cards solemnly back in the deck, then cuts the deck one more, “but there is one more card I wish to draw. In a dream last night, I saw a premonition of another who is deeply connected with your question today. Please, draw one more card together,” the siblings draw and reveal one last card, “The Unicorn, of the suit of crowns. It both shares the suit and is aligned to the position where we saw The Empty Throne. There is someone who awaits in your future who will offer you what you need, and ask nothing in return. I hope you find this person, before it’s too late,”

----

The memories of the reading were still vivid in Sasha’s mind as she traversed the library. She could not remain here long, not with the assailants so close, but she needed some idea of where she might find refuge. As she thumbed through the book on various esoteric planes, she came to a sudden stop. A bookmark had been left here by a reader, long ago. A harrow card, depicting a Unicorn. Without hesitation she knew her destination, for the page the unicorn had been lodged into described the plane of Basrakal.


“The cycle of souls,” your religious instructor began in his usual monotonous droning voice, as he reads directly from the textbook, “is of critical importance to the healthy function of the multiverse. Souls of mortals are formed of raw potentiality, which is drawn in part from the mortal plane, but in equal measure from the Maelstrom. From this seed of potentiality the mortal soul is formed and begins to grow, and through a lifetime of experience it shall blossom and bear fruit. Upon the death of the mortal its soul is sent to the Boneyard for judgement, where Pharasma assigns it to the plane of best fitting. From there the soul is absorbed into the plane, either being reconstituted into an outsider or broken down into raw quintessence which fuels the planes. This quintessence is ever eroded by the Maelstrom, which converts it back into potentiality, beginning the cycle anew,” you can’t help but yawn, but the instructor sets down the book to begin speaking of his own accord

“Doubtless you’ve heard of all the major outer planes; Heaven, Axis, the Abyss, and so forth. But today I wish to talk to you about a very small plane that is seldom discussed but holds an important part in the cycle of souls. Basrakal receives no souls or petitioners directly, and is home to no deities who can receive prayer from mortals. Yet it receives enough quintessence to avoid being eroded despite being wholly contained within the raging heart of the Maelstrom. How is this? Well, as we just discussed mortal souls are assigned to the plane which best fits them; that is, the soul in its entirety. A tyrant is sent to hell regardless of what redeeming qualities he may have, and a hero may go to heaven despite a darkness in their heart that they never acted on. In this way the planes receive conflicting forms of quintessence, and must expel it to retain their dominant characteristics. In the usual course, this results in outsiders of varying personalities, but in rare cases these individuals may come to reject the very alignment of their parent plane. These outcasts are drawn to Basrakal, and their presence there provides the quintessence that sustains the plane. Thus, Basrakal serves a valuable role in the cosmic order, absorbing this wayward quintessence that could upset the stable balance of the planes. By its nature it receives less quintessence and erodes more quickly than the major planes, limiting its size and restricting it to the status of a minor plane, but its role is none-the-less a critical one,”

Years later, standing atop the bodies of both angels and the allies who had fought valiantly with you against them, you cannot help but think of that old lesson. These attacks makes no sense, Sophia cannot fathom why other archons would act with such hostility and refuse to speak to her. If they are not acting like normal archons, perhaps then this has something to do with those wayward cosmic exceptions your teacher was talking about. You’d hesitated to travel to the great beyond, but the more you think about it, the more certain you that your answers are to be found in Basrakal. Only a single one of your allies remains alive, a Nagaji woman named Zaraweti. You can’t exactly recall when the two of you fell in, but you’d surmised that these attacks were as common for her as they are for you. You pulled out the scroll you had been carefully saving, and a tired and weathered tuning fork, hoping it was good for one more trip to Ankoro.


You’d fallen in with the group of adventurers more or less by chance, simply by virtue of the fact that you were all going in the same general direction. The fact that they didn’t scatter like seeds to the wind when a group of devils attacked certainly helped, although as the attacks persisted the mortality began to rack up. Still, sleep came slightly easier after weeks of shedding blood in each other’s defense, and you had at least some trust for the others to keep watch.

You held the seed close to your heart as difficult dreams descended upon you. The indignity of becoming a guard, made only worse by the fact that your own resentment validated their decision, turned into torment by the damage you had inflicted in your zeal. “You can never go home, never belong again,” a voice from the void says exactly what you are thinking, but the dream passed.

Another day, and this time it was angels. When it was devils and demons the group had held together, but being attacked by angels shook some of them deeply to their core. You did notice, however, that the Aasimar in the group seemed entirely unsurprised by this turn of events. A peculiarity, to be sure.

That night you had the same uneasy dreams. This time, however, a terrifying visage seemed to grow out of the tree you mangled. Its eyes burn with embers of a hatred whose flames were long ago extinguished, “I can’t see you clearly,” she says, “please, show yourself,” in the fugue of dreams you find yourself unable to react to this plea, either to move towards it or fall away. The visage shifts slightly, and for a moment you feel like you’re peering into the cosmos itself. You intrinsically understand that something very distant is reaching out to you, “I’ve seen this before. I want to help you, please come to-,” you’re snapped awake by an alarm. Within a minute you once again stand over the broken bodies of your enemies.

This time, only a single ally is left standing. The Aasimar Wizard looks despondent, and he pulls out a scroll and a strange metal fork. When he finished casting his spells, you beheld the Astral Sea for the first time. In the distance, there is a crackling storm at the edge of the void. It reminds you very much of the dream you just had. The wizards turns to you and points to that storm, and tells you that it is your shared destination, and perhaps salvation.

Ankoro has proven safe for at least a spell, and you haven’t yet seen any suspicious behavior on the part of the many outsiders in this port at the edge of the Astral seas. This has allowed you to inquire on passage to Basrakal. It is a rare destination, and the path through the Maelstrom that leads to it is both treacherous and rarely traveled, but strangely there are others seeking passage at about the same time.

After a few cautious meetings, it slowly dawned on the six of you that you faced a common dilemma. The brother and sister Sasha and Kethor Ven; the last survivors of their adventuring party, Sefariel and Zaraweti; and the unlikely duo united by an angelic ambush, Rhennar and Atticus. The fact that many of you had independently decided to head to Basrakal reaffirmed this decision, and you redoubled your efforts to find passage. A number of interesting leads has come up in the last few days.

Sefariel discovered that caravan came through Ankoro not long before the group arrived that would be headed into the Maelstrom. While not headed to Basrakal specifically, it could at least get all of you much closer. Unfortunately, it has a few weeks head start. It is within your means to charter a planar skiff to head it off, but this would deplete your currency.

On one of his many walks Kethor ran in with a group of “privateers”. The ne’er-do-wells are cagey as to their intents, but have stated they’d be willing to take you to Basrakal if you’d do a few jobs on their behalf. You’ll need to arrange a further meeting to get them to elaborate further. They seem to be an untrustworthy and shifty sort, but are the only souls even willing to consider taking you to Basrakal on any payment you can afford.

Rhennar had a strange run-in with a maverick tiefling in a local inn. The woman owns a planar skiff, but it was impounded by the Ankoro authorities after she committed a crime she simultaneously claims to be innocent of but doesn’t want to talk about. If her skiff could be returned to her, she seems the adventuresome sort who might be willing to guide you through the astral sea.

However, Atticus has also brought to your attention some cagey behavior he’s observed. It’s mostly been imps and spyglass archons that have disappeared just after they realize he’s spotted them. You’ve all seen this pattern before; you know you don’t have very long.

[CWater]

When in doubt, let's honour tradition!

In a relatively quiet corner of a tavern Rhenner looks to the other characters of this strange journey he ended up on. He knew the human man a little and the others none at all, yet they had the same destination, same purpose for finding it and the same pursuers, most likely. "So... Seems like we have a few options to choose from...", he begins carefully, not sure what to expect from this motley crew of fellow hunted individuals.

[MesiDoomstalker]

The Tiefling. Atticus grunted. She's our only real option; the caravan won't get us to Baskral even if we can catch it. The 'privateers' will just as soon rob us blind the second we're dependent on them for safe travel. He crossed his arms, frowning. Not a great option sure, but it is one ya? He leaned back and sighed, resting his head against the wall, reflexively scanning the room. Besides, its not like any of us will be here for much longer. They're on our trail, we'll have to leave soon anyways.

[CWater]

"True enough, except we don't know anything about her as she pointedly refuses to say why she lost the skiff. And how would we even get it back? Catching up with the caravan might be costly, but it would get us out of here fastest. They are onto us now, we need to leave quickly."

The thought of their pursuers makes the half-elf visibly nervous, and he puts his hand on his holy symbol, running his finger on the two lines that form its rather simple engraving.

[Stelio Kontos]

"We do have an array of options available, yes" Sefariel replied evenly and softly, seated comfortably against the outer wall of the tavern, his hands pressed up against his temples.

"The caravan would be the safest by far, were we able to catch them. I don't mind the cost particularly. There is safety in numbers, after all. But I do recognize the potential difficulties in the rapid travel required to make their acquaintance. I admit some discomfort with this tiefling -- if their transport has been impounded for some indiscretion, as seems probable, we would most likely bring additional attention upon ourselves from the local authorities. The other group may carry a similar penalty depending on the nature of their dispositions."

"Were it solely my choice, I would seek additional information on both fronts. Why has the tiefling's ship been taken away, and is there a way to retrieve it sensibly? If so, and I use that word 'if' most advisedly, that would be acceptable. Meanwhile, the other group -- can they be trusted? Failing that, what are their capabilities? They may think they are at a position of advantage, but if they are not as capable as we, they may find themselves quickly disabused of the notion of aggression. Mind you, I am not suggesting violence by any means, merely a show of strength sufficient to deter such from their position."

" I believe I would suggest attempting to find the answers to these questions, with utmost haste of course. I do recognize the dangers inherent in delay."

[Cyclopean]

"I can get the tiefling to talk," says the nagaji, taking a sip of her ale. "Can't say I really care what she's done, though. More to the point, she's our fastest and cheapest option for getting to Baskaral. And I know how to choose my battles. Who'd you rather fight: some impound guards, and maybe a single woman who couldn't hold onto a ship by herself? Or whoever the pirates don't want to fight personally, and probably the cutthroats themselves when they turn on us?"

[Stelio Kontos]

"I believe you present a false dichotomy, Zaraweti. It may not be necessary to fight either one. But since you ask: I would be much more concerned about a single individual in full command of such highly valuable merchandise. Were she less than extremely capable, I doubt she would hold it for long, were there pirates capable of taking it from her. A group operating together for profit can be divided as necessary."

"Even so, I shall defer to your mutual decision. I just ask that we be careful."

[Jimblin]

Observing the intriguing assembly of adventurers discuss their options, Kethor sat to the right of his sister, feet kicked up on the table. His eyes occasionally flicked in the direction of the main entrance to the tavern, keeping watch for any unwelcome guests.

"That's one way to look at it. Another perspective: what if we get captured, whether by the law or those pirates and, as our progress is delayed, our friendly pursuers catch up with us? That said, I'd rather take my chances with the authorities than risk struggling to catch up to the caravan or left stranded if the pirates betray us."

"If we want to figure more out about both the tiefling and the pirates, I might as well go see about the latter. Already ran into them, and I'm not exactly distant from that sort. Or I could ask around about the former if we're agreed on that. Somebody's bound to know where it is."

[CWater]

"Gathering information is probably best before we commit ourselves", Rhenner agrees and nods to Sefariel, "I don't consider myself much of a talker, so it's good to hear others have got that covered." He glances at Kethor and the reptilian woman, Zaraweti was it? In some other time and place, long ago, he would probably have thought she was a very strange creature, and wouldn't have known what to make of her. In this time and place however, she was no stranger than any of them, really, and whether he understood her or not didn't matter.

"I'm not opposed to helping the tiefling, though it does sounds like that might mean stepping on the toes of the local authorities and I'm not too thrilled about that. Our current enemies are more than enough. That said... I guess it wouldn't be the first law I've broken in my life." Rhenner grabs his mug and takes a sip of whatever passes for a drink around here.

[Bapsplingo]

Though trust was difficult to come by for Sasha, it had appeared that they had lucked upon others of their kind in the four travelers that she now sat with in an astral tavern. It raised a certain few questions about the purposes of their attackers, considering the varied nature made for little in the way of patterns for her to go off of and make any guesses. Perhaps something deeper than on the surface, but she was in no position to check or find out without some invasive questioning. That would only create problems rather than solve them, and take too much time.

Time that they didn't have, if she could fully believe this Atticus's reports that there were imps and archons on the horizons following them... and she had no reason to not trust it. With little time, they couldn't really work out too many things before heading off to Basrakal, and as well traveled the group could be, this was still the Astral Plane, making it likely foreign territory for them all. This made their options quite difficult to choose out of. "Privateers is a very colorful way of saying pirates, if I may interject, and the typical tiefling Astral Plane captain is also no better for trustworthiness. She could be innocent of every crime Ankoro could levy against her, and I still would have qualms about her trustworthiness. The resources of our pursuers are those of entire planes, it feels like, meaning that either she will fail to match up to the competence we desire in the face of that, or the loyalty we'd hope for. A caravan is hardly full of trustworthy figures, but they're likely the easiest and fastest way to cross the planar barrier, no strings attached."

She swept her hands across the stacks of tomes she carried that lay to her side, glancing at them as her eyes flitted across the room in a fit of consideration, but she grabbed a hold of herself and spoke again with little pause, "Problem would be catching up. I am not averse to throwing coin at the problem, but we run into the same problem that either we pilot it ourself, or take on a crew. A crew ought to face similar issues as the tiefling or the privateers in our situation. If any of you have an idea of how to handle a skiff, it would be nice, but if not, we need another option. A teleportation ritual to catch up, maybe. It would take some time, but it would be a step up from the strangers. I'm... reticent on not handling this ourselves."

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus rose, leaning on the table and looking down slightly at the others. Look, we don't have time ta argue. We've got less than a day before we're swamped with every Tom, Dic and Harry with a horn or halo aiming for our guts on the streets. We don't have time to argue more-n'-less figure out the complex arcane intricacies of a teleportation ritual that travels through the Astral to reach a different part of it. He breathed in to steady himself before continuing, voice dropping to just above a whisper. None of our options are great, ya? We aren't getting out of this peachy clean with no risk. I say, we take the most direct, promising option with ta fewest complicated factors. One untrustworthy Tiefling is easier to deal with and keep an eye on than a load of pirates or a giant caravan.

Standing up fully now, he addresses the group as a whole. Now lets start movin'. You he pointed to the snake woman, Zaraweti. And you to the aasimar, Sefariel. Go find this Tiefling. Figure out what she's capable of, why they got her skiff on lock up. Make her an offer; we spring her skiff, she takes us to Baskaral. He turned to the siblings (he still wasn't quite used to Half-Orcs). You two can sneak into wherever they are keeping this skiff ya? Go in and scope it out. Figure out the best way in for all of us and the path of least resistance. Do it quiet like. Don't want to spook them. He finally turned to the Half-Elf. You and me will hit the pavement; find word on the street. See what we can find about our options and what not. He waited a moment for people to jump to the task. When they didn't (because why would they?) he gestured generally. C'mon then, lets get going! I don't feel like pissing off another innkeep by punching holes in their wall!

[Darvin]

After a brief discussion of their options, the group disperses into three pairs, each with their own purpose to pursue.

Sefariel & Zaraweti
You find the tiefling exactly where Rhenner last saw her; playing cards at one of the local bars. You appear to have arrived at a game time, as the other players at her table seem to be leaving. All of them give her a dirty look as she slides every last coin on the table to her corner and begins to stow them. There's a wry smile on her face as she does so. She looks up at you as you approach. Her eyes are first drawn to Zaraweti's imposing frame, and she whistles as her frame comes to loom over the tiefling.

"Wowie, you're an impressive one. I don't suppose you care for a round of keys and crowns?" she asks as she deftly flicks the cards between her hands, but she pauses as she peers around the nagaji to see Sefariel.

"Oh hey, you're a cutie. Have the look of a man who wouldn't leave a woman down on her luck hanging," she blushes slightly as she looks down at her impressive winnings, "figuratively speaking of course," she snaps to her feet and graciously extends her hand, "the name's Tanner. Formerly Captain Tanner of the Cerulean Gray,"

Sasha/Kethor
It doesn't take much inquiry to deduce where the tiefling's skiff is, though getting close without attracting unwanted attention requires some caution. There is a fortified compound that encircles part of the harbor area, and among the patrol vessels suitable for only short excursions into the void of the astral sea is a small but sleek-looking skiff with flamboyant coloration. Streaks of purple and yellow clash with the pristine white of the Ankoro Peacekeeper vessels.

Approaching as close as you can, you can see a pair of Janni standing on guard at the gates of the facility, and the skiff appears to be secured quite well by chains. While it would be easy to make a rush for the skiff, freeing it from its shackles would be the real challenge, and it would be right under the nose of the Peacekeepers.

As you move about, you notice a group of Peacekeepers approaching, with a strange figure walking in their midst. A reptilian face, a long flowing beard, and an otherwise humanoid body garbed in a long flowing robe. He seems to be having a conversation with a Sylph Peacekeeper who is escorting him. You nonchalantly keep moving to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.


You recognize this individual as a Reptial Agathion



You manage to overhear some of the conversion, as they are speaking in celestial

"and the whole apparatus has been jury-rigged. Petri can't figure out how it works and is afraid to try to fly it. We really appreciate that you're helping to shed some light on this, Kassrin," the sylph remarks.

"hmm... well, I can't make any promises, but I'll take notes and see what I can find. I may need to make a few trips back to the library if the manuals I brought aren't sufficient," the reptile-headed outsider speaks.

"Whatever you need, we're just happy to have your assistance in the matter,"


Atticus/Rhenner
The two of you make your rounds through the city. It doesn't take much prodding to learn about the caravan that came through here and departed a little over a week ago. It is apparently headed by an unusual duo: an Axiomite named Xaro and a Rakshasa named Amber, both merchants with good standing and reputation. They're known for running a lucrative circuit around the astral plane for the past century, and a fair number of travelers and merchants time their own trips to coincide with the caravans to gain safety in number. They are presently on the leg of their trip towards the Maelstrom, which would serve your purposes, and it's always possible someone in the caravan is going to break away and head further in that direction.

You also learn a bit more about the "privateers" Kethor learned of. The group is called Daggan's Wolves. They claim to be bounty hunters and mercenaries, but were put on trial in Ankoro at one point on charges of piracy. The charges didn't stick, mostly due to a number of credible witnesses providing a strong alibi as to their whereabouts at the time of the alleged attack. You get the sense that the merchants have a low opinion of the group, but many of the travelers and laborers seem to think they're being picked on. There may be a class divide at play here, but the best that can be said of them is that they're mercenaries in it for the coin.

You don't learn much of note about the tiefling, other than she hasn't been to Ankoro before and that the name she goes by - Tanner - isn't her real name. Also, she's been accused of cheating at cards but no one has been able to prove it.

[CWater]

"These stories put the pirates in a slightly better light", Rhenner comments to Atticus, "Though that still doesn't mean we should trust them. Especially if they conclude we have wealth they think could better be used elsewhere. We also don't know what they would like us to do for them first, could well be there's a merchant they want to rob." He shakes his head, "But then again the tiefling seemed shifty too. With options this good we might as well toss a coin to decide."

As they continue their walk around the city, Rhenner refers to the earlier discussion in the tavern, after which their little party had momentarily split up. "You were quick to take charge, happen to have experience in giving orders? Don't take this as a criticism, if someone doesn't sketch a path forward, nothing gets done. And one can always disagree, if it's important. Anyway, I was curious?"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus was out of sorts. He realized that, despite him assigning himself to this task, he wasn't the best with words or rumors or anything of the sort. Even as they spoke with people on the street, he had already regretted putting himself to this task and not some other that may have been better suited. He almost jumped when Rhenner addressed him, so lost in his own self-doubt. Uh... no, actually. Quite the opposite. Where I grew up, you listened ta your father, no questions asked. And then... I guess you'd call it a first job was similar. Follow orders, don't ask questions. Yes Sir, no Sir, right away Sir. He stood up straight, mocking salute.

Truth be told, I just didn't like waiting. Decisive action has kept me alive through this weird-azz journey so far. Ain't broke, don't fix it. He became quiet for a few moments, before adding, a mumbling a bit. 'Course, I ain't no Captain.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel returned the tiefling's handshake -- friendly, but businesslike at the same time was the right tone to set. "I am sorry to hear of your misfortune, but pleased for you that it seems to be changing. I will be brief, so that you can resume your game quickly enough."

"We are in search of someone that might be able to transport us to Basrakal -- we are intending to do some research there. It is my understanding that you have -- or, had -- a ship and might be able to provide said transport. It is further my understanding that your ship is currently impounded by the local authorities. We would be willing to do our very best to convince them to release your vessel, or perhaps make arrangements for compensation, in exchange for your providing of the transportation thereafter."

"I am aware that you dispute the charges -- most do, whether it's true or not. I am not asking if you did it, for the moment, though I admit to curiosity. I am merely asking what the nature of the charges against you may be, so that I know what we are dealing with when we do speak to them. Is that information you're willing to provide? I acknowledge that, for the moment, you're holding all the cards -- figuratively speaking -- but at the same time, there are other potential avenues for us to explore."

[Darvin]

Tanner releases Sefariel's hands and whistles, "you're pretty forward with a girl you just met, y'know. 'Hey baby, let's head out to the far reaches of the cosmos together, you an me'. Oh, don't gimme that look, I know what you meant," she rolls her eyes and spares a glance to Zaraweti, "yeah, sure, I'd love an excuse to blow this dump, but it ain't like I just gotta pay a fine or something to get my ride back. I'm a victim here, they know this is a personal matter and I can't exactly bare my innermost secrets publicly, and they're counting on it to seize my property without me being able to contest it. I know it's a lot to ask to believe a stranger sight unseen, but this really ain't something I can talk about,"


You get the sense that Tanner desperately wants to keep the situation surrounding the seizure of her skiff private, but you can't get a sense of whether this a genuine personal concern or if she's trying to be deceptive. She seems forthright, but she also seems to have a very slick tongue.

[Bapsplingo]

Scratching her bare forearm like some kind of Pesh addict as she moved past the compound with Kethor, she couldn't help but wonder as to the nature of the realms in which they now proceeded that Janni could exist so regularly in the same frame of mind as a Reptial and strange psychically controlled skiffs. Reading about individual kinds of outsiders and their homes, or summoning one to the Prime gave one a point of reference that did not allow for a proper understanding of these middle grounds, where outsiders of all kinds mingled, no matter how much she could read about the Astral Plane and the Maelstorm. The complexity of the world she now inhabited was strangely wonderful... and terrifying, presenting countless interpretations, avenues of threat, firing lines, and concepts she couldn't anticipate. It was an unenjoyable sensation to be so out of one's own lane without more preparation, but she no longer had the time to be as cautious as she usually was. If it were not for Kethor, she probably wouldn't have managed to think that way even, and would've spent dozens of hours making as much progress as she had.

