Shattered Star II: Curse of the Lady's Light (IC)

[Tippnick]

Iluvar casts a spell to search the area. He then lays out the Lustspawn Queen in a reposed position. He will check her items including detecting magic.

Spoiler: sift

Show

Casting sift

[lostsole31]

Iluvar's very limited sift detects nothing interesting in a little bubble of this gigantic room.

The whole party begins searching, starting with the in-state positioning of Chanukrah, self-styled "Queen of Lustspawn." Fallon stares "thirstily" at Iluvar as he did this, but otherwise is confused by giving such a horrible creature such respect in death's posture. Rezah and The Scribe, however, seem to approve of what proved to be a worthy adversary.

It was only a couple rounds after she fell that the shiny faerie particles that were on her from Fallon's spell disappear. Otherwise, the only active magic on her was a mage armor, which served her well in this battle. Her guisarme has a lingering magic that was infused into it, fairly minor as it fades with her life force now gone. The guisarme itself is simply a masterwork guisarme.

She wears a silver crown (800 gp value).

She also has two wands that were not used visibly in battle - a wand of acid arrow (11 charges) and a wand of fly (9 charges). The wand she dropped is also identified as a wand of lightning bolt (5 charges).

She has nothing else of value.

"Okay, Pathfinders. Time to do our job as explorers," begins The Scribe. "This room is too massive for a deep search until after the mission. But we do need to give a search of the whole place ... walls, doors, pillars, dais, everything. If we don't find any secret egress, then we can either do a deep-in search, or assume that the teleportation was only ever going to take us here as a final point. But as powerful a caster-warrior as Chanukrah was, she strikes me as more of a powerful guard dog than anything else, and we still don't have the next Shard.

"I and Fallon and Erima will begin to the east here with doors, corridor entrance, walls and pillars. Iluvar, Telgarana, and Rezah, begin on the western end with the dais, trappings, and near walls, as an egress likely would be in reach of whatever 'sovereign' would otherwise have needed a quick getaway."

Does anyone dissent with this plan?

[Tippnick]

"I am good with this plan", Iluvar agrees.

[LazarX]

"I am good with this plan", Iluvar agrees.

"Sounds like a go to.... anyone mind if I take the fly and the lightning bolt wands?"

[lostsole31]

"Let's wait on divvying things up," says The Scribe.

[silphael]

Erima walks toward the east part.

"I agree, she was probably just a guard dog, which means... we have to be ready to find more danger."

[lostsole31]

Erima, The Scribe, and Fallon are to the east. As a reminder to Erima as it has been awhile, she is utterly blown away by his perspicacity (looking at Erima's sheet ... jaw-dropping noise made). Fallon is clever and insightful, good at detecting traps, but The Scribe's orderly nature makes even a "quick" search a thorough one, it seems.

Iluvar, Telgarana, and Rezah are to the west. Rezah is admirable in that he has some training, but really it is not his main focus beyond raw natural wisdom (which is saint-like). But Telgarana with her black blade is stunning. Still, neither one of them hold a candle to the monastic, nearly supernatural senses, of Iluvar. Their group doesn't find anything anywhere along the dais (as expected, but they do seem to find a secret egress on a southwest-facing wall that is southeast and around the corner of the dais.

Iluvar, Telgarana ... what do you do?

[Tippnick]

"Found something here, we will mark this and continue or search", Iluvar informs the others farther away. Loud enough to be heard. He will also check for hidden dangers near the passage. He will either mark it with chalk or charcoal, whatever will show the marks better.

[lostsole31]

The area so marked with chalk (against the red djezet walls, that makes the most sense), the western group continues.

Luckily, a "quick search" of the entire ballroom with two groups takes about a little over 22 minutes.

Administration ...

Current health, as determined by the Scribe, also listed. (If not noted, then they are fully healed.)

Fallon: Shield dropped. Her lustiness diminished after only two minutes from the time she was first infected.
* Current Health: 90%.

Erima: Flour-sack still present, though she does pick up her dorje. Her detect hostile intent is still active, though her offensive prescience and metamorphosis have ended.
* Current Health: 50%. Critical healing needed.

Iluvar: Sandals of lightest step use expended. Divine favor ended. No longer in Crane Style.
* Current Health: 60%. Serious healing needed.

Telgarana: Ablative barrier still running (for many more hours yet). Recovered no arrows.

Rezah: Divine bond and protection from evil ended (as did smite). Recovered 1 bolt.

The Scribe: Recovered bola and all three arrows.