She glanced at his face, but caught a hold of herself, remembering both her place and the words said all those years ago. Shaking her head, she whispered to Kethor "Can you make anything out from what the reptial is saying? A scholarly agathion in a compound of skiffs must have something interesting for us to work with. If we decide to trust that tiefling, I think we could make a break for it, unchain it, and get away, but the circumstances might change by the time we return, and with all those Peacekeepers around, they'd immediately give chase."

[Jimblin]

Cruising along the streets at his usual quick pace, Kethor does his best to appear inconspicuous as he observes the compound, trying to figure out ideal paths of entry, routes which provide the most cover, places where the guards might make the most movement and come into view from. Fortunately, in as strange and diverse a settlement as Ankoro, a half-orc is relatively mundane a creature. He hopes, anyway. As he is focused on the chains binding the skiff to the harbor, a bit of movement draws his attention. Some strange looking reptile... thing, speaking to another Peacekeeper. Fortunately, he manages to overhear some of their conversation.

As his sister faces him, he catches her flinch slightly. He forms a faint smile, partly amused and partly pained, then mutters in a low tone "Seems the bearded lizard, Kassrin, has been hired to mess with the skiff. Apparently the tiefling had it rigged in such a way that they can't figure out how to work it. Lizard says he might need to get more supplies from some library, and the guards seem happy to oblige as much as they can."

He continues pacing in a more meandering fashion. "Looks like it'll need a new paint job."

[CWater]

Atticus was out of sorts. He realized that, despite him assigning himself to this task, he wasn't the best with words or rumors or anything of the sort. Even as they spoke with people on the street, he had already regretted putting himself to this task and not some other that may have been better suited. He almost jumped when Rhenner addressed him, so lost in his own self-doubt. Uh... no, actually. Quite the opposite. Where I grew up, you listened ta your father, no questions asked. And then... I guess you'd call it a first job was similar. Follow orders, don't ask questions. Yes Sir, no Sir, right away Sir. He stood up straight, mocking salute.

Truth be told, I just didn't like waiting. Decisive action has kept me alive through this weird-azz journey so far. Ain't broke, don't fix it. He became quiet for a few moments, before adding, a mumbling a bit. 'Course, I ain't no Captain.

"Guess that first job taught you something then", Rhenner smirks, "Like it or not. I used to be a follower of orders too, at one time in the far past, before the lies became too glaring and I couldn't stand it. At least... I think that was the reason I left." He shrugs. "Anyway, as I said, I don't mind getting orders. Gets things done."

[Bapsplingo]

"It could do with being a little less garish but with nightmares on my heels I don't think I particularly care if I arrive in purples and yellows or pink and red. Kassrin, eh? An Agathion named Kassrin... doesn't ring a bell as any of the big ones, not that I expected one." she mused, matching Kethor's stride but not his pace as she lagged behind somewhat.

"The nature of the skiff gives some credence to the tiefling, though. Rigged up non standard that they have to bring a scholar in? Any idea how long it might take him? Because it does also put a bit of a time restraint on us."

[Jimblin]

"True enough. Paint job might give us some more time if we need it, but it might be better to fly under these colors. They seem more neutral, even if they're a bit... zany. Wonder how the others are doing chatting up with her." He yawns a bit as he slows down even more, going from meandering to downright moseying. Looking somewhat more serious, he continues in a quiet tone.

"Uncertain. Couldn't quite tell what the exact issue was, so there isn't really any way for me to narrow it down. Of course, we could always just try to figure out a way to slow down his progress. If we get the chance we could try to do some more thorough investigation by nightfall, see how this place is organized then."

[MesiDoomstalker]

"Guess that first job taught you something then", Rhenner smirks, "Like it or not. I used to be a follower of orders too, at one time in the far past, before the lies became too glaring and I couldn't stand it. At least... I think that was the reason I left." He shrugs. "Anyway, as I said, I don't mind getting orders. Gets things done."

I think I understand where your comin' from. Back where I'm from, Angels and Demons are just kinda stories they tell ta make people stay on ta straight and narrow. Dunno why they only show up ta kill me but they did. So when word got 'round, I was labeled an anti-christ. Uh... I think the word is Blasphemer? Basically, they thought it was my own fault for these damn outsiders comin' to kill me. He sighed. Those people were my neighbors. Helped bring in the harvest every year; went ta church every Sunday together. And they turned on me and Ma and Pa just like that.

He paused, studying Rhenner for a moment. 'Course, elves were just stories too. A lot different than the real ones, actually. Boy they sure got them wrong.

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti drummed her fingers on the table while Sefariel circled around the reality of the situation. It frustrated her how cagey he could be, but she trusted him enough to follow his lead in negotiating.

"Well, like my friend here said, there's 'other potential avenues.' We're traveling with four others, and given that we're all eager to get to Baskaral, we're willing to explore them aggressively." She leans forward, and puts on her best insincere smile. "Your secrets can stay your own business. We just need to know that if we can get you back in your boat, you can get us where we're going, and there won't be any complications from your end slowing us down."

[Darvin]

The tiefling nods at Zaraweti, "oh, I like you. The kind of person who cuts directly to the heart of the issue, the kind of person who knows her destination and wants to go there directly. I think you and I could have a great working relationship," she grins and gives a wink, "you do good by me, I do good by you. Tanner looks after her friends,"

[Bapsplingo]

Made sense, Kethor had always been able to hear even the squeaks of distant mice, but even that couldn't tell them everything from where they were in relativity. "We might not have until nightfall, but with the way this is going, it doesn't seem like we have a choice. I think if the others make much progress with the captain of our good ship, we might have to plan to leave tonight with them helming it. You're thinking of stealing it yourself, aren't you? Seems like the sort of thing you'd come up with. Well, don't, because it's an astral skiff, you need to by psychic to pilot that. Let's check out the compound's exits and entrances a bit more, I think we should be able to talk about its ins and outs when we get back to the others. You're the Eagle Eye, spot anything useful?"

Sasha clicked her tongue, and then spoke again, "We should pay a visit to this library if that 'Kassrin' heads that way. I'm... very interested, to be frank. It'll serve more than just a singular purpose."

[CWater]

I think I understand where your comin' from. Back where I'm from, Angels and Demons are just kinda stories they tell ta make people stay on ta straight and narrow. Dunno why they only show up ta kill me but they did. So when word got 'round, I was labeled an anti-christ. Uh... I think the word is Blasphemer? Basically, they thought it was my own fault for these damn outsiders comin' to kill me. He sighed. Those people were my neighbors. Helped bring in the harvest every year; went ta church every Sunday together. And they turned on me and Ma and Pa just like that.

He paused, studying Rhenner for a moment. 'Course, elves were just stories too. A lot different than the real ones, actually. Boy they sure got them wrong.

"Stories can get a lot of things wrong, yeah. The farther away they're told from the source the more twisted they get, usually. I'm not a full elf, you know, but a mix-blood, part human. Like that guy Kethor, except different other half. So if you put it all together, we've got a total of 3 humans worth, half and elf and half and orc in the party. And whatever Sefariel and Zaraweti are, I'm not entirely sure to be honest. But I'm curious, what are elves like in those stories of your world?" Rhenner asks, his mouth sliding to a lopsided smile.

[Jimblin]

Kethor grumbles a bit, mildly amused. "Psychic boats aren't really my style anyway. It's not even in pink." He chuckles as he casts a sideways glance back towards the compound. "Not much else I can see, unfortunately. Looks pretty open. We'll either have to go in quick or whip up some magic to deal with the lack of cover ourselves."

Turning to face the joint one last time, he nods slightly. "Alright. Let's check it out. Hopefully we can get those manuals before our scaled friend doubles back. Not the most thrilling journey but it might come in handy if we get delayed for whatever reason." He taps his temple with his index finger. "Plan ahead, right?"

[Bapsplingo]

Sasha gave a sarcastic smirk back as a response, remembering well that Kethor was at heart some kind of fae bastard, but she appreciated his thought at the very least. "At least something I tried to teach you got through your thick skull, which is useful for when you were getting your ass kicked but never when you needed to learn something. Perhaps those ears work after all." she spoke, letting loose a chuckle that surprised her. It felt good to talk to someone again, Kethor most of all.

But she had to refocus herself yet again, and wiped her eyes, the steely cold returning to them as she moved her hand out of her face. "Library shouldn't be too hard to find, but let's get to it. I'd rather not tangle with the Peacekeepers or that agathion if we can help it, so lets get moving. Plus, if we get the tomes he needs specifically, we can delay them from figuring out... whatever it is that's different about this particular skiff."

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel blanched a little bit on the inside, but managed to maintain his placid visage. "I will say that I would be much more comfortable with this option were I more properly informed. I do understand your desire for privacy. It does make it rather difficult to commit ourselves to making Lady Tanner into Captain Tanner once again. Ah well, I'm sure you have plenty of other people willing to act on your behalf, and you'll have your ship back in no time, with or without us, right?"

The assimar rose with a slight bow and an extended hand in offering of a handshake. "We shall leave it open-ended then? If we are able to procure your vessel, you will provide us transport directly to Baksarel. If not, no hard feelings, and we wish you better luck in the future."

[Darvin]

Sefariel and Zaraweti
"That's all I can ask for, cutie," the tiefling winks as the aasimar backs away from the table, "I'll seeya around,"

As the two are about to walk out the door, the tiefling's voice echoes in both of their heads, "by the way, there's an invisible imp that's following you around, and I think its boss wants to kill you. You might want to shake it. Good luck with that,"

Everyone Else
Sasha and Kethor make a few inquiries and quickly ascertain the location of the library, which is not far off the main thoroughfare. Atticus and Rhenner are canvassing the area as the siblings pass through, reuniting this part of the group.

The library is just around the corner from where you ran into each other, and its history is laid bare by a statue and plaque that stands in front of it. A janni prince is depicted in a striking blue stone, an abacus held in his right hand and a large tome stuffed under his left shoulder. The janni seems incredibly focused in this depiction. At his feet, embossed on shining metal, is the dedication of the building, "Lord Ryel Fairwind Library; through peace and learning comes prosperity. Just as the library contributes to our collective knowledge, so too should you," though you're not entirely clear on the dating convention in Ankoro, this is by far the most recent year you've seen on any public dedication; this library must be relatively new.

The library doors open to a grand hallway from which multiple stories of bookcases are plainly visible. Another statue of Lord Fairwind, this one even larger, decorates the lobby. A very large lockbox stands in front of the statue with a large sign with the same word written in no fewer than seven languages: "Donations" the statue seems to glare at visitors who enter. The entire complex is in immaculate order, and clearly no expense was spared in producing a library that could easily have served as a palace.

Watching the lobby is a sylph who is thumbing her way through a book. She looks up to the new entrants, double-takes for a moment, then looks back down, apparently satisfied that you don't seem like troublemakers. You can see two others perusing the books from here. One appears to be a tall figure in a thick robe who is slowly moving along the length of the bookcases reading something in particular. The other is an unusual creature. At first glance you almost mistake it for a pair of air elementals, but it becomes apparent as you observe it that it's a single creature composed of two churning funnels. It leaves no wind in its trail, and has a set of arms on each of its funnels. It has two books open which it appears to be reading at the same time.


You recall this creature from a crash course in planar cosmology you received. It's a Synesis Aeon, a creature closely associated with scholars, philosophers, and artists. It often serves as a dispassionate guide to such individuals... but just as quickly can turn on them and destroy their work. Like all aeons they are inscrutable and unpredictable, helpful only up to the point at which they are not.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus chuckled at Rhenner but didn't get a chance to explain before they regrouped with (some) of the others. As they entered the library, he was awed. Even now, after all these months of new discovery it was humbling to realize he could still be surprised on occasion. As they entered, he pointed to the twin-whirlwind-creature, grounded again that his studying, however laborious, pays off in even some small ways. He gestured discreetly towards it and whispered. Aeon. Synesis. Related to scholars and philosophers. But like all Aoens, are unpredictable; just as likely to help you and then destroy everything you worked together on.

[Bapsplingo]

"Rare, I imagine, because I don't recognize it. Minimize contact. We're here for specific books, and I'd like some extras, but interact with an Aeon only if you absolutely need to." Sasha hissed under her breath, as they passed into the massive repository of knowledge. Had she the time, she was the type to spend entire weeks in a place like this, not out of enjoyment but a demand to ensure she knew as much as possible for the obstacles of the future. The sheer amount of knowledge here would likely outstrip the Twilight Academy's reserves, and she certainly was tempted.

"Let's split up to go look. Kethor, you can probably go use that gold tongue of yours on the sylph and the... robed one?"

[CWater]

"Yes, yes, good idea...", Rhenner replies vaguely and drifts off towards the closest bookcase, where he first runs a finger on the spines of the books then picks up a few and starts flipping through them, not really paying attention to the fact if they're actually helpful or not. A place like this... if he had an eternity to spare (and not being hunted by hostile outsiders), he could spend it here. Reading was travelling really, only of a different kind, that of the mind instead of the body. Surely Fharlanghn wouldn't mind.

The only fault in this place was that as a library, you probably weren't allowed to take books with you. Or there were some strict rules about it or something. What a pity.

[Jimblin]

Kethor murmurs in affirmation as he looks around the immaculate library. Looked better than he expected. He meets the eyes of the sylph as she looks up at the crew, then shifts his gaze to the two strangers beside the bookshelves. The mysterious robed figure provokes the most suspicion from the half-orc, but he quickly settles himself and strides towards the sylph. Giving her his most winning smile, his ivory tusks curl against his lips as he chats casually.

"Good afternoon, miss. Apologies for interrupting you, but I was wondering if you know where I might find some manuals pertaining to the structure of boats and ships designed for traveling the astral sea."

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti freezes, and barely resists the urge to grab for her bardiche. Instead, she forces herself to keep moving out through the doorway. "So...back to our room, then?" she mutters to Sefariel, eyes darting in search of their invisible tail. Stupid, she thinks to herself. Don't tip it off! You won't be able to see it anyway...

Working on that, rumbles the voice at the back of her mind. She ignores it.

[Stelio Kontos]

"Perhaps we should --" Sefariel began. "Yes, back to the room would seem like an excellent idea."

On the way back, he shared a few thoughts. "I don't trust this tiefling any farther than I could throw her, which isn't more than a few feet. She's hiding something. We're not very well just going to break into wherever this thing is and steal it. I'd be happy to talk to whoever these people are, but it's a ludicrous suggestion otherwise."

[Darvin]

The sylph looks at up the half-orc, pauses a moment, then points, "engineering is on the second floor on the wing to your left," she says in a quiet voice, then returns to her reading. It's only a short climb before you find the well-marked section. Books on all manner of fantastic inventions from across the planes form row after row of text. It takes only a minute or so of skimming titles to find Bernhoff's Complete Guide to Flying Skiffs, a book that seems to at least make a good effort of living up to its title. There are a number of empty spots in the shelf around it, as if someone had recently withdrawn a number of books on this subject. Bernhoff's guid lists hundreds of variations on the standard design, noting that it has become so common throughout the planes that virtually anywhere psychic spellcasters are to be found there is likely a local variant.

Meanwhile, Rhenner scans through books in another section of the library. This particular row of books appears to document obscure and poorly-known planes of existence. He cracks one open and discovers a depiction of a plane that had insulated itself from the usual cycle of souls, and had developed its own internal cycle. Apparently some calamity disrupted this carefully choreographed system, and hundreds of millions of souls were released into the river of souls all at once. This destructive tide ripped apart that plane into dozens of demiplanes, and the sudden flood of released souls was felt throughout the cosmos. Agents of many of the gods were sent to investigate, but the damaged plane has splintered into hundreds of demiplanes and knowledge of whatever secret methods were used to isolate it from the rest of the cosmos died with its ill-fated leaders when the whole system came crashing down.

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti shrugs, putting thoughts of their pursuer out of her mind for the moment. "Sure, let's talk to the authorities. See if we can get anything out of them without getting them suspicious. I mean, it's not like I trust her myself--still, don't see why we need to. Once we're clear of Ankoro, I'll make sure she knows just how stupid it would be to cross us."

[Bapsplingo]

As the others had deigned to look for the important manuals they hoped to take out of the hands of the Agathion, Sasha decided to indulge herself. She began to look through the many books, searching through names for important keywords she recognized or better yet, didn't recognize at all.

[Darvin]

Sasha
Sasha continues to move along the bookshelves, searching for any titles of interest. "The Fantastical Constructs of Jistka" catches her eye; she'd heard of the Imperium of Jistka before, a nation that existed over seven thousand years ago in her own homeworld of Golarion. Aside from its rough geographical extent and rough dates of its rise and fall there was little that was known of it, with very few ruins, relics, or records of the period having survived to modern times. Even a second-hand source like this, written more than a millennia after the fall of the empire and detailing only one area of their academic achievements, was an invaluable historical document. And if even half of what was depicted in the book was accurate, then Jistka's mastery of constructs remains unmatched even to present day. Though it seems to you that their hubris was also part of their downfall; towards the latter end of the Imperium the constructs they built were almost entirely free-willed. When the empire began to crumble, many of these constructs abandoned the empire to its fate rather than defend their masters.

As she rounded a corner, she caught wind of the other thing she was looking for: spellbooks, rituals, and enchanted books. Apparently these magical tomes had their own wing. As she approaches, she sees a sign neatly posted near the closed door to the wing: "Admittance by Appointment Only!" it would seem that while the library allows the general public to peruse its non-magical texts, it was more discerning with others.

Sefariel and Zaraweti
The two of you make a brisk pace towards the public peacekeeper precinct, trying cautiously to avoid tipping off your pursuer to your awareness of its presence. The building is fairly quiet with only a few uniformed peacekeepers on duty. A surly-looking human peacekeeper is talking with a sylph. Behind them, in a holding cell, is a rather grotesque creature. Its features are partially obscured by a tattered robe it wears, but you can plainly see a toothy maw and tentacled hands.


You recognize this as a Venedaemon


"Eighty-three soul gems seized, at least the ones we were able to recover. Some of those cacofiends got away after to nabbed their boss. No clue who he was selling to, though, or if he was just passing through," one of the peacekeepers says

"You'd think they'd learn to keep that filth out of Ankoro. The devils have got it figured out; you're welcome here, just leave the souls at home. Daemons don't seem to get the memo, though," the sylph shrugs, then notices you, "oh hey, looks like we got some travelers. What do you need?"

After a brief moment of explaining your reason for inquiry, the sylph nods and his companion steps up to take his place, "you have testimony about Tanner? Excellent! I just need you to give a written statement as to your association with the tiefling. Lieutenant Ghomm should be back in a few minutes and I know she'd love to talk to you,"

[Bapsplingo]

Sasha was quite interested by the Jistkans, and she understood their language well from studies of their people in her time at the Academy. Their skill at engineering and construction was unmatched by even those of Azlant, in some regards. It was still pride before the fall, and tale to remember, though a historical tragedy to document. This book was likely priceless, and thus she decided to take it. It could detail something useful to their journey ahead, such as if she decided to take up golemancy at any point. Perhaps there was a way to rent it, for stealing it seemed like the perfect way to cause trouble.

But more important to her was the section on more than mundane tomes, as in here would be countless realms of knowledge and spellcraft that she could absolutely use more at the moment. She considered going in and ignoring the sign, but it took her a double take as she was reminded of how she had been unable to control herself in those years before, when she and Kethor pillaged Korvosa's Acadamae and its most forbidden libraries. Perhaps she could not trust herself.

She turned around, and approached the Sylph, who seemed to be the type to work the place, and asked "I'd like to make an appointment for the enchanted tomes, rituals and spells section". She paused, and then rapidly blurted out a "Please."

[Darvin]

The Sylph looks at Sasha with some degree of exasperation, as if she gets this all the time. "The private collections are for patrons of the library. As a non-patron you will need to pay a fee for access," she sniffs deeply as she speaks and pulls out a loosely bound book and flips through some pages, "I have an opening tomorrow, first thing in the morning; for four hundred gold pieces you can have eight hours of access,"

This is an "all you can eat" deal, and the only costs you will pay above this fee are your material components to scribe it into your spellbook. Unless you have an ability to speed up the scribing process, eight hours is enough time to scribe four spells.

I'll save you the math: this is a big cost savings over market rate if you scribe level 4+ spells, a slight up-charge above market rate if you go for 3rd level spells, and a complete ripoff for 2nd level spells or lower.

Also to save you some time of asking the obvious question, the library has every core spell up to 5th level as a well as a randomized selection of higher-level and non-core spells.

[Stelio Kontos]

After a brief moment of explaining your reason for inquiry, the sylph nods and his companion steps up to take his place, "you have testimony about Tanner? Excellent! I just need you to give a written statement as to your association with the tiefling. Lieutenant Ghomm should be back in a few minutes and I know she'd love to talk to you,"


"Certainly, though 'association' is quite an overstatement of the situation -- we've had but one brief and largely fruitless conversation, from my point of view. Still, if you think it can be of assistance, we'd be happy to speak to your lieutenant. Do you mind sharing the circumstances by which her ship became a ward of the state?"

[Darvin]

Sefariel & Zaraweti
The man looks to his partner and shrugs, then turns back to you, "normally we don't go commenting during ongoing investigations, but the rap is that the skiff is stolen property. The tiefling put a new coat of paint on it and thought no one would notice she was flying around in a missing skiff belonging to the Fairwind family," he laughs, "arrogant thief and her crazy stories, as if a planetar would just give her a vessel that valuable,"

The wait isn't very long before another sylph walks in through a back entrance. She speaks with the other peacekeepers before coming to you, "I understand you want to talk to me about Tanner and her ship. Please, let's go somewhere a little more private to discuss," she leads the two of you to a quiet room and closes the door behind her before speaking.

"Truth be told, I'm very curious as to this ship's history. Lord Fairwind has laid claim to it, and since the tiefling is refusing to mount a defense he will prevail by default when this reaches the courts in three days time. I've interviewed both parties, and they have been frustratingly flippant. Fairwind's claims are hardly timely; by his own admission that skiff was loaned to a planetar named Aster over thirty years ago, but he has no documentation of that deal and he never raised an issue when the skiff went unreturned. It also strikes me as odd that a planetar would renege. It's a weak case, to be sure, but Tanner has been even more frustrating. She claims Aster gave her the skiff as a gift, but she simply needles around any further questions without answering them. I have no idea what her relation, if any, to Aster is. We've tried to call Aster himself, but all attempts to contact him have failed. Without Aster's testimony and with both sides being flagrantly deceptive with me I feel I have no choice but to allow the default judgement to pass," Lieutenant Ghomm sighs, "and, of course, because Lord Fairwind is involved we have the usual entourage of politics that tie my hands. Your curiosity in this case could be... helpful for me,"

[Stelio Kontos]

"I see" Sefariel nodded. "That does more or less interlace with what she was willing -- or unwilling -- to share with us. So if we were to locate this Lord Aster, and they were able to corroborate the tiefling's story, the ship would be released? The usual entourage of politics notwithstanding?" he asked, with a meaning glance at Zaraweti. "Would you be able to provide the last known location of Lord Aster?"

[Darvin]

Ghomm shakes her head, "Well, that's the catch, isn't it? Aster hasn't been seen in Ankoro for thirty years, about the time Lord Fairwind loaned him the skiff in the first place. The only person we know of who claims to have seen him more recent than that is Tanner, and if you've been following along you can probably guess how much we got out of her on the subject," the woman rolls her eyes, "look, I got some suspicions. Fairwind ain't a fool; he knows that the courts here have his back, but even his best friends on the bench won't just give him free stuff based on undocumented claims from thirty years ago. He's counting on Tanner not defending herself. As for Tanner, my opinion on her is that she's a consummate liar who will say whatever she needs to cover her tail... so why isn't she? Pretty obvious to me that Fairwind has some sort of leverage on her. I can't exactly investigate one of the patron lords of Ankoro without putting my own job on the chopping block, but if some 'concerned citizens' were to sleuth around and just so happen to drop that evidence into my lap that would be a different matter," she winks.

[Jimblin]

Kethor taps the empty space on the shelf with some trepidation. Perhaps they had come here a bit too late to do exactly what he wanted. Regardless, he pulls out Bernhoff's guide with a grunt and heads back over to the sylph, keeping an eye out for the robed entity. Brushing by his sister, he smiles again at the sylph. "Hello again. Got what I was looking for. How much would it be to buy this fine tome?" He hefts the manual up, showing its name.

After clearing his throat he continues, "While searching for it, I noticed quite a bit of a gap on the shelf around it. I was wondering if you have on record who may have taken the books that would be there. Seems to have been a recent transaction."

[Bapsplingo]

It was bemusing, almost, to hear the kind of eye-rolling frustration and boredom she heard out of the Sylph, because it proved that no matter how absurd your surroundings, librarians never change. Whether it was the bone dragon under Korvosa, or this sylph, they were grumpy. Unfortunately, bemused was not something that came to Sasha's mind as a reaction, but irritation sure did. "A sign sure would be nice. I'll take the appointment for tomorrow. 400 gold? It's yours. Perhaps I'll have to look into patronage some other time as well."

She tossed over a sack with the gold, the currency of which varied between Chelian coins and Acadamae tokens, but the worth was solid. She couldn't pass an opportunity like this up, considering just how many resources they'd have to pour into getting these spells later on, possibly. Furthermore, as much as the problem of being chased by outsiders remained, there were costs and consequences but also gains. With the strength of a thousand more spells, she could create bastions of magick and spell that- point was, even a few more spells were a considerable addition to her arsenal. Certainly worth it?

She still worried about the protections of the library, her paranoia stretching to consider that no matter how recent, the actors involved with this transaction could be compromised or the enchantments of the place itself could be broken. She'd set up precautions for that tomorrow...

[Stelio Kontos]

I can't exactly investigate one of the patron lords of Ankoro without putting my own job on the chopping block, but if some 'concerned citizens' were to sleuth around and just so happen to drop that evidence into my lap that would be a different matter," she winks.

"Yes, yes, we can't very well have you place your employment in jeopardy, now can we?" Sefariel said, returning the wink with one of his own.

"Hypothetically speaking, if you were such a concerned citizen, where might you begin to, as you put it, 'sleuth around'? Purely for my own academic interest, of course."

Couple random rolls, because I might not need their help that much to snoop into this Lord Fairchild's business, who knows:

knowledge (local) [roll0]
knowledge (nobility) [roll1]

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti finally perks up. "Out of curiosity, is there a policy for compensating such 'concerned citizens?' Official or otherwise? Investigating a Lord of the City seems damn risky to do for just civic pride," she says.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus milled behind the others at they looked at stuffy books. The oppressive silence of the library was driving him insane and with the large shelves full of books made him feel caged in. Short sight lines, it be so easy to ambush him here. Books were always boring and dry. Are we finished here yet? We really can't sit still this long.

[Darvin]

At the Library
The librarian takes the money from Sasha, then carefully writes down her name in the book for her appointment the following morning. She then turns to Kethor as he speaks, her level of exasperation completely unchanged, "You may take the book out on loan. As you are not a patron, I will require a-" she takes a good look at the book before responding, "hundred gold piece deposit,"

As he voices his second question, she merely shrugs, "patrons are permitted to withdraw books from the library. Kassrin withdrew a few on that topic a few hours ago; he's fairly prompt at returning books when he's finished with them so they should be back soon,"

As Atticus raises his voice in protest of the time they're wasting, the librarian puts her finger to her lips and shushes him. Indeed, librarians never change.

At the Precinct
The Fairwind clan are powerful Janni Lords, risen to prominence as merchant princes across the astral plane. The dominance of the Fairwinds in Ankoro is part of why Jannis - and by extension, sylphs - are so common here. Ryel Fairwind in particular makes his home here in Ankoro, and is presumably the Lord Fairwind that Lt. Ghomm refers to.

Ghomm presses her fingers together at Sefariel's question, "I see three ways to mount a defense against Fairwind. Getting Tanner to be forthright with us and give a full testimony would probably do the trick, as would tricking Fairwind into admitting any duplicity. He's cunning and sly, but hubris has been his downfall in the past. But paper and documentation would speak loudest here. There is an anomaly with the records of that vessel. The last record Fairwind has is of servicing and repairs. A month later the port authority has a port departure record under one of Fairwind's captains, and then almost a year later - with no matching entry record - we have another departure record under Aster. I'm incredulous that Fairwind has no documentation of what happened to that vessel in the interim, and the lack of a port entry record means something unusual must have happened,"

Ghomm glances towards Zaraweti, "Ma'am, I could just as easily close this case and rest on my laurels as a lieutenant. I'm pursuing this matter out of a sense of justice. It doesn't pay as well as doing what you're told, but I find it much more satisfying. If you want remuneration for your efforts, I suggest you speak with Tanner. She's the one who stands to have the most to gain from Fairwind's case being dropped,"

[CWater]

While the others focus on the information gathering they actually came here to do, Rhenner continues to read, making some notes as he does so, and changing the book every now and then. This results in his notes becoming very scattered and random, raising the question of their usefulness. However, the cleric sticks to it intently, determined to explore as many volumes as he can in the time he has before someone will eventually stop him.

[Darvin]

Atticus, Sashu, Kethor, Rhenner
After dragging Rhenner out of the library, the four members present there begin the trek back to the tavern the group had chosen to reconvene. They made a straight path through the streets to their destination, but halt when they hear a calamitous crash. There is a momentary pause as the group wonders if they are under attack, but the growing commotion makes clear this incident happened around the corner.

As the four approach, they see two merchant wagons have collided. Flammable substances have begun to engulf both of them. Amid the chaos, a furious Efreeti has something invisible in a stranglehold. He throttles it vigorously as he screams, "You stupid, reckless, delinquent imp! Look at what you've done! Look at it!" the Efreeti whips it around violently to show it the wagon as the imp's invisibility fades away to reveal a panicked devil.

The scene unfolds rapidly as peacekeepers from a nearby precinct fan out and begin to move onlookers away from the blaze and control it. Amid the chaos, the four notice Sefariel and Zaraweti emerge from the precinct.

Sefariel and Zaraweti
"I'm appreciative of your interest. If you find anything, make sure to let me-" Ghomm is cut off by a calamitous crash from outside the precinct, "what in the hells is going on out there!?" she yells, quickly unlatching the door. The peacekeepers in the precinct quickly mobilize and rush out the door.

Following them, Sefariel and Zaraweti come upon the scene of a terrible accident. Two merchant carts have collided with each other, and one appeared to have been carrying flammable material and has gone up in flames. Just beside the accident, a furious Efreeti appears to be strangling an imp to death. The imperious outsider has been reduced to spewing curses and profanity in his tirade.

On the other side of the accident, the two notice their compatriots who have also arrived on this scene.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sophia, dearest, I need you.

With that simple thought, Sefariel summoned forth the familiar that had merged into his form some hours before. A whirling display of lights and small objects, reminiscent of the modeling of a complex solar system, dis-insinuated itself from his form, whirling just over the aasimar's head. He murmured to the harbinger "Please ask everyone to keep away from the fire"; despite the simplicity of the language, there was far more communicated than those simple words. Even as Sefariel began quite obviously casting a spell, the harbinger spoke in a soft, almost angelic voice.

"Please, for your own safety, we urge you to remain distant from the fire" spoke the archon, just loudly enough for all nearby to hear. "It is our hope to prevent you from potential injury, until such time as it become safe to approach."

Harbinger's action: move out of my body per merge with familiar spell. Then talking (she has truespeech, so language will not be a barrier to anyone).
My action: start casting Summon Monster IV, ending start of my next round

[Darvin]

The onlookers and peaceguard are somewhat bewildered by the sudden announcement from the archon, but when the water elemental summoned by Sefariel appears moment later they get back to work cordoning off the fire.

The Efreeti's attention (but not his grip) is diverted away from the imp, and his demeanor seems to soften considerably when he sees the water elemental dousing the flames. After a few moments, all that remains is a single large gout of flame that the elemental can't seem to douse. The Efreeti steps into the soggy mess and snuffs it, pocketing something in the process as he does so.

Lt. Ghomm gives Sefariel a gracious smile as she walks towards the Efreeti. The peacekeepers begin to fan out and ask for witness testimony of what occurred while securing the scene.

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti reaches into her handy haversack for a blanket to smother the flames with, only to hear the rush of hissing steam as Serafiel's summon extinguishes them. Sheepishly, she puts her blanket back in the bag.

At this point, Zaraweti's curiosity about their pursuers gets the best of her. She hopes that their tail was the imp currently in the efreeti's grasp; failing that, she figures any invisible stalkers will be distracted by the chaos and not notice her noticing them. Drawing on her childhood training, she opens her awareness to the unseen world and looks around as she walks over to the rest of the group.

Zaraweti uses her Detect Magic SLA. She scans for faint auras that seem unattached to any person or object.

[Bapsplingo]

Reaching into a fold of her robed duster to pull out a harrow card in two fingers, she raised an eyebrow as she remembered that she had an aligned card of The Avalanche earlier that day, noting that it was more direct a foreboding than she'd considered. Generally, prediction of events for a day or even a week was a silly concept in of itself when relying on the Harrow, and so it was considerable that a disaster of flame had struck so closely to a reading. She didn't believe in coincidences, and filed it away for further consideration, as she'd heard of theories about the relevance of the Harrow's power in the Astral Plane... something about a connection to a plane of the Harrow, though it had been ramblings. She made a note to investigate later in life, because the absolute concept of being able to improve reading accuracy through planar travel was something she could absolutely utilize to its fullest potential.

Her attention returned to the forefront as she watched the procession of people and Peacekeepers file about in the aftermath of the fire. Most interesting was the protagonist of their little scene, the Efreeti choking out an imp. She was on a devil list, like the rest, so she did not complain, but the strange behavior of his to pick out one difficult to see thing from the burnt corpse of the wagons needed investigation.

Immediately, the geometric patterns and trigonometric diagrams that lined all parts of her body began to shift and move as a cold light emanated from them, some spinning, others folding on themselves. Her eyes narrowed in on the Outsider, attempting to drown out the absolutely unbelievable (which she'd wanted to comment on before, especially in the library, but had not) fields of magic perpetrating throughout reality all around her. She just needed. That. One. Person.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus hand twitched to the enchanted bandoleer slung criss-crossed on his chest. Briefly, the wood stock of his musket materialized out of a otherwise empty loop but it just as quickly disappeared. Instead, he observed the Genie's actions carefully, noting it's unsubtle retrieval of what was likely the device responsible for the commotion. As Sefariel called upon another being of elemental force, he stepped forward towards the Efreeti, speaking in the Taldane tongue of Galorion; he suspected that be the best middle-ground for communication. That was a nasty blaze friend; is yer cart alright? I hope our little nuisance here didn't do any permanent damage.

[Darvin]

Zaraweti
Zaraweti scans the scene with her magic, looking for any sign of an aura of illusion amid the chaos. Her eyes sweep back and forth, but every aura seems to have an owner. If there is another imp prowling about invisibly, it's well hidden.

Sasha
As Sasha focuses her gaze on the Efreeti, a single aura dominates the others. She can tell that there are other faint auras there, but they are impossible to distinguish with the throbbing aura of evocation emanating from his pocket. Even without the ability to examine the object herself, she can tell that this is a strong aura of evocation. Whatever this object is, it's outputting a considerable amount of arcane power.

Atticus
The towering Efreeti turns to the human, a curl of rage and indignation forming on his face as he seethes in Taldane right back, "your nuisance? You put the imp up to this," the Efreeti's demeanor calms slightly as he sees Sefariel cautiously approach his compatriot, "oh, you're with the wizard. Hmph, it does at least make the frame salveagable. Good work, I guess,"

The Efreeti turns back to the imp, "but this little cretin went and flew right into my face while I was driving. Idiot should watch where he's going," the thoroughly disoriented imp is once again violently shaken by the enraged genie.

"Is that your account?" a sylph peacekeeper that Sefariel recognizes as Lt. Ghomm approaches the scene, "If you don't mind, sir, I'll need you to give an official statement for our investigation of this accident. And I'd appreciate if you not kill the imp; we'll need a statement from him as well,"

"I don't have time for this," the Efreeti shouts at the lieutentant, then throws the imp at her, "take him. You heard what I said. I have places to be and schedules to keep. I'll be back later to claim my property. Ensure it suffers no further damage," The Efreeti looks ready to leave the scene on his own power.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus recoiled at the Efreeti's outburst. Curse his hometown slang; it just doesn't translate like he hope it would. Ach, naw, that's not what I meant! Its a sayin'- ah not important. Just tryin' ta be neighborly was all. I hope yer stuff is ok; that thing that started the fire looked like a doozy. Big Efreetah like you won't mind no flames though. Whats it's output eh? Third circle? Fifth?

Circle = level in case it wasn't obvious.

[Bapsplingo]

Sasha approached the Efreeti along with Atticus, reaffirming his strangely accented words with a nod. She followed him up with "With all due respect, you positively radiate evocation. That fire wasn't entirely caused by the imp, and whatever you're carrying may be a danger to yourself and those around you. Clearly, it's already caused some issues.", nodding her head towards the formerly burning cart.

[Jimblin]

As the crash alarms, the party, Kethor's body tenses up as he quickly makes his move towards the source of the noise. Hands clutched tightly behind his back, he is somewhat relieved to see it was merely some collision between the carts of some merchants. As the others do what they can to douse the flames, the half-orc keeps an eye on the surrounding crowd. Seemingly random chaos like this is when one's guard to the unpredictable often drops most readily. He watches the peacekeepers with some suspicion, though seeing the other two members of this unfortunate group among the enforcers of low calms him down somewhat.

Instinctively, he moves up as Sasha does the same, though he approaches a nearby peacekeeper. "Pardon me. Has the imp or genie any previous record?"

[Darvin]

The Efreeti furrows its brow at Atticus and Sasha, "all you need to know is that this is a rush procurement for a particulary valued client, who has paid handsomely for its timely delivery. Of course it is dangerous if misused or misdirected, but so long as stupid imps don't fly into my face again there shouldn't be further complications,"

The Efreeti turns to Lt. Ghomm and barks at her, "I'm late enough as it is. You can contact Lord Fairwind if you need further account from me. I doubt it will be necessary," his feet lift off the ground on the power of his own flight, and the Efreeti takes off at a leisurely pace.

Lt Ghomm turns to Kethor as he speaks, "never seen either of them before. Imps come and go all the time, but are almost always serving a greater devil or a wizard. Finding its master is our priority. As for the Efreeti, their kind don't deal with trifles. Wouldn't be surprised if this really was some special order on behalf of Lord Fairwind, though if it was just a bluff to get me out of his hair it certainly worked,"

[Cyclopean]

After Ghomm finishes, Zaraweti smiles, but it does nothing to hide the edge in her eyes. "So, you think you can get the imp to talk? If it was doing what I think it was, I'm a lot more curious in that bastard than I am in whatever your Lord Fairwind is getting up to." She takes a step closer to the devil, trying to gauge their reaction.

[Darvin]

The disoriented imp seems to realize it's not the center of attention, and that it's been manacled to one of the peaceguards. It squawks in a slurred voice, "was accident! Just accident! Was minding my business when carriage come from behind and smack me!"

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel focused his magic, muttering a few arcane words before progressively narrowing his gaze upon the imp.

Casting detect thoughts, because why not, and focusing in on the imp for now, unless something awful happens in the meanwhile.

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti scoffs. "You think we're dumb or something? We know an imp was following us. Do you really expect me to believe you're some innocent unrelated imp that got smacked out of invisibility the second we walk out of the precinct building? " She advances and bends so that she looms over the imp. "So, do you want to start talking sense? Or are you betting that Lt. Ghomm here won't let me tie your wings into a knot?" she says, grinning.

I think I roll intimidate now? If so:
Intimidate: [roll0]

[Darvin]

The Imp's mind opens up to you. She's afraid and panicked; not by the Efreeti's vicious manhandling, or the authority of the peacekeepers, but rather her master that terrifies her. As she desperately tries to find some way to escape her quagmire, the visage of her master flashes across the imp's mind. Though the vagaries of thought and memory make positive identification more difficult, the imp is dwelling on all the horrible things its master might do to it - enough for Sefariel to narrow down what kind of devil it must be. This devil's master is a Mnemor Devil (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/devil/devil-mnemor/), or memory devil. This cruel individual has used its powers of memory modification to punish subordinates that displease it, and takes perverse artistry in modifying the life experiences of a subject to mold them to its whims.

As Zaraweti speaks, the imp's mind races, looking for a lie. She clearly was the one following you earlier, waiting outside of the precinct for when the two of you left. You also get a momentary recollection of the accident from the imp; it seems what it said previously is true, and it didn't see the Efreeti coming since it was distracted.


"I was loitering, okay! I admit it! Is that a crime!?" the imp cries out unconvincingly.

"Technically, yes," Ghomm replies smugly, "and harassing honest citizens would also be a crime, so I suggest you come clean with me,"

"I wasn't harassing anybody, just watching comings and goings in public. I just have a job to do for my boss, I'm not here to hurt anybody!"


While everything the imp said is true, it's intentionally evasive. In particular, the imp is well aware that its boss means to kill you. It's technically the true that the imp isn't the one who is going to hurt you - that's the strike team's job, and the imp is to relay information to them on your movements once they arrive.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel lowered his chin, staring somewhat amusedly at the little imp while clucking his tongue in chastisement. "Now, now, little one. Perhaps next time your master will have you be more careful whilst stalking innocent individuals. Assuming you would be allowed a next time, that is, unlikely as that may seem."

He addressed the lieutenant with whom he's just had such a pleasant conversation. "I did not think to trouble you with it earlier, Lieutenant, it being a personal matter, but we were previously informed that there was an imp meeting this one's description following us around, gathering information for his master, whom we do not know but seem to have offended in some way. It appears that the little scamp was unwilling to enter within your station, and was lying in wait for us, too distracted to notice its surroundings. I think you'll find that under sufficiently rigorous interrogation, more information might be revealed, including the master's identity. That is information I would be most interested in."

"I admit to some uncertainty as to whether stalking another with the intent to provide information on that other's whereabouts to someone intending murder violates local ordinances, but I can assure you I would like charges pressed to the fullest extent possible." He gave a little smile, as much to the imp as to the lieutenant.

[CWater]

Rhenner has kept up with the others, but has stayed silent for the moment as this really wasn't his scene. What he could see no one had been hurt by the fire, so there were no wounds to see to, and talking to authority figures, well... Even the memories he had were enough to put him off their kind.

That the spying imp had been caught might turn out to be a lucky coincidence, though he was a little unnerved by Sefariel's mention of 'rigorous interrogation'. Rhenner glances around, wondering if there are other eyes still following them. "You wouldn't happen to be able to tell if there were other invisible stalkers around?"

[Darvin]

Lieutenant Ghomm nods at Sefariel, "it's a bit more complicated than that. If I'm understanding correctly, no attempt has been made on your life yet, and that would make it difficult to press charges even with divination magic to pry secrets from the imp's mind,"

"Hey, that would be a violation of my-" the imp suddenly looks at Sefariel and shuts up.

"We'll be taking this fellow into custody. We'll see what we can find out; I do not want devils trying to murder people on my streets," Ghomm shakes her head, "funny, devils are usually so good about following the rules, at least to the letter,"


The imp's thought train converges on you as it speaks, realizing that you're a Wizard and may have cast a spell to read the thoughts upon its mind. A panic spreads as it puts the pieces together and arrives at this conclusion. Knowing it cannot blot out such magic, it instead opts for the next best thing: an irritating imp song:

"This is the screed that never ends, the damned must sing it to descend; some people starting chanting it not knowing what it was, and they will keep intoning it forever just because-"

As Rhenner speaks, the imp's attempts at childish diversion cannot hide a vision in its mind. Another devil, not an imp. A creature that looks like a grotesque fusion of a fly and a baby. An Accuser Devil (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/devil/devil-accuser/). You also get a slight tinge of a rivalry. The thought is quickly masked again by the imp's mental song.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel shrugged his shoulders at Rhenner's inquiry. "With fortune" he whispered.

"Thank you Lieutenant, I am sure that you will do what you can. I fear that this little rapscallion may not be the only one, however. We should remain on guard."

[Darvin]

After a brief discussion, the party decided to pay a visit to Lord Fairwind and perhaps coax some answers from the man. His mansion isn't particularly hard to find, and the educated guess that it might be the towering structure at the end of Fairwind Avenue proved to be correct. As the party approaches they can see the dominating frame of the efreeti at a distance, standing impatiently at the closed gates of the mansion complex.

A carriage pulls past the party along the street, coming to a sudden halt outside of the estate. Stepping out of the doors is - much shorter in life than his statues would indicate - Lord Fairwind. He pauses to greet the efreeti, shaking hands as the gate to his estate is opened. The efreeti wastes no time to storm on ahead towards the building as soon as the gates are opened, leaving Lord Fairwind behind him. Fairwind turns over his shoulder just in time to see the six of you approach.

"Aha! You must be the new crew that Thestos hired, and you got here a day early. I like that kind of enthusiasm. Please, come inside. I've got to finish some business with another associate, but we'll discuss your futures with Fairwind Merchant Company very shortly," he smiles as he signals his driver and servants to bring in the carriage and close the gates behind you. A servant quickly moves to the flank of the group, leading you into the mansion and towards a rather luxurious waiting room.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Shortly after the group had been lead into the waiting room, Atticus took the opportunity to slip through a side door unnoticed. Once he was sure the servants weren't right on his tail, he snuck through the corridors in search of something incriminating. Or possibly a chance to eaves drop on the Efreeti and Lord Fairwind.

[roll0]

[Darvin]

Seeing a break in the movements of the servants, Atticus moves towards the doorway Fairwind and the Efreeti disappeared behind. He presses his ear against the door and hears... a language he doesn't understand. Though frustrated, a few proper nouns do seem to be coming up frequently: both Aster and Tanner's names are mentioned repeatedly, and there's mention of Agathions or perhaps an Agathion, Ankoro and the Astral plane.

[CWater]

This sudden turn of events that got them inside the house with such ease catches Rhenner momentarily off guard, though he does his best not to let it show. Then he spends a few minutes wondering if this arrangement was another thing his untrustworthy memory had simply lost, but eventually decides that it's unlikely. What would happen when the lord of the house realised his mistake concerned the healer a little, but there was nothing to be done about it at present.