---

With the group gathered before moving to what Iluvar found, Rezah will let loose a burst of healing for the group that fully heals Fallon. Two more bursts and Iluvar is fully healed, leaving only Erima wounded (85%). Rezah isn't happy with that, given that if Chanukrah is just a guardian, greater danger might lay further ahead. He releases his stone shape in this otherwise over-worked area to fully heal Erima.

The party moves up to the area that Iluvar marked as being a possible secret door. Fallon instantly senses something off, and asks everyone to back away. She senses something magical that is trap-like at the door. She takes out a very fine set of picks and tools ... and with her diaphonous clothing you aren't sure where she was hiding that. She gets to work, with a 30' standoff, and people behind pillars and not in direct line outwards from the secret door per her instructions.

She only works for about 10 seconds before she calls out. "Okay, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is I didn't do to well, and I think I 'set off' whatever this is. The good news is, it didn't do anything to me; I'm still standing here; so either it is an invisible danger, or there is something else going on."

The party hears her cast detect magic. Then she calls out again. "Yeah, whoops. Sorry about that. It seems it wasn't a trap, per se, but I sensed that the secret door has an alarm spell on it. So .... my bad."

What does the party do?

[LazarX]

Telgarana considers the news "I believe that the stealth part of our mission has concluded."

[spoiler] Just before we enter Telgarana is going to pop another charge from her wand of shield and then place it back in it's sheath. [/spoiler]

[silphael]

Erima nods.

"Well, they know we are there, so they will be ready. We better prepare and heal before moving."

[Tippnick]

Iluvar will indicate he is ready to go. He will wait till the enemy is at hand before he casts any spells.

[lostsole31]

Fallon engages the mechanism for the suprisingly stout secret door. Beyond, he floor of this octagonal antechamber is decorated with a colorful mosaic depicting hundreds of interwoven, multicolored serpents intermingled with disembodied human arms. An iron-bound oaken door sits in the west wall.

"Looks clear," says Fallon.

"Fallon and Telgarana, you're first in ... side-by-side. Then me and Erima. Iluvar and Rezah, bring up the rear," instructs The Scribe.

The party begins entering in that manner, and Fallon does a quick sweep-walk to make sure nothing trips her danger sense. "All clear."

Other than what was described above, a quick search of this room (three minutes) shows that nothing else is in this room. Telgarana's shield falls before that time.

Fallon doesn't sense anything wrong with the oaken door.

Does the party make any preparations before she goes to open that door?

[Tippnick]

Iluvar will go up to the door and concentrate.

Spoiler: detect alignment

Show

He will roll through each alignment detecting alignment through the door. Law, chaos, good, and evil

If he detects any alignments he will concentrate longer to get more details

[Tippnick]

Iluvar holds up 1 finger and points at the door. And moves back to his place in the order

[LazarX]

Spoiler: Behind Door Number 1

Show

Telgarana pops another charge from her wand of shield and replaces it just before the door is opened and then goes in with blade drawn. which activates her Freehand bonuses

[silphael]

Once everyone is ready, Erima starts shaping an entity out of astral crystal.

"Once it appears, opens the door."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I'll manifest Astral Construct at max ML, so 7, meaning a "level 4" astral construct, with the Smite menu choice, will appear in a space close to the door.

[lostsole31]

Erima's shadow seems to animate, growing in form across the floor to the north of her. Stepping out of what seems to be a rift from that now large shadow is a creature of which few of you have ever seen a similar likeness. It is as if silver snot formed from thousands of sick people, and yet without the discoloration of green and yellow that comes with such illness, to create a gleaming creature made wholly of ectoplasm that now stands next to Erima.

And with that, Fallon opens the door.

Begin Round One ...

R1T34: Having prepared himself with a swaying, dance-like fighting stance beforehand, The Scribe resets himself with a similar, but not quite exacty the same stance, and is through the doorway at unbelievable speed and somewhere to the relative south. There is the sound of someone in heavy armor crashing to the ground, and he uses the tines on his ranseur to savage his grounded enemy for 28.

"FourGrayMaidens! Twoaroundthecornerreadytocharge!" he blurts out from beyond.

R1T29: Iluvar, what do you do?

[Tippnick]

"Into the fray I go again Lady, guide my strikes!" Iluvar implores his Goddess.

He then moves quickly to confront the Gray maiden that he sees to west.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

FA:He will assess this particular foe
SwA: will activate a Justice Judgment
SA: Stunning blow
(d20+15)[28] stunning blow (assuming not crane style so used +15)
(d8+2)[8] strike with hand
[

[lostsole31]

R1T29: "Into the fray I go again. Lady, guide my strikes!" Iluvar implores his Goddess.