In an attempt to make use of their surprising stroke of luck, Rhenner approaches one of the servants working near the waiting room. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to disturb your work, but could I bother you with a few questions? It seems that, uh we'll be hired by Lord Fairwind soon. Could you tell me what kind of employer he is? Would you say he can be trusted to keep his word and pay what he promises?"

[Darvin]

"Our Lord Fairwind values loyalty very highly. He does have a bit of a habit of keeping favorites, but if Lord Fairwind finds you trustworthy and dedicated to him then you'll be rewarded handsomely for your service," the servant explains while maintaining his cheerful attitude.

Though the employee seems to be very happy, Rhenner does get the sense of an underlying existential worry, and notices that the servant says nothing about what happens to those Lord Fairwind decides are not trustworthy.

[Stelio Kontos]

Considering the stakes of the matter closely, Sefariel hesitated slightly, shaking his head at the thought of casting a long spell with so many servants about. Instead, he wandered out near Atticus, casting his own ear into the proceedings.

Perception, I guess: [roll0]

[Darvin]

The servants ignore Sefariel's spellcasting, likely presuming it's benign. After ten minutes, the clairaudience spell comes into effect and Sefariel's senses enter the room. The voices of the Fairwind and the Efreeti come to him clearly, but they are speaking an unfamiliar tongue.

Both Sefariel and Atticus attempt to discern what they can from the conversation, trying to piece together words in a language they don't know. A few words keep coming up, but it's difficult to put meaning and context to a conversion in a language you're unfamiliar with. A few infernal words slip into the conversation, referring to some of the satellite demiplanes captured by hell's sphere of influence; too small and fragmented to form a layer of hell proper, and often jutting into the astral plane.

Suddenly, Fairwind's voice shifts to celestial; he sounds like he's reading from a text, but reading the words with mocking derision, "After countless deceptions and abuses of my trust, you have the audacity to make threats? I am half of mind to call your bluff, Fairwind, but unlike you I am not willing to treat the lives of others as pawns. But two can play the game of ultimatums. I'm taking everything that is rightfully mine, and everything that was never rightfully yours. If you retaliate against me or anyone else for their part in our dealings, I will destroy you. I will tear down your enterprise, cast aside your fortune, and leave you as a destitute nothing. That is a promise,"

Both Fairwind and the Efreeti break into laughter as he finishes reading. It's unclear what's so funny about this letter. Maybe you had to be there.

[Stelio Kontos]

Letting out a sigh of dissatisfaction at the unfamiliar language, Sefariel reached into his pack and brought out an ornate scroll tube. Fingering the scrolls without so much as a glance at them, he pulled out the third one and invoked its magic, before casting his ear back to the conversation at hand.

Fare thee well, Tongues scroll. I look forward to making another of you.

[Darvin]

The incomprehensible speech of the two outsiders coalesces into intelligible words in Sefariel's mind.


"-and with your salamanders doing the work, and both Aster and Tanner out of the picture, there's nothing stopping me from having my skiff returned and ready to depart within a few days. You've earned every last copper piece for your efforts, and I assure you there are more rewards to come," Fairwind chuckles.

"Hmph, it's frankly hilarious that you're using that planetar's own work running contracts through the infernal principalities. That haughty old tard would be rolling in his grave if he know," the Efreeti snorts.

"Oh, Aster's not dead. May as well be for all we care, by the time he returns this will all be long history and he'll be none the wiser of how thoroughly I humiliated him. Say, did I ever share with you the 'ultimatum' he sent me?" Fairwind asks.

"No, I don't believe so,"

"Oh, this is good. It has to be read in the proper celestial, though, to really get the full impact," Fairwind pulls out the letter and begins to read [see the previous post]

"Hah, all empty bluster in the end," the Efreeti laughs, "I guess you've got something on that Zafritar girl? Her testimony could really hurt your reputation,"

"Indeed; she's endeavored so hard to escape her past, and it would be oh so trivial for me to reveal that unsavoriness. So long as I have this" you hear a clink as if he tapped something metal, "I can bring the nightmares of her past back to haunt her,"

"Well, it's been fun talking, but I need to go arrange the work on your skiff. We'll talk again soon," you hear the Efreeti rise.

"Indeed, I have a new crew to speak to.


Atticus hears some motion from inside the room, and realizes the door will soon be opening. He quietly moves away so as not to attract attention. Fairwind and the Efreeti walk out, shake hands, and go their separate ways. Fairwind meanders down to the waiting room where you're all seated.

"Well then, I think Thestos has made a good selection. You all look competent to my eyes. We're not quite ready to embark yet, but hopefully we will be soon," Fairwind pulls out a series of charts of the astral plane, and there is a particular location marked, "this is where your predecessors and their cargo were lost. Your first task is to recover the lost cargo. I assure you we've taken precautions to ensure you don't suffer the same fate. I'd imagine this should be fairly straightforward for you, and Thestos should have already covered our standard compensation packages, but if you have any other questions or concerns I can answer them now,"

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti knows she's a poor liar, but she relaxes anyway. She could play the part of an adventurer--from what Fairwind was saying, it sounded like the job was just about the same anywhere you went in the cosmos.

A number of questions and concerns leap to Zaraweti's mind, and she decides to settle for the most innocuous. "Well, maybe I'm dense, but I don't think Thestos was clear on just what the cargo we're retrieving is." She gives him a sheepish look. "Begging your pardon if it's not my place to ask, of course. Just want to try and avoid mix-ups, mishandling, that sort of thing."

[CWater]

"Also, do you have a theory of what happened to the last group? Since their last location is known, they can't have vanished into thin air. And are you sure they didn't just... take off with the cargo?"

Rhenner wondered how long they were planning to carry on with this ruse. Perhaps it would be better to leave as quickly as possible, unless they wanted to cut to the chase and ask Lord Fairwind directly what his claim to the skiff was.

[Darvin]

Nodding to Zaraweti and Rhenner, Fairwind speaks, "Ah, Thestos can be discreet to a fault. Even on a need-to-know basis, these are matters that you need to know. This isn't just any adamantine you'll be recovering, but a very special metal mined from an ore vein that pierces through planar boundaries and is infused by multiple layers of hell. We unfortunately underestimated the danger of transporting what is essentially concentrated quintessence of a major plane, and our previous transport was lost in what my personal wizard describes as a 'catastrophic containment failure'. If any of the previous crew survived, they certainly aren't going anywhere. I assure you that we have found a solution to the problem so you do not meet the same fate, and have accurate charts by which you can locate and recover the goods,"

[MesiDoomstalker]

What's our timetable on this fetch job? And what, exactly, are these accommodations for handling what is essentially raw Hell?

[Darvin]

"I am currently getting the legal paperwork out of the way and have arranged for a rush job on your skiff. I'd imagine two to three days and you'll be ready to depart. I've just acquired a new elemental core for the skiff, and we're having it installed tomorrow. I doubt you've ever had a ride as fast or smooth as this will be! As for the accommodations, that's the reason why we're acquiring that old ratty skiff. Some decades ago a previous owner - a planetar - inscribed powerful wards in its cargo hull to transport fiendish prisoners. The wards are far better than anything my wizards can create, and specifically designed to restrain some of the most dangerous fiends in all of creation,"

[Darvin]

With a look of satisfaction that all matters of importance have been covered, Fairwind claps his hands, "well then, why don't the lot of you enjoy the offerings of Ankoro. We won't be quite ready for you tomorrow, but if you'd like to stop by the harbor you can take a peek at your vessel. It's the one in desperate need of a new paint job," Fairwind dismisses you. The last you see is the commanding janni loosening his posh attire and returning to his study before you are escorted out of the estate.


[successful wisdom check] you notice that earlier Fairwind described the planetar Aster as an owner of the skiff, not a lessee. A careless slip of the tongue in trusted company, but the closest thing you've heard to an admission that he's acting in bad faith.


Having been dismissed, the group agrees that it's time for a second visit to Tanner, hoping that her intransigence has softened. The same tavern she was at earlier, Laughing Ludvig's Loft, seems a bit quiet. As the party enters, they see why. Much of the table and furniture has been smashed. Whatever commotion caused this has passed, and the floor has already been cleared. Off in the corner with of the bar is Tanner, sporting a black eye and slowly sipping a drink. She turns as she sees you enter.

"Oh hey, the cutie returns," she remarks to Sefariel, then quickly eyes up the other men, "and you brought friends. Pleased to meetcha, the name's Tanner, formerly Captain Tanner of the Cerulean Gray, and currently the undefeated champion of pushing her luck," she points at her eye.

"So, you given it some thought? Think you can get a gal out of a tough spot?"

[Stelio Kontos]

"There's a very good chance" Sefariel replied, with a smile, as he took a seat at the table opposite Tanner. "And yes, these are my friends", as he made the relevant introductions. "We've a common purpose here. All of us, I think."

"We've almost got the pieces put together, including access to the skiff, in a few days time. Unfortunately, we find ourselves looking for something, without knowing what it is; I fear by the time we are able to discern that information it won't be your skiff any more, nor Aster's. So for now I'm afraid I've nothing better to do than have you teach me that card game you're so fond of, while I sit here and let the subconscious cogitate on the matter. Low stakes, please; I can't afford much of your luck." As he spoke to the tiefling, remarking on how he was going to sit and think about it, he tapped his temple.

All the while, he was deep in his mind, trying as he could to transmit a message he hoped only she could read.

How can we help you, Zafritar? That is your real name, I presume? We know Fairwind's dirty, that he has something on you... if we were to obtain that something, would that free you to speak?

[Darvin]

Tanner winks at the mention of Aster, "So you've been asking around, have you? The old man and I go way back. It's a long story how I ended up piloting for him, but it ended up working out for both of us. When he didn't need the skiff anymore, he gave it to me, told me I deserved it," Tanner starts to explain the rules of Keys and Crowns until Sefariel mentions the name "Zafritar", when she stops speaking suddenly.

Tanner flinches visibly at the mention of this name. Though it's only momentary, the reaction is very distinctly one of visceral fear. Certainly not the reaction you'd expect from someone hearing their own name, even if they're surprised to hear it.
Tanner flinches visibly at the mention of this name, though her reaction isn't quite what you'd expect. You find yourself second-guessing whether this is, in fact, her name.

"Is Fairwind being that loose lipped? If he is, I'm already screwed," Tanner lets off a string of obscenities in infernal before recomposing herself, "that ain't my name, but it is something that can bring a whole hell of trouble my way. And all Fairwind has to do is give a sending to the right person saying 'here she is, come and get her' and then that's it," Tanner bites her lip, "it's a game of chicken, y'see? I got dirt on Fairwind, and Fairwind knows my past. I wanna call his bluff, I wanna call it so bad, but the stakes are lopsided. At worst Fairwind will be scandalized, while on the other hand it'll be the end of Tanner,"

Tanner doesn't seem to be aware that Fairwind's leverage - whatever it is - is contingent on a physical object. She herself seems to be missing an important part of the puzzle.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Then I think we can help each o'her, Ms. Tanner. The good ol' country boy sat down and leaned forward in a conspiratorial whisper. Fairwind can send this... individual after ya, if you flap yer gums ya? Now tell me; are ya missing anything of yers? Something personal, small? Cause by my reckoning, Fairwind's dirt on ya is a bit more literal than what you got on 'im. Atticus motioned between the tiefling and their group. Here' our proposal; we grab this thing for ya. Regardless of what it is, Fairwind thinks he needs it to leverage ya. Without it, he may be a bit less willin' to stand up against ya in a court o' law. You go stake yer rightful claim of the skiff.... and in return, you take us where we wanna go. Baskral. Honestly, it sounds like a good place for ya to hole up fer a while, if ya ask me.

[Darvin]

Tanner doesn't speak, and she has a strange look upon her face as she takes in everything Atticus says, "why would he need... anything? This ain't hard, he doesn't have to prove anything in any court. He just calls it in and it's done. Maybe says it publicly just to humiliate me. The only thing of mine he'd even have half a mind to keep all these years is..." Tanner bites her lip, "there's an old locket. Platinum with silver and mithral in concentric inlays. It's got a few magical wards on it, never belonged to me properly, but it was mine. Would have thought he'd returned it to its proper owners years ago after Aster pretty much shut down that operation and took everyone with him. Dunno what use he'd have, or how he could use it against me,"

[CWater]

"Could you draw the locket for us? Even a simple picture can make identification much easier." Rhenner sighs, "I'm not the first to be in favour of breaking and entering, but", he shrugs, "I really don't like this Fairwind. And stealing a locket seems a better option than stealing a planar vehicle." He looks to Sefariel, "You didn't happen to hear any other details about the hold he thinks he has on Tanner when you were listening?"

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel glanced at Rhenner, letting the words coalesce in his memory as he did so. It didn't take but a moment.

"Apart from the issues with the planetar Aster, which we've already covered -- Fairwind believes Aster to be quite indisposed at the moment, though the two are quite at odds, and were there any way to contact that individual, I'm sure this would all be resolved in an instant, and not to Fairwind's liking. That efreet has done quite a bit of work in that aspect of the operation."

"What he said was, and forgive me Captain Tanner if I open any old wounds, that the Zafritar girl -- not your name though, is it? An organization, perhaps? A location? -- at any rate, what he said was 'so long as I have this, I can bring the nightmares of the past back to haunt her'. That, and a clink of metal, which could well be the locket of which we speak."

"My dear, whatever the importance of this is to you, the important thing is that Fairwind believes it to be vital. It's for you to figure out why. From his perspective... without that locket, he has no hold on you. We would, you might say, hold all the cards."

[Darvin]

"It's been a long time since I've seen it," Tanner shrugs when Rhenner asks for a description of the locket, "can't imagine there are too many lockets like it; silver, platinum, and mithral all together isn't exactly a common choice of materials, y'know,"

Tanner twitches slightly when Sefariel mentions the name Zafritar again, but allows him to continue before she speaks, "well, Fairwind's hand ain't exactly great, either. He's only really got one big thing over me - and his characterization is pretty accurate I'd say - but once he opens that box it's spent and he's got nothing. In an ideal world I'd grab my skiff and just be gone, but if there's something tying his hands, or something's changed..." Tanner snaps her fingers, "well, no sense dithering. If we're going to take this fight to the courtroom floor, I've gotta get my own ammunition in order... and just gotta hope you're right that he can't touch me without that locket,"

[MesiDoomstalker]

We'll meet ya outside the courthouse after ta trial; make a ruckus if ya need... help. He turned towards the rest of their little gang. So any volunteers?

[Cyclopean]

"Well, Fairwind did say we could take a look at the skiff," Zaraweti adds. "What's to stop us from sneaking the Captain along and just taking off? I mean, he said it wasn't ready, but do we really need that arcane core, or whatever it was?"

[CWater]

"I don't know, but I would prefer not to piss off the local authorities if we can help it. The gods know we have enough enemies as is. But if we fail to get the locket, that can be our secondary plan." Rhenner shurgs. "However the best I can say of my own stealthing skills is that I'm not particularly loud. And I doubt that will be enough. Although I can teleport myself and a few others a limited distance, which could potentially be helpful. Though I can only do it once."

[Darvin]

"Aye, the first hearing is tomorrow afternoon. You folks do your part, and don't leave me hanging, okay?" Tanner says.

"And frankly, if you think you can get my skiff free and we can just book it outta town... I ain't opposed. Fairwind will have a vendetta against me no matter how this goes down, and I ain't planning on returning to Ankoro again," she shrugs.


Decide among yourselves what the plan is from here. We can step forward to tomorrow morning if you like, or you can attempt to commit burglary of Fairwind manor overnight. I know Sasha has an appointment with a certain library tomorrow, but if anyone else has any activities they have in mind you can lay those out.

[Darvin]

With a few final pleasantries, the group says their farewell to Tanner and returns in the direction of Fairwind manor. The "nightfall" of Ankoro has arrived, as the astral plane spins overhead. A light in the sky, a portal to the plane of positive energy, dips below the horizon and casts this planar haven into an eerie twilight. Shadows dance nearby lamp posts, while the shadowless alleyways are lit by the uncanny ambient lighting of the astral plane.

As the party approaches Fairwind manor, they can see Ryel Fairwind himself relaxing on a third story balcony. He stands, casts a gaze across his city, then turns about and enters his home. The doors slam shut behind him, and shades are swiftly drawn. Observing his estate grounds from a safe distance, you notice one of servant doors open, then moments later shut again. Slowly things begin to rearrange around the estate; water fountains turn off, the walkway seems to sweep itself, and the iron gates at the front of the estate close under some unseen force. A lock materializes out of nowhere and clicks shut around the gate. A still quiet falls upon the estate, separated as it is from the rest of the city by the 6 foot iron fence.

A pair of Peacekeepers saunter past the estate gates, chatting with each other idly as they go. The pair make a wide patrol around the block before circling back around the gate again. They don't look particularly attentive, and a quick approach of the estate could be timed to be out of their sight, but any commotion would surely see the arrival of the peaceguard in short order.

[CWater]

"Alright, suggestions on how we should go about this? Or will we just pray for the gods to grant as a miracle? As I said, I have no experience in this sort of escapades, but I have that short teleportation spell and another which might allow me to locate the locket, assuming it's not warded or anything."

Speaking of Dimension Door and Locate Object.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus rummaged in his pack for a moment before pulling out a short, plain looking wooden rod with a small smear of red paste over one end. He waved it dramatically, coughing out a variety of arcane sounding gibberish. Despite the ludicrous display of stage magic and not even close to proper training in magical arts, the wands red tip glowed and the country boys features shifted dramatically; his tan skin darkens, as his features took on more appropriate scope for his new complexion. His hair shortened and turned jet black and he grew about an inch or two. Similarly, his clothing changed as well, to simple linen garb of a servant.

He handed off the wand to the wizard the compatriots. Use this here; naw use being identified right 'way if we get caught. He adjusted his illusory clothing, satisfied the magic hid his true form from casual observation. Some one make a big bang 'bout, some one 'lse 'port us onta tha balcony once Lord Fairwind comes to see tha commotion. Find tha Locket, bugger out. Simple.

[Darvin]

Zaraweti begins screaming threats on the street, her voice carrying several blocks in the quiet hours. A few curious onlookers peer out their windows, but there is no sign of activity from Fairwind's estate. As the peaceguard rounds the corner and comes running, Zaraweti slinks away into the shadows. With the guard distracted, Rhenner casts his spell. Atticus and Sefariel are lifted with him, their senses disoriented for a split second as they are pulled through the dimensional rift and reappear on the balcony. The tinted glass doors in front of them reveal a dark and empty hallway inside, and an elaborate and fanciful lock on the door holds it fast.


You spot the telltale signs of a permanent alarm spell tied to the door. Taking a moment to study it, you conclude that this spell is connected to a larger network of alarm spells on the building - likely one on every entrance. There must be a switch inside that arms and disarms them. With the appropriate skills, this trap could be disarmed, dispelled, or suppressed.

[Stelio Kontos]

The temporary feeling of disorientation was one Sefariel had experienced a hundred times before; it caused him no great concern. The door before him, on the other hand...

He murmured a few arcane words, scanning the wall and door before focusing in...

Casting detect magic, and focusing forward to pick up any auras in that direction. I’ll take time to focus on at least the first couple auras to identify them. If I can take 10 on knowledge arcana or spellcraft if needed for this I will (= 26 for each). If not, roll away for me.

[Darvin]

You see an aura of abjuration on the door. Taking a moment to study it, you conclude that this spell is connected to a larger network of alarm spells on the building - likely one on every entrance. There must be a switch inside that arms and disarms them. With the appropriate skills, this trap could be disarmed, dispelled, or suppressed.

[CWater]

The odd feeling that comes from suddenly moving from one place to another doesn't bother Rhenner that much anymore; he's done it many times by now, especially lately since he's been hunted by powerful outsiders and the only option available to him was to make himself scarce as quick as possible.

"An alarm? I guess that is to be expected, let me see if it's removable..", Rhenner says and begins casting a spell that would remove others.

I assume Sefariel shares what he found, since it was discussed in Discord.

Casting Dispel Magic on the door.
Caster level check: [roll0]

[Darvin]

There is a visible but subdued flash of magical energy as the abjuration runes on the door become plainly visible then dissipate. Those of you who check with Detect Magic note that the aura of abjuration is gone; the alarm trap has been dispelled. Of course, there's still the matter of the conventional lock on the door.

[CWater]

"Alright, alarm's gone. Now does anyone know a quiet way to open a lock, or shall we go for the old fashioned breaking and entering?" Whatever his companions suggest, Rhenner says a quick prayer to Fharlanghn, casting a third spell of the evening, this time on himself.

Casting Longstrider to increase his movement speed by 10 ft. for a total of 50 ft. Lasts for 7 hours.

[Stelio Kontos]

”From the inside, typically” replied Secariel, with the closest thing to an impish grin he would ever be likely to sport.

At a word he vanished from out side the door and appeared on the inside, giving the latch a turn.

[Darvin]

With a simple use of his shift ability, Sefariel steps through the door and appears on the other side. The latch twists without resistance and the door opens quietly, allowing the entire group inside. Although the lighting of the mansion is subdued for these late hours, it's clear that you're on the upper floor overlooking the entryway you visited earlier today. Fairwind's study is just across the hallway, visible from this location. However, you do hear some motion downstairs. There is someone out and about, perhaps roused by the commotion Zaraweti is making outside.

With the peaceguard in pursuit, Zaraweti is forced to move away from the estate. She's outrunning them, but there's no telling if another group of peaceguard will appear and block off her route.

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti darts into an alley, the peaceguard not far behind her. She tries to clamber up the side of the building, hoping she can get on top of the roof before they can catch up and see what she's doing.


[roll0]

[CWater]

"Yes, that will do it", Rhenner comments after Sefariel opens the door. "Right. Let's see if that locket is indeed the one Tanner knows." Touching his holy symbol, he says a prayer to his deity, adding a few words more than what the spell would actually require.

Casting Locate Object, trying to find a locket that matches the description Tanner gave. Range 680 ft. Lasts 7 minutes if there's a match.

[Estralita]

Silent and stealthy like a good thief, Diamond followed the group. Even though she wanted to be more than a thief now,old habits were hard to break. But break them she must. How was she going to make bonds with others if she stayed in the background all the time?

A bemused smile crossed her face as they completely bypassed the lock with a teleportation spell. "Magic. Never had a knack for it myself, but that saves some time. Did you say you had a trick for finding the thing too?" she whispered.

[Darvin]

As Rhenner's spell completes he feels a soft but palpable tug towards Fairwind's study. He steps inside the building after casting, his voice having fortunately not carried into the house.


Do keep in mind that verbal spell components are audible, and you can't whisper them. You don't have to shout them, either, so any appropriate precaution against being heard (such as casting the spell before walking inside) will be sufficient.

[CWater]

Silent and stealthy like a good thief, Diamond followed the group. Even though she wanted to be more than a thief now,old habits were hard to break. But break them she must. How was she going to make bonds with others if she stayed in the background all the time?

A bemused smile crossed her face as they completely bypassed the lock with a teleportation spell. "Magic. Never had a knack for it myself, but that saves some time. Did you say you had a trick for finding the thing too?" she whispered.

"Yes, my spell anchored on something", Rhenner replies in a low voice. Now that they were inside, he would need to remember to be more silent. It wasn't something he usually had to worry about, so he hoped he would remember. "That way, towards the study. Are you good at moving quietly and unseen?"

[CasualViking]

As the others teleport onto the balcony, Aron concentrates on a spell, and becomes translucent and wispy. He flies to the balcony, and hovers silently into the room with the others.

[Estralita]

"Yes, my spell anchored on something", Rhenner replies in a low voice. Now that they were inside, he would need to remember to be more silent. It wasn't something he usually had to worry about, so he hoped he would remember. "That way, towards the study. Are you good at moving quietly and unseen?"

In other situations, Diamond might have laughed. Here, she merely raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It's what I do. One of the things, anyway."

[CWater]

In other situations, Diamond might have laughed. Here, she merely raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It's what I do. One of the things, anyway."

"Excellent, care to lead the way?" The medic gestures towards the direction the spell is pointing in. "I'll follow you at a small distance, since I have the Location spell. Warn me if you see someone."

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel said nothing, merely gesturing with one hand as if to indicate that the others should go first.

[Estralita]

Right. No more needed to be said. Diamond slowly headed in the direction indicated, looking out for danger and their prize.

Stealth: [roll0]
Perception [roll1]

[CasualViking]

Aron hangs back, observing the others for signs that they have spotted a guard.

[Darvin]

Diamond creeps ahead of the party with confident speed, although some of the others creeping along the floor are far less subtle than she would prefer. She applies a small amount of pressure to the door and feels a lock; a locked interior door simple matter for a woman of her expertise. It popped upon with only an instant of work, revealing Lord Fairwind's personal study. A dull ambient light is cast upon the room through drawn shades, as shadows dance eerily across the room from another light source. A whirring sphere of inlaid metal circles sits in the corner, rotating around a brilliant blue light source at its core. The moving lights Charts of the astral plane adorn the walls, heavily marked with pins and thread. Papers and books are scattered about the desk. Rather than chairs, a set of pillows float calmly several feet off the ground. Rhenner can feel a pull towards a cabinet in the corner, one of many that would have otherwise taken several minutes to pilfer. He reaches in and withdraws a small locket matching Tanner's description.

As the group moves into the room, you hear a soft and subdued voice from downstairs, "Lord Fairwind? Are you about?" it would seem that one of the servants heard someone shuffling about upstairs.


For the sake of expediency I had Diamond take 10 on unlock the door, which was successful.


The device in the corner of the room appears to be some sort of magical astrolabe (https://www.aonprd.com/EquipmentMiscDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Astrolabe) designed for use on the astral plane. It would doubtlessly be useful for navigation and charting.


The device in the corner of the room is a astralabe (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/a-b/astralabe/), a powerful and rare device invaluable for planar travelers.

[Estralita]

Simple. Almost insultingly simple. Her fingers were itching to clean out the area. The astralabe in particular...

Perception check to looks for traps on the thing.

[roll0]

[CasualViking]

Aron, still in gaseous forms, looks around to make sure the others heard the same noise. Then, he floats out the window and off the balcony, away from the house.

[Estralita]

No traps. Hmmm, Diamond hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the astralabe, and shoved it into her bag.

Any skill checks I need to make here to do it silently or something?

[Darvin]

As Aron floats over the balcony, he notices what appears to be a house servant on the lower floors. He's moving slowly through the gloom of the unlit hallways, but he's clearly moving towards the stairs to investigate the noise he heard.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel pursed his lips in displeasure as the goblin took the astrolabe from the shelf. A valuable piece, to be sure, but nonetheless... it presented problems he'd have to solve later.

"I suggest that we make haste in leaving" the wizard whispered. "Quickly."

And so he did, walking out the door (as quietly as possible) before bypassing the door entirely to reappear on the balcony.

Stealth check: [roll0]
Walking out the door, then swift action to mini-dimension door onto the balcony. No sense messing with the door.

[CasualViking]

Aron silently swings his wispy arms in a great circle and points to the exit; he then floats out.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus gulped; they couldn't slip out right now. Nor could they be caught. They had to get that servant to go away without noticing them. He could do it? He didn't look like himself. At least on the surface. Shhh. Wait for me. Don't come to my rescue. Without waiting for the others to respond, Atticus popped open the door, just enough to slip through. He backed out the door, and closed it slowly and turned. When he met eyes with the servant he feigned surprise and began to stammer. Oh um, sorry. I-I-I was just... lookin' ah-round. Sorry. I know I sh-shouldn't be in Mr. Fairwind's study. I just kinda, you know, I'm kinda excited. He changed his inflection, a bit, hoping it didn't sound too hollow. And hoping that the servant wasn't the skeptical type.

[roll0]

[Darvin]

The servant pauses for a moment, processing what Atticus has just said, before shout, "Who are you? What are you doing here!"

His eyes dart up to a shadow moving along the upper banister, catching a brief glimpse of Rhenner as he darts out towards the balcony.

"Intruders! Burglars! Guards!" the servant shouts as he stumbles backwards, catching himself on the hand-rail.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus began cursing under his breath in his native tongue, not bothering to keep the poorly executed charade up for a moment longer. He leapt after his fellows, stopping only long enough to shut any doors behind him.

[Darvin]

Safariel's feet touch down on the balcony, with the scurrying footsteps of Rhenner and Diamond emerging from the manor mere moments later. Aron's gaseous form surges past them and over the balcony towards the estate wall and the streets beyond. Behind them they can hear the failure of Atticus' distraction. There are mere moments to make a getaway before matters become supremely complicated. Atticus' footsteps hammer along the fine wooden floors as he rushes to join the others at the exit.

In the distance, having climbed the side of a building, a Zaraweti surveys. She can see the peaceguards on the street below looking up at her. They are talking to each other, likely discussing their next course of action. As she turns her gaze back to the mansion, she sees the figures of her compatriots emerge. She needs only keep them distracted for a few moments longer.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel took a moment to crouch down before murmuring another spell, vanishing completely from view. "I shall meet you back at the inn" he whispered to the ball of gas.

Casting vanish, because why not.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus continued his escape, wasting no time further as he launched out on to the balcony. Seeing his compatriots disperse on their owns, he cursed himself for ever trusting them in the first place as he vaults over the balcony's ledge to the ground below and then aiming towards the front entrance.

[CasualViking]

Aron turns around and floats back through the fence. As soon as he is inside, he solidifies and looks for Atticus. All pretense of stealth is banished from his mind by now.

The plan is to grab Atticus and use Mind over Gravity to fly out; Aron can fly with another 400 pounds of encumbrance, so that should be doable.

[Darvin]

Atticus sprints through the door. Aron solidifies from his gaseous state and grabs the man, lifting him up over the balcony railing and towards the exit.


Something in the air feels wrong. Your eyes see nothing, but your ears catch minute sounds of... something... two somethings. You have no idea what they are but there's something invisible, approaching directly towards you and the others through the air.

Roll for initiative. You can act on the surprise round.



Roll for initiative. You do not get to act on the surprise round.


Edit
There is a gust of wind - or perhaps two gusts - that billows past Atticus and Aron. This is no ordinary breeze, and something very solid strikes both of them like a gut-wrenching punch [Aron takes 14 damage, Atticus takes 15 damage]

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus tried to shout a warning but his lungs lost all air as the strange gust crushed his chest. A charge courses through the air, causing Atticus' unseen hair to stand on end. One hand grabbed the butt of Grandpappy's musket, drawing it from its hidden extradimensional pocket. He leveled the barrel at an empty bit of air in front of him, where the strike seemed to have come from. He inhales sharply, and refocuses his animus, the electrical discharge dissipating instantly into a faintly earthy smell. The chamber of the musket glowed briefly a half-moment before he fired the trigger, pushing forth more animus through the partially real bullet within.

Combat Begins:
Animus Granted: 7 (Wis Mod 5, 1 base, 1 Human FCB)
Auto Granted Maneuvers: Flickering Defense, Energy Hammer, Arcane Shield
Ungranted Maneuvers:
1) Raging Flux
2) Elemental Strike
3) Assay Resistance
Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 Animus for Maneuver used
-1 Animus Ammunition
+1 free each round
-1 Animus Charged Bullets (+Wis to damage)
Net Change: 0
Net Animus: 7
Free Action: Elemental Flux Style to change Active Element to Earth with following Statistics changes
Lose +4 Dodge Bonus to AC and Initiative (25 AC)
Gain DR 5 / Adamantine
Use Energy Hammer
[roll0] on a 1, success (assuming correct square)
[roll1] vs. Touch AC of invisible thing that hit Atticus; Misfire Chance: 1
[roll2] P/B damage + [roll3] Acid Damage and target must make a DC 19 Will save or be Stunned for [roll4] rounds.

[Cyclopean]

Zaraweti reaches into her pack, retrieving a bone rod etched with runes and scrimshaw. With her free hand, she forms an arcane gesture as she speaks the magical draconic word: "Bigger."

Greasy smoke billows out from her, and the nagaji is suddenly standing twelve feet tall. She tries to think of a threat to yell at the peaceguard, but settles for a guttural roar instead. To be certain they get the message, she starts ripping up handfuls of shingles and throwing them down at them.

Casting enlarge person, using my lesser metamagic rod of extend spell.

[Darvin]

Billows of air surge around Atticus and Aron as they blindly attempt to avoid their assailants. Unseen strikes hammer into their bodies, while glancing blows create flurries of air pressure that wash over them. Atticus' musket shot thuds into the soft earth below without striking either of the attackers.

In the distance, Zaraweti can see her compatriots caught in some kind of battle. Below, the peaceguard stagger backwards at her sudden size increase. Distracted by her size increase they don't notice the sound of the gunshot ringing through the air.


Aron takes 15 damage, Atticus takes 14 damage [reduced to 9 by DR]

Everyone can act now. Zaraweti is 120 feet away as the bird flies, though she'd need to do some roof-running if she can't fly.

[CasualViking]

Aron

Aron takes the hard blows out of nowhere, and spits up a little blood. He instinctively hardens the air around him to absorb some of the punishment for him, and he floats to the side to be able to focus on a spell. His eyes glow with silvery light, and a mass of sparkling motes explodes in mid-air, coating the attackers.

swift action to gain 14 temp hp, 5' step + standard action to cast glitterdust.

[Darvin]

Shimmering particles of metallic and rainbow colors shower the area. They fall gracefully throughout the air, clinging to previously unseen shapes. They are vaguely humanoid, but their bodies roil and churn as if they were made from living air.


You recognize these creatures for what they are; Invisible Stalkers. Creatures of the plane of air that are often summoned by mortals to serve as assassins due to their natural invisibility and flight. The often become jaded in such service and hateful of mortals. Apparently Fairwind keeps a pair of them as guards for his estate.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel grunted in acknowledgement at the glitterdust spell; it had been what he had had in mind. Unable to lend much to the offense, and unwilling to break his own invisibility (brief though it would be), he reached out and tapped Aron on the shoulder with an invisible hand as he incanted a few words. Suddenly, he wasn't quite there... well, he was there, but where there was seemed to shift by the moment.

Casting displacement on my bro, for a little extra defense.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus cursed under his breath, remembering they were in the middle of an escape from a manor; a gunshot is not the best idea. He reared up with the butt of his rifle, striking at the one nearest him, exploding in a burst of acrid acid. After the blow, his wounds started to nit together by a gentle suffusion of energy, the tumultuous aura surrounding him dimming.


Turn Start
Animus : 7
Granted Maneuvers: Flickering Defense, Energy Hammer, Arcane Shield, Assay Resistance
Ungranted Maneuvers:
1) Raging Flux
2) Elemental Strike

Move Action; Activate Animus Healing, spending 2 points for [roll0] healing.
tandard Action: use Raging Flux
[roll1] vs. AC of nearest Invisible Stalker
[roll2] Bludgeoning + [roll3] Acid. Additionally, for every 10 points of damage dealt, the target is pushed back 5 ft. If that causes a collision, the target takes [roll4] damage.
Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 Animus for Maneuver used
+1 free each round
-2 for Animus Healing (4d6)
-4 for Enhanced Maneuver (+4 to-hit)
Net Change: -4
Net Animus: 5

COUNTER NOTICE
If Atticus is attacked I'm going to use Flickering Defense. This causes the triggering attack to be at -4, and has 5e Disadvantage (roll twice, take worst result).

[Cyclopean]

Eager to hold the peaceguards's attention, Zaraweti retrieves her bardiche. She swings the blade down into the roof with a shout, aiming to produce as much noise and destruction as possible.


Using power attack on the roof.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[CWater]

It had been going suspiciously well, figures something like this would happen, Rhenner thinks sardonically when the invisible assailants arrive. Atticus in particular seems to have taken a few heavy hits. He moves close enough to pat his comrade's back to deliver some positive energy that should keep him on his feet. "We need to get out of here, quick!", he says, stating the obvious.

Converting Lesser Restoration to CMW on Atticus: [roll0]

For future reference, can the fence be passed with an Acrobatics check, or is that strictly a Climb? Rhenner has burned his DDoor for the day so weighing the other options available.

[Estralita]

If Dia was alone...well if she was alone, she wouldn't be here. The whole reason she was here was to help the group. Sure, she could take advantage of the distraction and save herself. But that wouldn't help the group. And honestly, she wasn't going to make it without allies. So even though fighting invisible enemies wasn't her specialty, she had to do something. So once the magic revealed them, Dia slashed at the nearest one.

[roll0] Damage[roll1]

[roll2] Damage[roll3]

[Darvin]

Atticus repulses the stalker next to him with a wave of elemental acid, sending the creature tumbling back a pace. It quickly leaps forward to counter-attack, but without its natural invisibility to protect it Atticus deftly deflects the attack.

Meanwhile, Diamond leaps into action behind the stalker harassing Aron and skewers it with her blade. Though insubstantial there's a pleasing resistance as the blade cuts into the creature. It turns around and lashes at the goblin in anger, missing wildly with one fist while giving her a wallop with the other.

In the distance, Zaraweti inflicts damage to the building she is standing on. A piece of decorative molding falls off and crashes to the streets before, making a deafening clatter and drawing attention from the battle her compatriots are fighting only a few blocks away.


Diamond takes 11 damage

Next round; everyone can act.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus, refreshed and rejuvenated, continued his assault. He quickly traced a rune in the sky with burning swipes which illuminate briefly over his allies, guiding their blows. He still couldn't risk another shot fired, so he swiped with the butt of his rifle once more, pressuring his target.

Turn Start
Animus : 5
Granted Maneuvers: Flickering Defense, Energy Hammer, Arcane Shield Raging Flux, Assay Resistance
Ungranted Maneuvers:
2) Elemental Strike
Move Action: Use Fire Glyph; grant all allies (except Zarawetii) +1 to hit
Standard Action; use Elemental Strike
[roll0] vs. AC
[roll1] Bludgeoning and [roll2] Acid damage. If hit, target must make a DC 17 Reflex save, or take [roll3] Acid Damage at the start of my next turn
Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 Animus for Maneuver used
+1 free each round
-2 for Enhanced Maneuver (+4 to-hit)
-1 Activate a Glyph
Net Change: -1
Net Animus: 4

[CasualViking]

Finally ready to fight for real, Aron braces his feet against the ground. His bardiche ignites with fire and crackling electricity. Sparks fly from his boot soles as he explodes into swift violence, moving in a blur.... and completely fails to connect with any of the enemies.

With a look of shock, he shuffles back and raises his weapon defensively.

Swift action to Arcane bool, free action haste from boots of speed, full attack, 5' step away, if the elementals have attack me, immediate action to gain temp hp. 3 nat ones to hit. AC: 25. Positioned 15' away, so they will eat attacks of opportunity from my 10' reach (and combat reflexes) if they approach. +18 to hit, 1d10+11 +1d6 fire +1d6 electricity.

[Darvin]

Both Aron and Atticus savage the stalkers nearest to them with their onslaught. Wisps of their smoky body swirl through the air as attacks pass through them.


Both Invisible Stalkers appear to be injured (roughly at half health)

Sefariel, Diamond, Rhenner, and Zaraweti can still act this round before the stalkers can act again.

[CWater]

Rhenner stays near the fight in case any of his comrades get badly hurt, but for the moment they seemed to be bruised but fine. After quickly going through in his mind what magic he had asked from his god today the cleric lifts up his holy symbol, pointing it at one of the attackers. "Stay your hand, don't strike a fellow traveller!", he commands.

Casting Forbid Action (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/forbid-action) on one of the stalkers with Attack as the action to be avoided.

Will save DC 15 to resist the effect.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel maneuvered to place himself behind Atticus; the second invisible creature may have given him pause, but the words of magic may have helped assuage any fears. "Fly away if you need to" the aasimar muttered. "It will give you a few minutes."


Move to be behind Atticus (if necessary to avoid getting AOOed or otherwise in position to get squished, I can use the d-door ability as a swift action to aid this), and cast Fly on him.

[Cyclopean]

From her sideways glances towards the Fairwind estate, the battle seems less than dire. Figuring she should continue the diversion, Zaraweti stomps further into the city before taking another swing at the architecture.


Moving away from the estate and then making another power attack on the roofing. Or a glass window, if one is available.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Estralita]

Okay, this really wasn't Diamond's style of fight. but at least these things seemed killable. Diamond gave another go at making that happen. If the things attacked her again, she could retreat.

[roll0] Damage: [roll1]

[roll2] Damage: [roll3]

[Darvin]

The stalker wedged between Diamond and Aron is skewered by their attackers. It moves to retaliate, but its motions halt suddenly, constrained by magic. Its form recoils as it glides away from the combatants to safety. Meanwhile, the stalker next to Atticus flails against him, but the attacks are deftly dodged.

In the distance, the two peaceguards recoil as debris from the building collapses to the street below, they back off slightly and shout for reinforcements. Zaraweti can see the battle at the Fairwind estate will be over momentarily.


Both of Estralita's attacks hit, thanks to flanking with Aron and the buff from Atticus. That stalker has withdrawn. The stalker engaged with Atticus whiffed his attacks. Let's mop things up.

[CasualViking]

Aron moves up to flank with help Atticus finish off the elemental.

Attacking the one near Atticus, flanking not included: [roll0], damage [roll1]+[roll2]. EDIT: with flanking and a +1 from Atticus, it's a hit

[CWater]

Seeing they only have one enemy left before they can start fully focusing on getting the hell out of here, Rhenner draws his mace and steps in to join the fight, though more as an added distraction than an actual attacker.

Aid Another to give Atticus +2 to hit. Best Rhenner can do at the moment.
Attack [roll0] (plus buffs) VS AC 10 to succeed. (So as long as its not a nat 1.)

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus allowed himself a brief sigh of relief as one of the stalker's broke off from the fighting. Until he realized that it likely was escaping to report on the encounter. With a mental urging, the magic Sefarial imparted on him kicked him into the air in swift pursuit of the fleeing combatant. He brought the butt of his musket forward, like a battering ram, aiming towards the the sparkling outline of the elemental creature. With a thought, the earthen aura surrounding him changed again to a cool, misty shroud.

Turn Start
Animus : 5
Granted Maneuvers: Energy Hammer, Arcane Shield,
Ungranted Maneuvers:
1) Elemental Strike
2) Flickering Defense
3) Assay Resistance
FA change active element to Water (Cold). Lose DR 5/Adamantine and gain +2 to saving throws. Note this occurs after any potentially triggered AoOs.
Charge the fleeing Stalker (Use Arcane Shield against any AoO taken)
[roll0] vs. AC
[roll1] + [roll2] Cold damage and a DC 19 Fort save or be nauseated for [roll3] rounds. Success negates Nauseate.
Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 Animus for Maneuver used
+1 free each round
-2 for Enhanced Maneuver (+4 to-hit)
Net Change: 0
Net Animus: 5

[Darvin]

Aron viciously strikes into the Stalker's body as Atticus' attack shoots wide, narrowly missing his own ally. The Stalker reels slightly, seeing countless enemies surrounding it, then makes a hasty retreat. It withdraws to the roof of the manor, trying to get as much distance as possible.


Combat is over, there is now nothing stopping you from escaping the estate at your leisure.

[Stelio Kontos]

"I trust you all can find your separate ways back to our lodging?" Sefariel whispered to the group from invisibility.

If there were no immediate objections, he began the magic that would transform him into something different... something that would let him fly a good distance away from here, without drawing any attention whatsoever.

I'll beast shape 2 into a... oh, what's an indigenous small bird for the area? Something like a pigeon, but less humiliating.

[CasualViking]

Aron wipes stalker effluvient off his blade, and flies away from the house. Half a minute later, he lands in the street. He strides purposefully towards the lodgings, making no attempt to blend into the shadows.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Cursing in a tongue of a far off planet on the Prime, Atticus whirled around in the air and made a hasty retreat from the grounds stopping only long enough to give a helping hand to those who couldn't surmount the fence on their own. Dutifully, he used the magical flight to zoom away from the building at street level in a random direction not taken by his cohorts before working his way back to their inn.

[Darvin]

The party makes its getaway, and none too soon as they skirt around groups of peaceguards setting up patrols to look for trouble-makers. The back alleyways of the city seem quiet, and amidst the twilight of the false night that Ankoro experiences shadows seem to dance. Suddenly, Sefariel's familiar Sophia bristles and shouts a warning. An overpowering aura of evil is lurking in the shadows around them. There is a moment of silence, as eyes dart and nerves are steeled, but nothing happens. Sophia falls silent and still.


You hear the faint scuffling of footsteps, retreating off through the alleyways. Disturbingly they are heading roughly in the same direction you are.



You hear the faint scuffling of footsteps, but they seem directionless and just disappear without a trace a few moments later.



You can sense through your empathic link that Sophia is confused. A moment ago she was absolutely certain she saw an overpowering aura of evil, but now it feels unreal, as if it was simply a nightmare dreamed up by her vivid imagination.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus' flight slowed as he heard the footsteps. His movement turned to a near crawl as he trained his ears towards the footsteps, drawing his musket in the process. If he was going to be ambushed, at least he'd be prepared. Expirementing, Atticus veered off from his course, heading perpendicular to his destination for a few blocks. If the footsteps followed, then he was in for another fight.

[Darvin]

Atticus whips around the corner, leaving his compatriots behind him. His own footsteps echo and gloomy silhouettes dance as he sprints through this maze of packed tenements. The world spins around him, Atticus feels dizzy, and then suddenly clarity once more. He finds his feet have stopped moving, sweat coalescing on his brow, and his eyes staring down the barrel of his musket down an empty alleyway.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus kept the rifle trained in the point in space for a few seconds, heart beating rapidly. He exhaled as the barrel lowered, not realizing he had been holding his breath. With a white knuckle grip, Atticus continued on towards the inn at a slow pace, keeping his allies in easy shouting distance. His eyes darted to every darkened corner and every errant sound, his paranoia that his life has been for the last few months ramping to critical levels.

[CasualViking]

Aron looks over at Atticus. His eyes glow for a moment.

Atticus hears a whisper. "This is Aron. What's happening? You can whisper back to me".

I cast Message.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I... I don't know. I thought I heard something. And then this weird vertigo and I was looking down the barrel, ready to fire at nothing.

[Estralita]

Diamond had just begun to hope that they were in the clear, but of course it wouldn't be that simple. Well, it might still be the case, since she couldn't be certain that there was a problem, but Diamond wasn't optimistic.

"Anyone think we might have company?" she whispered.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel, by now back in human form (though disguised thanks to the hat of the same name) nodded somberly. "We most certainly do. A mnemor devil, unless I am mistaken, the ally of the imp we dealt with earlier if his own thoughts can be trusted. Went down the alleyway, there, I believe, though one can never be certain of such things."

"Sophia, dear, this might be a time for a proper protection from evil, if you might." Moments later, the whirling constellation emerged from his chest, before contacting him on the head with a flash of pale white light.

Don't really know if protection from evil applies to whatever this thing might do, but I'll assume it might!

[Darvin]

Vacating the scene, but wary of a malicious fiend that could be stalking them, the party returns to an inn where they could lay low. The night passes without the Peaceguard coming to round them up in their sleep, and the following morning they find a figure waiting for them in the inn's public room. Tanner appears to have sought them out, precariously reclining a chair upon two legs. She snaps to attention the moment she sees the first of them.

"Oi, friends, been looking for you! You heard about the commotion last night? There's a bunch of hooligans about who have Fairwind all in a snit. I sure wouldn't want to be those guys, and if I were then I'd be looking to high-tail it out of Ankoro at the first opportunity," she grins wildly, "course, I think we're all good, right?" she holds out her hand expectantly.

Upon receiving the locket she pops it open, examining its content. She snaps it shut and pockets it shortly afterward, "well, I dunno why Fairwind thinks he needs it, but I'm going to call his bluff. I have no idea how this is going to go down at the courthouse. I'm going to basically say Fairwind is full of lemure trailings and ask for the case to be dismissed for being 'untimely', but Fairwind might still try slinging dirt at me. We'll see. Should be fun, provided he doesn't decide to go for mutually assured destruction,"

Tanner moves to cast a spell on the locket before pocketing it, but it quickly becomes apparent even to those in the group who are not learned in the art of spellcraft what the spell was. Her voice rings out in their mind, "you guys need to watch your back. This mean-looking Hound Archon paid me a visit last night and asked a bunch of pertinent questions about you lot. Dunno what you've done to have both devils and archons out to getcha, but it seems to me that Fairwind may be the least of your worries,"

Without losing a beat, Tanner speaks, "so, I dunno if you wanna watch the court case unfold, or if you just wanna meet up after?"

[CasualViking]

Aron pauses for a moment.

"This is a dangerous city. I am not happy about going anywhere without my tools". He leans his polearm against the wall before sitting down.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I was indasposed last night. I don't see no danger in attendin'. He turned to the others. Be ready ta move; I'll keep with Tanner. Make sure she has a safe trip ta the impound to reclaim her propertah.

[Stelio Kontos]

"I do see the advantages to both methods; I believe I would rather enjoy seeing the lord properly taken down a few notches, however. I'd rather like to accompany you to court."

"Oh, dear, I've nearly forgot -- the locket, for just a moment, if you please?" he asked Tanner, before removing a rod from his overcoat and holding it to the locket while casting a spell. "That should render it undiscoverable by magical means for the duration of the day. No sense in not preserving the advantage of it, whatever that may be."

"And yes, Captain: we have, for our own individual reasons, seemed to attract the attention of most varieties of extraplanar beings. Which is the reason for our need for transportation, as it happens; I believe there may be a measure of protection there, as well as a possibility to discover the nature of the offense we may have committed."

Casting nondetection (the extended, thus 14 hour, variety), because it amuses me to do so.

[CWater]

Rhenner considers the matter of following Tanner to the courthouse a long time before speaking up. "If you think I could help in some way I can join you, but to be honest I doubt I'd be of much help over there. And I can't say I have fond memories of justice systems." A wan smile passes the clerics lips. "That reminds me, I haven't prayed today, best I to it."

Need to update my spell list!

Sorry for being so silent, my thesis eats up my time. Just a little more...

[CasualViking]

"I will come with you to the courthouse. And if I'm turned away by the guards, I'll stay outside. Just in case."

[Darvin]

"Coins are on the table, cards are down, time to find out who was bluffing," Tanner tilts her head towards the door. She rises to her feet and stuffs the locket into her coat. The courthouse sits upon the main thoroughfare overlooking the planar harbor. Despite the troubles of last evening business is conducted as usual here and the streets thrum with travelers and merchants.


You spot a bit of commotion about 200 feet away from you. There seems to be a crowd of people that have circled around something. Suddenly one of the onlookers is thrown aside and a particularly menacing Hound Archon emerges from the crowd. He appears to be blind with both eyes bearing deep scars, and he holds a massive sword - far too big for a creature of his size - as if it were a walking stick. Smouldering fumes emanate from the ground every time it taps down.



You spot a bit of commotion about 200 feet away from you. There seems to be a crowd of people that have circled around something. Suddenly one of the onlookers is thrown aside and a particularly menacing Hound Archon emerges from the crowd. You vividly recall his visage, and his uncanny skill as a hunter. You narrowly escaped with your life the last time you encountered this hunting hound. Though he appears to be blind in both eyes from deep scars, the hound's vision pierces the soul. He openly brandishes his oversized weapon as a walking stick, smouldering fumes emanating from the ground every time it taps down. You know that the moment battle begins the blade will erupt in holy fire.


As you arrive at the courthouse, you see Lt Ghomm waiting outside. She nods to Tanner as she approaches, "I've passed on your message to the court clerks that you'll be raising a defense, so this will be more than a default hearing. Lord himself abstaining from appearing due to an emergency matter. It seems your luck never runs out, though if I were you I wouldn't return to Ankoro," she glances at the rest of you as she says this last part before turning back to Tanner.

"Yup, yup, these here are my 'counsel' and will be joining me in the court," she grins.

"As you wish," Ghomm smirks as she leads you inside. You travel up a staircase and down a hallway to courtroom #6. There are only a handful of people here as of yet. A peaceguard idles by the door while a team of three are going through papers. A well-dressed Oread looks up and gives a welcoming hand gesture.

"The lady herself appears. I am Magnus Ferris Peridot, counsel acting on behalf of Lord Ryel Fairwind," he outstretches a hand, "I only just heard that this will be more than a default judgement. I was told you're the kind to surprise people,"

"Aye, and I'll surprise you again by adding to yer loss record," Tanner winks as she grasps his hand.

"As charming as I've been told," Peridot remarks.

[CasualViking]

Aron's eyes briefly glow as he sees the guard, and once more when the door is opened to reveal the court officials, and he gives them an appraising glance. Then he takes position at the door besides the Peaceguard. He gives him a friendly nod, but doesn't initiate conversation. Nothing about him suggests that he is anything but a simple armed guard.

Aron checks the guards and officials for unusually strong alignment auras, to see if they might be disguised Outsiders (or very high level).

Aura sight (Su): The effect is similar to that of a detect chaos/evil/good/law spell, but aura sight does not require concentration, and it discerns an aura’s location and power more quickly. You know the location and power of all chaotic, evil, good, and lawful auras within your sight. An aura’s power depends on a creature’s Hit Dice or an item’s caster level, as noted in the description of the detect evil spell. You can identify aligned items and spells with a Knowledge Religion check (+9), DC 15+spell level or 15 +½*CL.

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/90/bf/76/90bf76f93158d98ec46497c7fed75ade.jpg

[Darvin]

Aron spies an assortment of faint auras - what he'd expect to see from mortals or native outsiders of various alignments - with his aura sight. Notably he sees a faint aura of good around Lt Ghomm, faint auras of chaos and good around Tanner, and a faint aura of law around Peridot. He also occasionally catches a glimpse moderate aura of evil, but the moment he turns his head to fixate on it the aura disappears from sight. There are a handful of other outsiders coming and going; a group of Axiomites exit a courtroom and shine with strong auras of law, and the group passes an Agathion with the expected aura of good. Still, that moderate aura of evil with no apparent source keeps popping up in Aron's peripheral vision.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel eyed the commotion with concern, before drawing his attention back to Tanner and the oread, extending a friendly handshake to the latter. "Counsel may be overstating the relationship, madam. Moral support may prove closer to the correct phrasing. Nevertheless, I look forward to the experience. Best of fortune to you. Could you point the way to the courtroom so that we might be seated? I would appreciate a few moments to acclimate myself to the setting."

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus tensed as he spied the Hound Archon in the distance. Discreetly, he relayed what he could about their pursuer to the others. Lets be quick about this; I'd rather not start a fight in a courthouse.

[Stelio Kontos]

"All the more reason to get inside now" Sefariel nodded. "It should be much safer than the outside, all things considered."

[Darvin]

The group ducks inside the courthouse while trying to avoid unnecessary attention. The room feels quiet and empty with only a pair of sylphs in attendance, sitting near the back row (Aron sees no auras upon them, although that aura of law and evil still seems to dance in his peripheral vision). At last, a very short Janni floats into the room carrying a large stack of papers and a gavel. Rather than take a seat, he merely levitates in front of a lectern and clears his throat.

"Good morning, Mister Peridot. And to you, Ms. Tanner," he settles into a comfortable cross-legged position then chuckles, "I must profess I was surprised to receive last-minute submissions from both parties this morning. Let's get Ms. Tanner's motion to dismiss out of the way first, shall we?"

Peridot stands, "your honor, due to the length of time that has passed since the offense and the Peaceguard's negligent loss of the paperwork, we will be relying on the irreproachable character of Lord Fairwind, as well as witness testimony of his dealings with the Planetar Aster, to back our claims. Lack of physical documentation should not automatically be cause for dismissal when there is a preponderance of evidence in my client's favor,"

"Oy, is this a time I can speak up?" Tanner shouts.

"No," the judge replies calmly, not moving his gaze from Peridot.

"Shucks," Tanner whispers to the others.

"Thank you, your honor," Peridot continues, "we will be calling two witnesses - Merrigan Bellows and the honorable Jasurinax - to testify on Lord Fairwind's behalf. In addition, I fully intend to cross-examine Tanner's versions of events and demonstrate how wholly unreliable it is. Through this we will show that Ms Tanner has fundamentally misrepresented the facts, and that the only reasonable conclusion is that she is in possession of stolen property. Thank you, your honor,"

"Now you can speak," the judge turns to Tanner.

"Well, seems to me that if the prosecution-"

"Plaintiff," the judge snaps.

"Plaintiff is going to rest their case on the word of Lord Fairwind, shouldn't he be present? I mean, Peridolt over there gets to cross-examine me. Seems like it'd be mighty unfair if I couldn't do the same," Tanner slurs the opposing council's name just enough to make it sound like an accident, "and also - Jasurinax!? Seriously, 'honorable' is stretching it when talking about the point man of one of the biggest slave trading operations on the astral seas. A slave trader who lost a couple million quid because Aster went and clipped the wings of that operation. Not exactly the most unbiased of witnesses,"

There is a moment's pause, and during that time the door swings open. There is the sound of a hound's nose sniffing the air. Those who turn around see the scarred hound archon walking into the room. He breaths deep, smiles, then shuffles into the nearest row of seats while he grasps his blade with both hands. Though he's blind, you can feel his gaze upon your backs.


Did you really think you were going to elude a creature with Scent that is specifically built as a tracker that easily?

Fortunately for you, as a creature of law and good it respects the sanctity of a court in session and will calmly wait until you step outside before murdering you. A creature of law and evil, on the other hand, may very look for a loophole. So, y'know, maybe watch out for that other aura.


"Erm, yes," Peridot breaks the silence, "that is a serious accusation, Ms Tanner. A possibly... defamatory statement, if I would be so bold. What evidence do you have for it,"

Tanner pauses for a moment, then shrugs, "cuz I worked as Jasurinax's navigator before I worked for Aster," she pulls down her sleeve revealing a brand on her arm, "Five Fiends League, in case you didn't know. Of course, your 'good Lord Fairwind' did know," she pulls out a scroll case, pops it open revealing a single paper inside, and throws it at the judge, "been holding it as insurance against him all these years. Fairwind's signature and magical seal on a contract for the delivery of four hundred mortal slaves to his mining partners, to be delivered by the 'honorable' Jasurinax,"

"This is not how we... you were supposed to submit..." the judge looks at the documents and his eyes widen. There's a canine chuckle in the background. The Hound Archon is clearly amused by what he's hearing. Aron notices the aura of evil and law suddenly dart out in front of him, fly over the judge's head, then a few seconds later it vanishes entirely.

As the moment of shock lifts, Peridot springs to action, "I move that the previous statements and document be stricken from the court record as an untimely submission!"

"Oy, judge, you gunna let him get away with that technicality?" and then she turns to Peridot, "or maybe you should, and I'll take it to the court of public opinion instead,"

"Give me... give me a moment to request the court clerk to verify this document," the judge says, stunned.

[CasualViking]

Aron

Aron circles around to the archon. Not stealthily, just mindful of not interrupting the proceedings with undue noise. "So. What was that Evil presence we both felt". He lets the question hang for a moment before he pokes. "Friend of yours?"

[Darvin]

The Hound Archon seems taken aback by Aron's casual conversation. He shakes his head, "no, not a friend," he sniffs the air, "a fellow servant of an ignoble cause, through a different chain of command. One of Siga's flies, returned to master to share the latest gossip," the hound tilts his head and taps his blade against the ground, "you should submit to me now; I do not find any joy in this ignoble but necessary burden, and will make your ends swift and dignified. My diabolical counterpart, Siga, revels in debauchery,"

[CasualViking]

Aron

"Oh, you will find no joy here. No dignity. And it will not be swift, either." Aron stalks away from the archon.

"Really, that's the best you could do? He gives you an opening about necessity so you can tear into his moral standing, and you come up with that instead?" he thinks to himself, as his mind races through several permutations of Staircase Wit.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus leaned over and whispered in Tanner's ear. Whatever 'appens, don't tussle with the Archon. Its our business and thar no need to get ya tangled in it more than we are asking of ya already. He then stood and casually walked back and sat on the opposite side of the Archon making a point of not looking at him directly (and avoiding any odd or pointed glares).

Ya know, you remind me of someone back home. An old blood hound named Chester. Ol' Chester was the lawman's dog; helped keep the peace ya? Surly sort, never took a liking to no-one but the lawman. Made sense, I spose. Sure Chester met a lot of bad men in his days. Make it hard to trust new ones. He paused for a second, inhaling deeply as if it were the most casual conversation in the universe. Now, Ol' Chester was a good dog. He followed the lawman's words to the letter. Real loyal type. Everyone said that when the lawman every keeled over, and he was gonna. Running near 60 in a podunk little town in Alabama, dozens of miles from the doctors in Montgomery, it was a matter of when, not if. When the lawman keeled over, Ol' Chester would stay by him till he starved. Too loyal to get his own food without the lawman's say-so.

He paused again, raising a finger as if to put a pin in that thought. But ya see, that ain't what happened with Ol' Chester and the lawman. Now the lawman died alright. Peaceful like, in his sleep. No one knew till the next day. But Ol' Chester didn't stay by the lawman's side. He left. And wondered. And found himself some bad men. He motioned off to the far side of the court. See, in the outskirts of town was McLeery's farmstead. And McLeery had the finest daughter in town; Mary. Mary McLeery was sweet as could be, sharp as a tack and did take no shoot from us country boys. Now, some of use keened on ta her. We ask her out, and she give us her answer. Done deal, end of the story. But the Mason brothers, now they had themselves some thick skulls. She said one word and they heard another. That same night, when the lawman passed in his sleep, the Mason brothers snuck unto Mr. McLeery's farm and riled up the steers. McLeery, tired from the day, sent Mary out to calm them down. And that's where the Mason brothers grabbed her. Put a knife to her throat- Atticus put his finger to his throat, as if holding a knife there. - and told her to keep quiet and she gets to keep all her blood on the inside.

He raised a hand, waving it slightly. Now you are gonna ask me 'What's this gotta do with the damn dog?' Everythang. See, Ol' Chester had some kinda sixth sense about danger. It was like he knew when someone was up ta no good. So while the lawman passed on, Ol' Chester sniffed out two troublemakers at the McLeery barn. Atticus chuckled. Mary said she had never seen the old blood hound move like that. Ferocious, like a rapid wolf. All teeth and bark. He paused again, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. The Mason brothers got what was coming to them. The elder one, Jonathan. He's buried outside the church now. Ol' Chester went straight for the throat. And the younger, Thomas, well... he ain't gonna pass on the Mason name that's for sure. And the sad thing is, Ol' Chester didn't make it niether. Thomas got the knife buried in his skull.

He paused once more, this time for several seconds before continuing. Now, don't get me wrong. The Mason brothers got what was coming to them. What they did was despicable. But Ol' Chester didn't deserve that. He may have been a surly old mutt, but he was the lawman's dog. It may be fitting the lawman's dog goes down fighting fer the law, but it don't mean he deserved it. So then, Archon. I have a question for you. He turned, looking the Archon in his milky, sightless eyes. What crime did we commit that was so despicable that all sides of Heaven and Hell are after our throats. 'Cause by my reckoning, none of us have done anything as bad as the Mason brothers. And at least one of them is still livin'. In a manner of speaking.

[Darvin]

The Hound Archon remains taciturn throughout Atticus' story. He sighs at the final question, "I was once a lawman's dog; I served him faithfully without reservation. Later I served another lawman for different reasons. I dare not sully their good name with the dirty work I now undertake. Like 'Chester' of your tale, I have a sense for trouble. It is how I saw too much, how I both lost and regained my faith," the hound looks at Atticus with empty vacant eyes and lowers his voice, "I am the executioner of an empty court with no prosecutor, judge, or jury. I have forsaken all rank and am the lowest of all beings in this cosmos, and have become its Custodian. I do what must be done, keeping secret what must not be known. You are charged with crimes I am forbidden to speak, condemned for reasons beyond your control," the hound's voice has lowered to a whisper at this point, "I will not patronize you with apologies, nor make excuses on my own behalf. In absence of reason or explanation you will defend yourself to bitterest of ends, and others may come to your defense against unjust violence. I honor such misguided valiance even as I lament the unnecessary strife caused by my order's secrecy,"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus nodded, putting a supportive hand on the Archon's shoulder. Can't say I understand all your saying. But I get yer meaning. I am sorry we must meet like this.
I respect your determination. Can we at least know your name? Faithful servant of an empty court or not, I don't like defending myself from yer kind neither.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel has cast one ear toward the conversations with the archon, but his main focus was on the court proceedings. Taking a piece of paper, he printed a few notes to Tanner, who unsurprisingly seemed to be taking a rather cavalier approach to the proceedings.

Object to any testimony that “lord Fairwind said” — hearsay, Lord Fairwind not available for cross examination to which you are entitled. Stress latter part.

If a delay asked for, object — vital commercial interest in restoration of your property, without which you cannot make your livelihood. They brought case, should be prepared to settle today or have asked to delay case.

[Darvin]

The Hound patiently listens to Atticus before responding, "It's better you don't understand, and I expect no quarter from you as a result," he speaks only after a moment's pause, "my name is Girend. Long ago I had the appellation 'the Hunter', and I suppose it is fitting once more,"

Tanner takes Sefariel's note, reads it, and gives him a wink and a nod in affirmation.

[Darvin]

There is a tension in the courtroom that lasts for several minutes while the judge confers in a nearby office with the court clerk. When he returns he sits down.

"I have spoken with the court clerk, and we have verified Lord Fairwind's seal," the judge settles back down, clearly unnerved, "moreover, plaintiff's motion to suppress the untimely evidence is denied. Non-residents of Ankoro are to generally be accommodated and not punished for procedural errors, as it is understood they may not be familiar with the rules of our court,"

Peridot glares at Tanner, then turns to the judge, "then I would like to request an extension to a later date, as I will need to confer with Lord Fairwind on the matter,"

"I've already been hauled around and treated like a criminal on nothing but Fairwind's word. My - er - commercial interest has been harmed, and I can't make a living without my ship. Why should I have to sit on my hands for days or weeks if Poohidot over here can't show any evidence right now?" Tanner protests as Sefariel advised.

The judge sighs, "Mr Peridot, you're forgotting something," he pauses, then when the attorney doesn't respond he speaks, "the holding order on the Cerulean Gray! It expires at the end of this hearing unless I extend it,"

"Then do so?" Peridot raises an eyebrow.

"Should I?" the judge asks, "Ms Tanner is not here in Ankoro by choice. Our courts are mindful not to harass travellers who do only cursory business in Ankoro. Holding the Curelean Gray is a significant impediment to Ms Tanner, and it is Fairwind who faces the burden of showing the holding order is justified. While this does compete against his interest in a fair hearing over his property claims, if you cannot show a plausible claim at this point in time then I cannot extend the order further. Frankly I think it best for all parties if she leave Ankoro promptly and without further public incident," he puts the documents she handed him face down before him as he says this, implying none too subtly that he thinks the whole debacle should be buried. Tanner grins wildly, clearly pleased with such an outcome.

Peridot gets up and stuffs his papers under his arm without even bothering to stow them properly, "I see your mind is made up. I will be bringing this matter before Lord Fairwind, and the council. I don't think my presence here is needed anymore. Good day, your honor," Peridot stands and marches out of the room.

"I'm sorry for your troubles, Ms Tanner," the judge beckons her closer. He hands her the papers she threw at him only minutes earlier, "please take these with you, ideally far away from Ankoro. If you would come into my office, I'll see about getting you the proper papers and orders to get your vessel released,"

As the two of them duck into the judge's side office, the courtroom immediately takes on an oppressive aura. The other observers filter out, leaving only the six party members, a single peaceguard, and a hound archon that remains motionless and poised. The tension and silence causes the seconds to drag on, until suddenly the Hound's ears perk up and he puts his nose to the air. He stands calmly without taking a combat stance and moves to the door to leave. He twists his head to allow his voice to carry clearly in your direction, "I will be back to finish my job, under circumstances where misguided but innocent lives are not at risk,"

As the archon opens the door to leave through the public exit, you can faintly hear the footsteps of several dozen boots running down the hall in your direction.


And with that the time for calm discussion and legal wrangling is over.

There are three exits from this courtroom. The public exit, the judge's office that Tanner is currently inside, and a third door near what looks to be a prisoner's box. I doubt the actual layout of the courtroom is necessary as you have sufficient time to leave before those footsteps arrive. If you're still here when they are, I'll provide a battle map.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus sighed heavily. One step forward, two steps back. Atticus moved from where he was seated, giving only a passing glance at the retreating Archon's back. Girend will fight us if we leave here; might as well fight the others here and deal with him later. He said as he clambered up to the judges lecturn, granting him some modicum of high ground as he drew his musket, at the ready.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel moved toward the door to the judge's office. "I would rather not fight a battle in a war we cannot win. Killing them will bring us no closer to safety. Our answers are with Tanner, on Basrakal, not in taking their blood."

With a word and a wave, he vanished from sight. "If we must fight, fight to escape, to flee. Remember our goal."

Casting Vanish, because, it can't hurt.

[CasualViking]

Aron

"We need to get out of here." Aron flares with power for a moment, and a grotesque mound of flesh squeezes through a rift in space, a smaller version of a grotesquely fat man. Aron points in the direction of the footsteps, and it sets off to cause mayhem. Aron moves towards the public exit, readying his weapon as he does so.

[Darvin]

The Dretch, gleefully intuiting its orders, jumps through the doors and immediately belches a cloud of of noxious fumes. There are yells of confusion in the corridor. A voice pierces through the clamor and yells "hold your breath and rush through! It's just a wretched Dretch!" There are more sounds of sputtering and coughing that footsteps, however, so it appears your Dretch has bought you a precious few extra moments.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus scowled before hopping off the lectern. Fine. Lets move then. It is as if they didn't understand the advantage of minimizing engagements and the benefit of choosing the battlefield. But he wasn't their sergeant. Decision by committee, it seems. A poor tactical decision as a group is still stronger than stubbornly engaging the enemy alone.

[CasualViking]

Aron moves to the unknown door, trying to fling it open with a brief burst of magic.

I can cast open/close hands free!

[Darvin]

As Aron's spell completes the door opens to reveal a corridor dimly lit by magical lights. While it is clean and clearly used, you get the sense that this may be a service hallway used by staff and not the general public.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel rapped urgently on the judges office before trying the door. Whatever the result of the door, he announced “I am quite sorry to interrupt, but it appears a discontent mob is intent on storming your courtroom. I presume there is an alternate route of escape, perhaps through some back offices?”

[CasualViking]

Aron legs it down the service hallway, alert for any way out.

[Darvin]

Aron
Aron darts down the hallway, his footsteps echoing ahead of him and the sounds of the commotion disappearing behind him. He passes by one door after the next, each marked with a courtroom number. The only open door he spies is a janitorial closet that he's been left open with cleaning supplies and leading nowhere. There is also an ominous doorway marked as leading to the adjoining Ankoro jailhouse. It would appear these service hallways are also used to transport prisoners to and from trials, and as such there are no obvious windows or points of exit. Aron almost finishes a half circuit of the hallway when he sees what appears to be a janitor coming through a doorway. He appears to be an ordinary human, with a bucket of soapy water and a mop slung over his shoulder, and a somewhat agitated look on his face. Aron easily pushes past the man, getting an indignant shout but no resistance, as he pushes through the doorway and emerges into the lobby. There he can see a scene of chaos.

Finely-dressed dignitaries from Ankoro, citizens, peaceguards, armed warriors openly displaying the Fairwind house regalia, and everyone is yelling at each other. This discordant scene has made his sudden appearance go unnoticed, but a familiar sight immediately comes to his attention. There's an imp, flying above the fray, yelling and pointing at him, trying desperately to get the attention of Fairwind’s men. It’s only a quick sprint - no more than 40 feet - to the exit of the courthouse from here, and from there the harbor is within sight. However, there are several dozen potential adversaries who might do Aron harm if he draws their attention.

Sefariel
The judge look ups at Sefariel with a look of disbelief on his face, "there is a what now!?" he blinks in disbelief.

Snatching the signed papers, Tanner leaps to her feet, "Oi, just like Fairwind to hire some stooges to cause a ruckus when he loses. Look, I'm all for getting outta Ankoro like you suggested. Can you help me out?" Tanner asks. The judge grimaces, clearly put off by the sounds of commotion and the rather forward request.

“Fine,” he says as he stands up and unlocks another doorway into his office and leads Tanner . They emerge into a smaller and plain looking atrium. A handful of peaceguards stand by the door with their hands behind their back. They nod to the judge as he escorts Tanner and Sefariel out the back door, “please try not to cause any more trouble for Ankoro, Ms Tanner,” he whispers as he unlocks the door and lets her out.

Once the door closes behind her, Tanner lets out a shriek of joy as she kisses the signed papers, “to the Cerulean Gray! Let’s blow this excuse for a city and set sail!” she whips around quickly and stops, looking over the maze of back streets they’ve emerged into, “you, uh, wouldn’t happen to know which it is to the harbors from here?”

Everyone Else
Declare which one you’re following. We should be reunited shortly, but you may have very different paths to the harbor.

[CasualViking]

Aron briefly visualizes the spectacle of a large, hairy Aurochs trampling through the crowd and smiles. But it turns into a frown when he considers the collateral damage. Instead, he steels his will against gravity and swoops through the lobby, out into the open air and upwards.


Mind over Gravity (Sp) (standard action) to gain flight speed 60' (perfect) for 1 minute.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus nodded towards the judge before indicating towards their exit. After ya Ms. Tanner.

[Stelio Kontos]

"“you, uh, wouldn’t happen to know which it is to the harbors from here?”"

"I haven't the faintest" Sefariel replied. "We could ask those gentlemen guarding the door. I would assume my colleagues know where your ship is, they having been there whilst I have not, and I would really prefer not to leave without them at any rate. So for now, let us see what we can do to assist them."

With that, he walked to the edge of the alley, poking his head around the corner to scout the intersection as sneakily as a tall pale skinned aasimar with vaguely jeweled skin is able to do.

Stealth, for my amusement:

[roll0]

And perception in case a swarm of angries is about to turn the corner when I'm about to do that, 'cause I'd like to know:

[roll1]

[Darvin]

Atticus & Sefariel
The guard looks to Sefariel and, in a friendly demeanor, answer his question, "just head to your left, cut through the alleyway there, and you'll find your way onto the main thoroughfare. You'll be able to see the harbor," he points as he speaks. Moving towards the alley both Sefariel and Atticus immediately get an uneasy feeling; narrow and secluded this would be the perfect place for an ambush. There is no immediate sign of assailants, and neither spy any apparent threats, but you've already seen evidence of invisible spies at work today. A longer detour might be possible, but that would put you further away from your compatriots and possibly give more time for your attackers to organize and find you.

Consider this your "prebuff round"; I can guarantee that regardless of your decision you will face some sort of conflict within a minute or two ;-)

Aron
Zipping across the room, Aron's motion and the imp's shouting attracts attention. One of the peaceguard opens fire with a crossbow, but the weapon is smacked aside by another peaceguard and the bolt goes flying into the air. There is a chorus of argument that overboils, and with a glance over his shoulder Aron can see that there is a minority of peaceguard (along with Fairwind's men) who break away from the mass of peaceguards to pursue him. No further does his vision turn to the road ahead does he see a pair of figures materialize in a flash of umbra; Bearded Devils, brandishing vicious glaives, eying him up.


Aron has initiative. Enemies behind, enemies ahead, do as you will.



Declare which group you're with, please.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel let out a quiet sigh at the surroundings. "Certainly, thank you for the directions. They are much appreciated."

Turning a corner, he remarked to his colleagues "I do not like this, not one bit. Sophia, dear, come out and scout about for a bit, if you don't mind? See if you can catch any evil lurkers while about. Don't stray too far?" At this, the wizard's familiar emerged from his chest, fluttered about his face, and began ascending into the sky to get a better vantage.

'I suggest you take a moment to avail yourselves of whatever protections you might carry. This will be the pursuers final opportunity to assault us for some time, most likely. Have you any need of anything in particular?"

Move action will de-merge my familiar; it will cast detect evil (it's at will) and begin to fly around to scout.

I'll, uh, cast Shield. You know, just in case.

[CasualViking]

Aron's pulse quickens as he sizes up his enemies. His hands tighten their grip on shield and weapon. His mind is racing ahead, going through the opening moves of the fight, weighing options.

Then he spits out his held breath and bolts into the sky. His eyes flare with power, and a shimmering wave runs over the hostile crowd.

Move straight upwards (perfect maneuvrability), standard action to cast Slow (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/slow/) (30' diameter, 7 targets, Will DC 18 negates)

[Darvin]

Aron
A number of the footsteps in pursuit of Aron change tempo, and there's some sounds of scuffling as others try to rush past their beleaguered compatriots. The devils that appeared to harass Aron look up at him, their glaives out of reach, but one of the two merely smiles. He disappears in a cloud of miasma and reappears that same instant breathing down Aron's neck, his feet resting beneath him held aloft by some magic. The other devil remains calmly below watching the conflict above with his glaive held ready.


4 people were successfully slowed.

One of the Bearded Devils teleports up to Aron. He is standing exactly 10 feet away (his glaive is a reach weapon) and appears to be under the effect of either a fly or levitate spell.


Sefariel
Momentarily, Sefariel feels a brief moment of heightened alertness and caution from Sofia - a fight or flight response - followed by an anxious relaxation. She returns back moments later to report she saw no auras of evil in the surrounding areas. If questioned about her sudden rise in anxiety, she says it was probably a trick of the eye and she didn't see any threats.

[CasualViking]

"Oh but now he leaves me no choice", Aron thinks to himself and grins. The magic of his weapon and hits boots flare up, and he executes a rapid series of thrust and stabs with his own polearm.

Free action: Boots of speed
Swift action: Arcane pool, weapon is now +4, cutting through any DR but adamantine and /-.
Full Attack with Power Attack:
[roll0], damage [roll1]

[roll2], damage [roll3]

[roll4], damage [roll5]

[roll6], damage [roll7]

[roll8], damage [roll9]

[roll10], damage [roll11]

[Darvin]

The devil's menacing grin disappears as Aron's spear drives a massive hole through its chest. The devil's unholy toughness keep it together, but it can do nothing but watch as the spear retracts and lunges forward a second time. Though not as grievous as the first, the devil's eyes roll back and it tumbles downward towards the ground. There is a loud crunch as it smacks the ground below. Whether it survived Aron's blows and the subsequent fall is unclear from his high vantage, but it's definitely not getting up any time soon.

[Stelio Kontos]

”The memory devil is here, somewhere” Sefariel commenter nonchalantly. “It is doing its best to hide, but it is here, and following us. Make toward the harbors, but remain alert. We shall need to take precautions so it does not accompany us on the ship.”

Talking a moment to fortify his defenses, he began walking toward the harbor, doing his best to use the buildings as cover.

Cast shield on self, then let’s move. Sophia can tag along and remain on detect evil alert, it’s an at will ability.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus sighed as he pulled an alchemical cartridge from his bandoleer, slotting it into his musket as he followed closely behind Sefarial. Well, if he show's his face I've got a bullet with his name on it.

Pre-loading an [Evil] Outsider Bane cartridge.

[Darvin]

Sefariel and Atticus
Sefariel and Atticus dart down the twisting alleyway. Just as the harbor comes into sight around the corner Sophia cries out a warning of an evil aura approaching from behind. A surge of magic flares in front of them, and ice crystals grow at a frantic pace up the walls of the tenements forming either side of the alleyway. Within seconds a barrier of ice forty feet tall blocks their path, and behind them there's the faint scuffling of footsteps of a large and ungainly creature. Something invisible with an aura of unmistakable evil blocks the way from which they came.


The creature spent its turn casting Wall of Ice; both Sefariel and Atticus can act.


Aron
One bearded devil was down but the other followed deftly behind him as he flew towards the harbor. There he sees Lt. Ghomm looking bewildered. She recognizes Aron and waves him down.

"What's going on? I've heard five different stories from five different people. Best I can tell is that Fairwind is strutting around like he's king and issuing orders to the Peaceguard, and he's got himself a new entourage. A group of devils, plus some nasty looking mercenaries. And then there's that hound archon who came here not so much as a minute ago to say that Fairwind's being blackmailed and I should try to keep as many innocents out of this conflict as I can," she double-takes and looks into the distance behind Aron. A handful of peaceguard who resisted Aron's spell are making their way to the harbor, along with the bearded devil, "oh, this doesn't bode well at all, now does it?" she throws her head into her outstretched palm in frustration.


Your call on how to handle this. Sefariel and Atticus are a little more delayed, and Tanner is with them. You need to hold down the fort until they arrive.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus growled as the ice manifested in front of him. He ground to a halt as he brought the musket forward towards the wall. A fight ain't what we're here for. Don't stop! His aura changed, the cool breeze being replaced by a warm suffuse light that gently illuminated the area. A moment later, the musket barked as a semi-real bullet rushed out and impacted the wall of ice in a gout of flame. But instead, the musket belched a puff of black smoke, doing nothing. No no no no not now! Atticus banged the butt a few times, energy flaring along the length before a plume of ash and soot dislodged from the barrel.

Free Action: Switch Active Element from Air to Fire (-4 AC, Fast Healing 1, emit light like a
Standard: Use Energy Hammer
[roll0] Auto Hit; only for Misfire chance
[roll1] B/P + [roll2] Fire damage (there is some saves, but ice doesn't have eyes)
Move Action: Animus Flush to un-misfire.

Combat Begins:
Animus Granted: 7 (Wis Mod 5, 1 base, 1 Human FCB)
Auto Granted Maneuvers: Flickering Defense, Energy Hammer, Arcane Shield
Ungranted Maneuvers:
1) Raging Flux
2) Elemental Strike
3) Assay Resistance

Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 Animus for Maneuver used
+1 free each round
-1 for Animus Bullet
-2 to Augment Energy Hammer (+2d6 damage)
-1 to Animus Flush
Net Change: -2
Net Animus: 5

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 49/49

"Fairwind LOST. He's not taking it well. We are leaving, right quick, when the others get here". Aron veers off to fight the bearded devil. A single slash opens it up from shoulder to hip, spraying ichor everywhere. [roll0], [roll1]. Confirmed crit 44.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel seemed unruffled by the appearance of the ice wall, as if he'd expected something along those lines (if not this, precisely). "Shh, shh, Sophia, it's all right" he hushed before going to his pocket for a pinch of dust. The results of the spell itself were identical to those seen on the balcony: an explosion of shimmering dust, outlining the offending creature and clinging irritably to its skin.

Casting glitterdust on the baddie, being careful of course to not catch anyone else in the effect.

"This wall is no impediment to me; if the two of you can get past it, do so."

[Darvin]

Sefariel and Atticus
The resounding crack of Atticus' musket misfiring rings through the alleyway as Sefariel finishes his spell. A tornado of multi-colored specks swirls in the air, coalescing around a dominating the shape - clear as day it is a bone devil... although strangely this one appears to be missing its stinger and its right arm has been reduced to a stump with a prosthetic blade attached to the end. Its face appears misshapen, although the true extent of its deformities are not made clear by the glitterdust alone. The mutilated devil recoils and scratches at its face with its own good hand while sweeping its blade wildly in front of itself while moving forward. After a few seconds it manages to sweep clean the dust from its eyes, its faced contorted in rage.

Seeing that blasting through the wall is their most obvious means of escape, Tanner stares at the wall with intense focus and three concussive blasts strike it in rapid succession, sending ice chunks flying in all directions.


Tanner casts Magic Missile, dealing 11 damage to a wall segment. This is the best she can do against inanimate objects, so she'll need some help breaking through.

The Bone Devil wasted its turn since it couldn't locate your squares, but it made its second save so it is no longer blind. It's still visible for the remainder of the spell, though.


Aron
As Aron leaps forward, Ghomm yells after him, "please don't hurt any citizens of Ankoro!" she keeps her weapon stowed and rushes off to the approaching peaceguard. Even as he charges the devil, Aron can see in his peripheral vision that the ones unaffected by his slow spell have broken off from the rest of the pack and are now running after him. He also catches in his other eye a peculiar sight - one of the alleyways is suddenly sealed by the appear of a wall of ice rising several stories.

The bearded devil gasps from the deep gash Aron delivered, then shrieks with unholy fury as it brings down its glaive to return the blow. As the bladed edge retreats from Aron's shoulder a trickle of blood turns into a fountain erupting from the infernal wound. It whips its glaive around for a second strike, hitting only the bloodstained cobblestone at your feet.


Aron takes 14 damage and 2 persistent bleed damage.

[Darvin]

Sefariel and Atticus
The resounding crack of Atticus' musket misfiring rings through the alleyway as Sefariel finishes his spell. A tornado of multi-colored specks swirls in the air, coalescing around a dominating the shape - clear as day it is a bone devil... although strangely this one appears to be missing its stinger and its right arm has been reduced to a stump with a prosthetic blade attached to the end. Its face appears misshapen, although the true extent of its deformities are not made clear by the glitterdust alone. The mutilated devil recoils and scratches at its face with its own good hand while sweeping its blade wildly in front of itself while moving forward. After a few seconds it manages to sweep clean the dust from its eyes, its faced contorted in rage.

Seeing that blasting through the wall is their most obvious means of escape, Tanner stares at the wall with intense focus and three concussive blasts strike it in rapid succession, sending ice chunks flying in all directions.


Tanner casts Magic Missile, dealing 11 damage to a wall segment. This is the best she can do against inanimate objects, so she'll need some help breaking through.

The Bone Devil wasted its turn since it couldn't locate your squares, but it made its second save so it is no longer blind. It's still visible for the remainder of the spell, though.


Aron
As Aron leaps forward, Ghomm yells after him, "please don't hurt any citizens of Ankoro!" she keeps her weapon stowed and rushes off to the approaching peaceguard. Even as he charges the devil, Aron can see in his peripheral vision that the ones unaffected by his slow spell have broken off from the rest of the pack and are now running after him. He also catches in his other eye a peculiar sight - one of the alleyways is suddenly sealed by the appear of a wall of ice rising several stories.

The bearded devil gasps from the deep gash Aron delivered, then shrieks with unholy fury as it brings down its glaive to return the blow. As the bladed edge retreats from Aron's shoulder a trickle of blood turns into a fountain erupting from the infernal wound. It whips its glaive around for a second strike, hitting only the bloodstained cobblestone at your feet.


Aron takes 14 damage and 2 persistent bleed damage.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus breathed in deeply, manifesting a new quasi-real bullet in the chamber. "I'm tryin'! Just keep that thing off our backs!" He fired off another round, though one far less potent than his initial volley was supposed to be. But it was enough, the blow creating a rough holy in the ice. "Come along now, Ms. Tanner. No time for dillin' nor dallyin'." He ducked and shuffled through the rough hole before picking up the pace.

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 35/49

"AAARGH. HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT!!", Aron yells at the top of his lungs. Before the devil can even pull back his polearm, Aron has impaled it right back. He looks at his wound in dismay; he awkwardly balances his glaive against his shield as he pulls out a wand and touches it to his wound, staunching the flow of blood but not doing much for the wound itself.

Immediate action counterstrike rolled on Discord. Move action+standard to draw and use wand, CL check on discord.

[Stelio Kontos]

It would be a poor wall that didn't face both ways Sefariel thought to himself. Certainly, the devil could transport itself to the other side of the ice easily enough... but that would take time, and effort, and Sefariel was content to have it expend both. Bracing himself against the wave of cold that would follow, he maneuvered through the opening and placed as much ice between he and it as possible. That expediency completed, he began chanting an intense spell, seeking to summon forth an ally for the fight.

Move through ice wall (I believe there's some damage to be had here, let me know in Discord

Start casting Summon Monster IV, to be completed with a move action next round

[Darvin]

Aron, Atticus, Sefariel
Passing through the broken shards of the wall of ice exposes Aron, Sefariel, and their pilot Tanner to the full extent of the bone-chilling cold. They emerge on the harbor square to see a scene of chaos. Aron has beaten them to the harbor, and stands atop the broken body of a bone devil, slowly collapsing from a terrible wound that has nearly rent it in twain. The man points a wand at himself, seeking some momentary recovery before further trouble. Coming from the courthouse is an entourage of peaceguard and armed mercenaries with the Fairwind coat of arms.

There is little time to react to the situation as a flash of hellfire erupts from the ground and the bone devil - still glistening from Sefariel's glitterdust - materializes in front of Atticus and Sefariel. It screeches in barely intelligible infernal; though fluent in the language, Atticus and Sefariel can barely make out what it's saying... although their best guess is that it's a disparaging remark about their parentage.


Amidst the din and chaos of the the situation, you see something that threatens to further complicate matters. An entourage of four carriages, one of which is particularly ostentatious and emblazoned with the Fairwind crest.



Cold damage to Atticus, Sefariel, and Tanner: [roll0]


Roderick
A frantic sprint was all Roderick had left at this point. It was only good fortune that the peaceguard of Ankoro seemed to be distracted by some other nonsense, as otherwise a human wielding a bloody machete running through the streets would probably have merited their intervention. Coming to Ankoro sure seemed to be a very expensive mistake at this point. He'd spent the last few months with no fixed address, fighting off would-be assassins and assailants. His old adventuring party had broken up, leaving him with plenty of enemies out to kill him. He'd been ambushed and attacked by various outsiders several times. At first he thought it was the church of Razmir come for vengeance, but he was beginning to have his doubts. The usual calling cards of the Razmirans were missing, and some of the outsiders that tried to kill him didn't seem the kind that would work with that cult.

Signing on with the Sky Sabres seemed like a pretty alright move at the time. They were on brief layover in Golarion and were about to ship out back to the planes. They had a contract lined up with a fabulously wealthy genie named Ryel Fairwind doing work in the astral plane. The plan seemed ideal; skip out on Golarion entirely and elude his enemies while earning a big paycheck. It was too much to hope for, it seemed. The company had only just arrived in Ankoro last night, and had been put up in a posh inn by their new employer. Roderick had barely had time for breakfast before two junior members of the mercenary company tried to kill him. Their rather sorry attempt for banter before dying revealed that they'd been ordered to kill him by Ryel Fairwind. Roderick wasn't going to stick around to give Fairwind's flunkies a second shot at it.

Why Fairwind - a man he hadn't even met yet - wanted him dead was a mystery, but the reality was that this situation was rapidly going to hell. The fact that literal devils were now teleporting around him to finish the job made the severity of the situation all the more pressing. Right now it was obvious Roderick needed out of Ankoro. It was a longshot, but maybe there was a merchant ship about to depart in the harbor. So that was where he ran, dodging assailants and ducking through crowds.

He rounded the corner only to see a scene of chaos at the docks. A towering devil screeched in infernal at three travelers - an aasimar, a tiefling, and a human - while another human stood atop the recently dispatched corpse of a second devil. It would seem he's not the only person these devils are out to kill, and there was a saying about the enemies of my enemies...

[ThatDamnPaladin]

Roderick
HP: 64/64 (Temp HP: 76/76)
Rounds of Rage: 13/13

A day like this had to be a record, he'd basically been betrayed, unable to eat, lost; and to further it he'd not even gotten a severance package promised him. The first thing wasn't much of an issue though; that second one though. Even now he was feeling his guts gurgle in protest. Even with his prodigious stamina he was starting to get really, really, really tired. He wished he'd been able to refuel himself this morning... His metal clad boots slammed into the ground with force enough to break cobbles as he hoofed it toward the docks. Maybe someone could get him away from this crazy place or; or... or... or something. Thinking wasn't his strong suite at all! That was what Annabelle had been for; she was smart, psychic, and good at words! He was just good at talking to people- which didn't help when most of them wanted you dead!

But, running pelmell through the streets had attracted a lot of attention and now that he was almost to his destination- a single panicked thought ran through his head, They aren't coming for me? This turned into a paranoid train that ended with the appearance of others! However there was a devil that was in the way of him and speaking to these clearly friend shaped people. Roderick's vision might also be a bit blurry due to low bloodsugar because he didn't get a chance to eat a full and hearty breakfast.

However, as he ran his tread became much more monsterous; his footsteps echoing in his ears now as his body went through some changes. That machete was all but forgotten as his arms bulged, stretched, and rearranged themselves into claws that could easily rip into armor. However; his target- this devil got to see an additional much more horrific reaction. Those scales gnarled and twisted turning into vicious spikes that reached forward; his claws became thicker and much, much, much more deadly.

This, all, of course was going right into the devil's chest as the rest of the folks could hear a bellowing draconic warcry! Which was a wordless screaming rage.


Bloodrage > Eldritch Heritage: Hardened Fists: Claws increase in Size Catagory (1d8 - 2d6) > Reckless Abandon: -2 AC +2 to Hit > Power Attack w/ Furious Focus: -0 to Hit +4 to Damage> Charge -2 AC +2 to Hit +2d6 Damage from Rhino Hide Armor

To hit: Via Discord
1d20+21 = (18)+21 = 39

Damage: Via Discord
2d6+2d6+13 = (3+3)+(4+3)+13 = 26




Roddy boy goes into a rage and intros onto the scene like Nergigante in Monster Hunter; spikes and all.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel, shivering visibly from the cold, took a step back both to give this intrepid newcomer some space, and to evade the interference of the devil, as he finished his spell. As he did, a hound archon appeared opposite the machete-wielder. A word of encouragement was all the archon needed to take swings at the devil with a greatsword -- though apparently this one had missed training day, and the sword failed to come anywhere near its mark.

Unsatisfied with his safety, another spell -- a much quicker one -- formed on the aasimar's lips, and where there was one of him before, there were now half a dozen, swirling and dancing among each other so quickly that it was impossible to tell which was the real one and which were mere images.

5' step
Move action: finish casting Summon Monster IV
Standard: cast mirror image for 5 additional ones, rolled in Discord

Hound archon rolled a 2 and a 3 to hit, so that was hilarious, but at least he's now providing flanking and a celestial distraction.

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 35/49

"Get to the ship!", Aron yells. He points his bardiche straight at the bone devil, daring it to come get him while the others make it to the ship.

Move action to get weapon ready again. Standard action: Legacy Weapon to make weapon Keen, Lawful Outsider bane

[MesiDoomstalker]

"Alright now, we don't need any tagalongs." Atticus raised his musket firing off a quick shot of crackling energy at their devil persuer. "Aye ya, don't have to tell me twice Aron." No sooner had the muzzle flash die did Atticus turn heel and run.

using Raging Flux. Free Action swap to electric element.
[roll0] vs touch
[roll1]+[roll2] BP (as a +5 equivalent, this bypasses all DR besides Epic and -)
[roll3] electric
For every 10 damage dealt total, the devil is pushed away from us by 5 feet.

[Darvin]

The Bone Devil digs its good claw hand into the ground to brace itself from the impact, leaving a huge gash in the road as it halts its movement. There is no delay as it whips forward and extends its lanky appendages to strike at the enemies within reach. Its prosthetic arm comes down over Roderick and strikes deep, even as its claw takes him from his flank and leaves a mark as deep as the one in the pavement.

The peaceguards pursuing Aron muscle their way through the throngs of citizens fleeing the battle scene. They move to accost - but not attack - Aron. There's a chorus of shouts from them about him being under arrest under lord Fairwind's orders and to lay down his arms while the lieutenant steps forward to try to mediate. Their shouting is broken by the realization that Fairwind's carriage is rapidly approaching the dockside. It careens through the crowd at breakneck speed leaving little time for people to get out of the way, with a familiar efreeti at the reins. A number of flying creatures keep pace just behind the carraige. At this speed the genie lord and his entourage are only moments away.


Out of the corner of your eye you see Tanner duck behind a merchant's stall. There is a brief flicker of magic before she disappears from view entirely [spellcraft check failed].



You notice that Tanner has disappeared and isn't with the group anymore.



Roderick takes 21 damage from the sword and claw attacks.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Not stopping his running retreat, Atticus whirls around for one more elementally charged strike at the Bone Devil. He silently thanked... someone, he didn't know who anymore, for the timely intervention of the other fiendish interloper. Lets not meet with the good Lord Fairwind ya?


No maneuvers left to be granted, so my Granted are purged, and re-Graned. I get to pick 2 (Energy Hammer, Raging Flux), get a 3rd randomly (Arcane Shield) and the process restarts granting another at the end of my turn (Elemental Strike).

FA, swap Active Element to Water (Cold). AC drops by 4 (25) and saves increase by +2 (11/12/15) and gain Resistance 15 Cold (was Electric)
Using Energy Hammer
[roll0] vs. Touch (I'm 30 ft away before moving, so still within first Range Increment)
[roll1] B/P + [roll2] Cold (bypasses first 10 points of Resistance).
On a hit, must make a DC 21 Fort save or be Nauseated for [roll3] rounds

Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 free each round
+1 use a maneuver
-1 for Animus Bullet
-1 for Increase Potency (ignores first 10 points of energy resistance)
-2 for Animus Augmentation: Energy Hammer (+2d6 damage, +2 DC, already factored above)
Net Change: -2
Net Animus: 4

[ThatDamnPaladin]

RODERICK
HP: 43/64 (55/76)
Rage: 12/13

Roderick's blood spills onto the ground in a roiling boil. His flesh yielding easily to the claw and blade. However his claws shorten some allowing for a much more 'dainty' blow that rips into the fiend's stomach and chest. His howling rage insures that he doesn't notice the carriage, the guards, or even the belting fire from his erstwhile ally. All there is is his wrath toward this particularly unfriendly shaped thing before him.

Roderick moves into flanking with the Hound Archon, while raging Roderick only Power Attacks, first attack is with Furious Focus second attack is not. No rage powers are being used at this time- I also forgot to use my Shapeshifter bloodline ability to make Roderick's attacks hit harder.

All Rolls are Via Discord:
Attack 1:
To Hit: 1d20+19 Power Attack w/ Furious Focus -0 +4 Damage = (15)+19 = 34
Damage: 1d8+13 = (1)+13 = 14

Attack 2:
To Hit: 1d20+17 = (13)+17 = 30
Damage: 1d8+13 = (5)+13 = 18

[Stelio Kontos]

"Make haste, this is a fight that cannot be won" was Sefariel's only remark, before a short incantation had the wizard vanishing from sight. The retreating clip-clop of an alpenstock against the pavement was all the evidence that he was still in the area at all.

So, as discussed in Discord, I couldn't actually cast Mirror Image last time. I'd like if possible to use the move action that was left to retreat further from the battle (I want no part of up close and personal with a bone devil).

This round: cast Greater Invisibility, then move 35' (sic) away toward the docks, then swift action shift another 15' further beyond that.

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 35/49

"Time to go", Aron mutters to himself. He launches back into the sky and flies to the ship.

[Darvin]

Atticus takes aim with his musket; a cold wind blows over the battlefield as the mustketball erupts, striking the devil and sending shards of bone and ice flying in each direction. Seeing his opening, Roderick swoops in with his machete, dealing two quick slices. The devil's body is hard as stone, but yields to his blows. His second strike amputate what remains of the devil's ring arm. Sending its prosthetic blade hand crashing to the ground. The devil looks at the bloody stump in shock before keeling over backward.

Aron begins to fly over the now-unguarded gates into the dock area. Some of the peaceguard shout at him to cease, but with Ghomm distracting many of them they take no action against him. Tanner's skiff is visible, still chained to the dockside and staffed only by a small bewildered Agathion holding repair tools. He could easily fly to the vessel if he wished, or ferry his compatriots across.

Sefariel arrives at the locked gate. As he moves to examine the lock he realizes there's another pair of hands there diligently and invisibly working at it.

No longer in the distance, the carriage begins to slow as it arrives at the dockside. The Efreeti pulls back on the reins and the two horses - both with wispy manes that appear infused by some planar influence - cease pulling as furiously. It draws closer, and the flapping creatures flying around it come into view; lesser host devils. The carriage, its occupants, and its entourage will be upon you in a few moments.


You've got one round before the carriage arrives and another round before Fairwind gets out.

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 35/49
Aron carefully considers his next move. Then he decides to land hard, going down on one knee, his weapon hand knuckles to the ground. Then he slowly raises his head to make eye contact with the lesser devils, and with deliberate slowness, gets up and braces the shaft of his weapon against the shield, pointing the edge at them.

Meanwhile, among the human pursuers, a wet plop announces the arrival of another Dretch, immediately followed by a wet, rasping noise and a huge, noxious green cloud.

Aron lands to guard the allies at the gate, and (standard action) summons another Dretch to deal with the human pursuers via Stinking Cloud.

Aron can make up to 7 attacks of opportunity with his 10' reach. Against Lawful Outsiders, he is at +20 (15 base, +1 AoO from Temple Guard, +2 from Arcane Pool enhancement, +2 from Bane), 1d10+15+2d6, 17-20/*2. Between base enhancement, Arcane Pool and Bane, the weapon's effective enhancement bonus is +5, enough to penetrate alignment-based DR, but I don't know if temporary enhancement actually works for that.

[ThatDamnPaladin]

Roderick
HP: 43/64
Rage: 11/13
Condition: Fatigued (2 Rounds)

Roderick felt the rage evaporate and leave him nearly gagging for breath. But; he forced protesting muscles rippling under his forearms as he watched the scales all but fade away. However, as he took stock of the situation he decided that he wouldn't mind taking a souvenir- namely the Demon's prosthetic arm. Now, the thing was heavy but, it was no time for dallying. He began toward the only means of escape he could see with as much haste as his drained body could. Which honestly wasn't all that shocking to see that he was fairly quick about it.

He does cast a curious glance at Aron, "Right, fancy pants over 'ere wants me dead can I tagalong or ya gonna hit me with yer pokin' stick?"

Considering their enormous height difference, this is not exactly an intimidating thing to see at least if Aron's the kind of man to need intimidating.


Roderick Exits Rage, suffering from Fatigue for 2 Rounds.
Roderick uses a Move Action to take [SEVERED DEMON ARM BLADE]
Second Move Action used to get to Aron... and a free action to ask if he's gonna get stabbed in the gut.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel pondered the situation. He was still quite invisible himself, of course, but that did little good in the grand scheme and was but a temporary reprieve. Meanwhile, the fastest possible means of escape -- whatever it may be -- seemed most prudent. It was time to take a small chance. Dismissing the invisibility spell, he appeared next to the gate.

"If you happen to have a court order for the immediate release of that vehicle, invisible stranger" he whispered to the invisible thief-in-progress, "I would most like to have a copy of it. It may hasten our departure."

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus sprints towards the gate where the others had congregated. We have 'way 'round or is this a last stand we've got goin' on? He leveled his musket at the host of outsiders pitted against them, unsure if he could handle all of them.

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 35/49
Aron smiles ever so slightly at the sight of the short fellow carrying the demon arm. Without taking his eyes of the enemy, he gives a backwards nod, inviting him to pass by.

[Darvin]

The peaceguard falls back, hacking and coughing their way away from the stinking cloud. The only one who ends up on your side is Lt Ghomm, who collapses against a nearby merchant stall that was vacated in the previous commotion.

Sefariel can hear the whispering voice of Tanner cursing under her breath, and it dawns on him that both of them are standing invisibly next to each other. She fiddles feverishly with the lock on the gate to no immediate success even as Roderick and Atticus arrive to join them.

Time, however, has run out. The carriage comes to a screeching halt on the roadway. The lesser host devils fan out, circling in a broad motion around the group but being careful not to draw too close. The efreeti gives a glare to Atticus before rapping his fist against the carriage to alert those inside. A moment later the door opens and three figures exit. The first is the genie himself. Lord Fairwind imperiously surveys the scene with a look of intense displeasure upon his face. Behind him is a heavily armed and armored aasimar woman that only Roderick recognizes; Gloria Goldeneye, leader of the Sky Sabres mercenary company. She merely shakes her head upon noticing Roderick and stands at attention beside Lord Fairwind. The third figure actively hurts just to lay eyes upon. Gazing upon their visage drives needles into your brain, and the moment you look away the very memory of even having seen them is erased from your mind.


Everyone failed their save; while you can see the Mnemor devil, you cannot form any memories of her. The moment she disappears from your field of view you will forget you even saw her at all. This does not prevent you from attacking her.


"Fraud, burglary, resisting arrest, harboring planar fugitives, destruction of property, and..." Fairwind glances at the mangled corpse of the bone devil before finishing his pronouncement "murder," he pauses before turning his gaze back upon the visible members of the party, "an impressive list of crimes for your short time in Ankoro. But this ends here and now. If you bring further violence to my streets, I see no reason why I shouldn't turn a blind eye to our extradition laws and allow you to be swiftly transported to Dis to face summary judgement there,"

Fairwind suddenly opens his arms widely, "but if you were to peaceably lay down your arms and submit to my custody and protection, I might just be magnanimous enough to-" he recoils suddenly and jerks his head towards the mysterious figure whose presence eludes your mind. "Keep your appendages to yourself," he mutters quietly, just barely within earshot, then he pushes the figure away and recomposes himself to finish his speech, "the choice is yours,"

As Fairwind finishes his speech Sefariel hears a soft click; Tanner has managed to open the lock.


3 rounds have passed so Roderick is no longer fatigued. The skiff is still chained in place. I'm presuming the party is standing together near the gate unless otherwise stated.

Ryel Fairwind, the Efreeti, Gloria Goldeneye, two bearded devils, and the mnemor devil are all visible opponents who stand about 30 ft away from you. 8 Lesser Host Devils circling are overhead and are about 50 ft away

Warning: this is an APL+5 encounter. You are not expected to win this fight. You are expected to beat a fighting retreat.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Atticus choked up on his musket, keeping it centered toward the mass of opposition surrounding them. He thought, distantly, that this must be like the soldiers of the Revolution must have felt like. But he dismissed that thought; their plight was not so noble. Flight, towards safety for their own skins. Still, it gave him some glimmer of hope. Slowly, he lowered the barrel, standing up from his half crouched stance. He half laughed as he slung the gun across his shoulder. Ya know, from where I come from, our ancestors fought a hard-won war so they don't need take no orders from a King. Or, I suppose, no Lords neither. Don't get me wrong, Fairwind, your a nice enough bloke but I reckon at least haf the words that come out of yer yap are about as true as a carpetbagger's sales pitch. So Atticus' eyes flared as electricity crackled around him and jumping out to each of his allies. Above each of their heads, the electricity forming into a sigil above each of their heads. If ya don't mind, we're gonna kindly decline your 'magnanimous' offer. But bless ya heart, you do have a sense of style for these things. Atticus sprung backwards, twisting on the ball of his foot to rush towards the waiting skiff.

At least, if he died here, Mum and Pa wouldn't have to worry no more.

For 5 rounds, everyone gets +10 land speed.

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel was in no mood to argue, or to parley, though there were a number of obvious false premises in Fairwind's speech of which he took mental note. "To the ship, as quickly as you can" he whispered, before bringing into being a cloud of fog just in front of the party. With that, he made haste for the vessel as quickly as possible, skipping briefly out of sight to appear that much farther away from the enemy.


Obscuring mist, just in front of us and between us and the baddies. I'd like to delay until others have gone, if possible.
Move toward the ship, if necessary using a move action instead to open the gate.
Shift another 15' closer to the ship. All the while keeping the mist between us and them.

The hound archon summoned moments before was similarly disinclined to parley, instead setting upon the nearest devil with all the viciousness it could muster.

Not sure what the hound archon's options are, but it will attack whatever it can as best it can. Feel free to roll stuff for it.

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 35/49
Aron darts through the gate when it opens, then continues towards the escape vessel, keeping his weapon pointed at the enemies as he drifts backwards through the air.


[/QUOTE]

[ThatDamnPaladin]

Roderick
HP: 43/64
Rage: 11/13

"Didn't know demons were people," as Roderick is pointedly ignorant of the difference between Devils and Demons, however this information is technically stored away for later; however Roderick does let loose a laugh as Atticus literally spells out a 'no' in such an overly ostentatious way. He does have to roll his eyes a tiny bit before giving the Genie a bland look that doesn't sit well with his scarred face, "You voided my contract with you as an employer when you sent your boys to kill me this morning." He spits on the ground at this point before sheathing his machete.

That said, it dawns on him that now was not the time for posturing at all.

Roderick isn't a smart man but even he knows this fight is unwinnable... well; it's winnable but he'd be sure of death if there weren't someone to heal them of their wounds. Taking stock of the gate and such he realizes this is going to be awful- after all he didn't hear the gate unlock- of course as he rushed to it it busted open thanks to Aron and so he's not booking it.


Roderick tried to intimidate Fairwind
1d20+11 = (4)+11 = 15

The DC to Intimidate is 10 + HD + Wis

This very likely did not work.

Then he booked it his movement speed through the gate like a boss.

[Darvin]

"Regrettably predictable. Take them into custody, dead or alive," Fairwind strikes an imperious pose and issues the command as the group bolts, only to have the bearded devils and several of the Gaavs drive down into the fray to attack, though some get caught amidst the fog. Some, however, do swoop in to intercept the party. One manages to strike a glancing blow against Atticus, while another narrowly misses snatching Atticus off his feet and takes a tuft of hair instead.

Their flight is quickly interrupted by a surge of fire. An explosion rocks the dockside behind them, incinerating the mists that Sefariel left behind. Lances of fire surge through the haze; Atticus deftly dodges, but Aron and Roderick are struck [Aron takes 13 fire damage, Roderick 14]. Finally, a roaring wall of fire erupts in front of them, blocking their path to a skiff that is tantalizingly close.

Gloria and the Efreeti, their respective hands smoking from the fiery magic they just unleashed, stride forward towards the fray.


A rasping voice of an old crone tears into your mind, "you forgot me! You left me behind! Come back and get me, please come back!" the figure standing next to Fairwind seems to be calling you, its voice equal parts repulsive as it is captivating. Aron's mind struggles to avoid its compelling draw.

Please make a will save against suggestion.

[MesiDoomstalker]

'Ey! That ain't yers! He swiped a hand over his head, hoping to feel a full head of hair. He whirled around, taking a single pot shot at the efreeti, his elemental aura swinging to a chilly cold as the ball flew through the air shedding ice like a comet.

Forgot to track last round, but since I had only 2 maneuvers left, I auto-refresh. I used 1 Animus on the Glyph and gained 1 just cause, so no net Animus change. I choose to be granted Energy Hammer and Assay Resistance and got Flickering Defense as a random granted.

FA: Swap Active Energy to Cold (-4 AC, AC 25, +2 saves +11/+12/+15)
Standard: Energy Hammer
[roll0] I"m not sure of relative distances here. If the Efreeti is within 40 ft (before I move), its a Touch, otherwise its against regular AC.
[roll1] B/P + [roll2] Cold damage. If hit, the Efreeti must make a DC 21 Fort save or be Nauseated for [roll3] round(s).
Swift: Assay Resistance. My attack ignores 25 points of Cold Resistance (if for some reason, he has some), all forms of DR (again, if he has some) and deals an additional [roll4] damage. It is not clear if this extra damage is regular weapon damage or Active Element, so I separated it out here. There's arguments for both; since its unstated the default should be weapon damage but Elemental Flux is all about adding Xd6 [Active Energy] damage onto things.
Move: Move. Like, as much and as fast as possible to our escape route.

Animus: 7
Auto Granted Maneuvers: Energy Hammer, Assay Resistance, Flickering Defense, Raging Flux
Ungranted Maneuvers:
1) Raging Flux
2) Arcane Shield
3) Elemental Strike
4) Flickering Defense

Animus Expenditure/Accrual:
+1 free each round
+1 Maneuver use
-1 Animus Bullet
-2 Energy Hammer Augment (+2d6 damage, +2 DC already factored above)
Net Change: -2
Net Animus: 5

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 22/49
Without a word, Aron changes direction and flies for Fairwind's carriage.

[ThatDamnPaladin]

Roderick
HP: 29/64
Rage: 11/13

Being torn between assisting Aron and not dying; Roderick... chooses to not die. He didn't know much about his god but he knew well enough that dying senselessly would earn him a place in the eternal battlement as a brick and that? Well, that wasn't his fate... leastwise in his mind. Bracing himself he proceeds to charge through the wall of fire toward where the ship was.

He feels regret, Aron seemed like he'd have been an interesting fellow to know.



RUNAWAY!

[Stelio Kontos]

Sefariel looked on with disappointment as Aron charged off. A fight was not what was needed just then. What was needed was time -- something he could not rightly provide, but in a pinch, even the simplest illusion could present the mind with questions, questions that needed time to answer.

He turned briefly to cast a spell, at the conclusion of which a simple, sturdy stone wall appeared between the enemy horde and his onrushing ally. That task completed, he turned and fled toward the sanctity of the ship, skipping through time and space as he often did.

Silent Image of a stone wall appearing in front of them and between them and Aron.

Then move (35') and shift (a further 15') toward the ship, using the shift to evade the fire wall if needed. It's not clear how far we are at this point, but presumably I'm close?

[Darvin]

The Efreeti's body is blasted by a wave of cold and ice from Atticus. He buckles to his knees, his confidence erased in an instant. The Efreeti staggers backwards away from the battle even as Gloria starts to pick up speed. She leaps into the air over and above the obstructions, carried by magical flight. With a quick incantation she surrounds herself with illusionary copies of herself, masking her position as she homes in to attack. The two bearded devils emerge from the fog cloud, their glaives eager to taste blood.

The Gaavs swoop down to harry the escaping warriors. One pursues Roderick through the wall of fire but his spear is deflected by the observant warrior. Sefariel is less lucky. After shifting across the wall of fire he finds one of the Gaav's grinning only a few feet from him. It flits forward and sticks him with its spear, striking a glancing blow. Atticus finds himself mobbed by four of the devils as they paw at him trying to lift him off the ground, but none of them can get a good hold.

Aron loops around the conflict, avoiding the assailants and finding himself drawn inexorably towards the figure standing next to Fairwind. The genie simply stands still with his hands behind his back, curiously looking at Aron's approach. As he draws closer, however, he feels a sting in the back of his mind. The mental image of the Cerulean Gray, the very ship he was trying to embark, is superimposed with scenes of torture, pain, and brutality. Every fear and anxiety from the deepest recesses of his psyche is being pulled by the foul psychic magic.

Sefariel and Roderick now stand a scant few feet from the skiff, and can clearly see three sets of large iron chains restraining it to the dockside. Each is looped around part of the skiff and secured by a lock. If the skiff is to escape the scene they must be removed.


Atticus is unharmed... for now
Roderick takes 22 fire damage for passing through the wall of fire
Sefariel takes 2 damage from the Gaav's spear
Aron must make a will save against Aversion (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/aversion/) at a -2 penalty

[CasualViking]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/c457bbb848101717e87b8519003ac80f/tumblr_nck6ur4pBf1tdrmq5o1_500.jpg
Aron (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1994390)
HP: 22 (+14)/49

Aron looks around, his eyes at the same time drawn and repelled by the mysterious presence. "Grab on, I will get you out of here", he says, not quite certain to whom. He looks around, alert to attacks from any direction, and covers himself in a layer of protective intent.

Swift action Mind Barrier for 14 Very Temporary Hit Points, move action Combat Trick to gain the Shield Sphere (and +3 AC from Active Defense).