He then moves quickly to confront the Gray Maiden that he sees to west. He stomps on her left foot's instep for 8, and the pain must've gotten her because her body seizes up and she drops her longsword.

R1T22: Having heard The Scribe's warning, and needing an extra microsecond to process it because it was jammed together, and she moves into that room and up into the air before waving her arms and pixie dust falls on one of the Gray Maiden's chilling to the side. "Got one asleep! to the south. One unengaged around the corner to the north!"

R1T21: A prone, bloody Gray Maiden to the south starts to get to her feet. The Scribe clonks against her armor with his weapon, but she still gets to her feet. She then starts to move east and The Scribe tries to trip her but fails. She gets to her fallen, sleeping sister.

R1T19: Telgarana, what do you do?

[lostsole31]

R1T19: Hearing Fallon call positioning, Telgarana moves into the room and immediately north to engage the Gray Maiden waiting there. She sets up her ability to cast spells in armor before she carefully casts a spell. Electricity arcs up and down her blade. Seeing the woman as heavily armored, she decides to let the spell work for her, rather than her muscles, but her probing attack is still rebuffed. It's alright, though, as the intensified shocking touch still limns her blade.

R1T19: Erima, what do you do? What do you tell your construct to do?

[silphael]

Erima enters, ready to strike, before ordering her construct.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Moving 1 SW, 1W, then moving toward the one attempting to wake up her ally. If I still have enough move speed to reach her in one move action, attack with risky strike.
Attack - (1d20+12)[32]
Damage - (3d6+16)[23]
Once there, as a free mental action (as indicated by the power) I order my construct to attack the nearest Gray Maiden that isn't sleeping.

[silphael]

Spoiler: Crit Severity OOC

Show

For the crit.
(1d20)[16]
(3d6)[11]

[lostsole31]

R1T19: Erima enters, ready to strike, and veers to the south to attack the maiden attempting to wake her ally. The crystal axe rends into the woman's side and back for 28 + armor broken. This grievous blow drops the woman.

R1T15: The snot-monster than enters and moves between Iluvar and Telgarana. It swings a glorpy-looking, but large, fist at Telly's opponent, hitting the woman in the back of the right thigh for 14.

R1T15: Rezah moves into the room and casts a spell. A spectral, glowing scimitar appears and attacks the Gray Maiden that seems like it might be the leader. With a brilliant deftness that far exceeds normal swordwork, guided by his will it is more dangerous as the spiritual weapon smashes the leader in the helm 10 force.

R1T6: The leader is stunned ....

R1T5: Blue steps away from the wall and then, even though you don't have facial expressions on Gray Maiden helms, you an sense her glaring at the snot monster. She shoulder checks the creature to try and knock it into Iluvar, but the creature is unmoved.

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T34: The Scribe zooms clockwise around the massive stairs to the north, looking at the battle from that direction. The Scribe then begins a stirring oration of those souls of Korvosa who heroically pushed back against Queen Ileosta's Gray Maidens.

R2T29: Iluvar, what do you do?

Fallon on deck, Telly in the hole ...

---

Meanwhile, now that you are all in this room .. A broad central column of stone fills the center of this octagonal chamber. A flight of stairs coils up around this column, passing through an opening in the ceiling thirty feet above. Several doors lie in the chamber’s walls. The room itself features a large amount of ancient and archaic but no less frightful-looking torture implements.

[Tippnick]

Iluvar steps to the Southwest for positioning and attacks the Maiden he previously stunned.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

5ft step to SW
SwA: activate crane style
Attacks with defensive stance
Flurry of blows
1st attack stunning blow
(d20+16)[30] using +16
(d8+2)[7]

2nd attack trip flurry attack
(d20+16)[20]

3rd attack
(d20+11)[22]
(d8+2)[6]

[lostsole31]

R2T29: Iluvar steps to the southwest for positioning and attacks the Maiden he previously stunned. He knees her in the side of the abdomen for 9 + stunned. He sets his foot down to hook behind her own and then trips her. He then curb stomps her in the arm for 8.

R2T22: Fallon is only to happy to be opportunistic, swooping down and stabbing with a crit to the leader's head for 34.

R2T19: Telly, you have an intensified shocking grasp currently on your blade. What do you do?

Erima on deck, Snot-Monster in the hole ...

[LazarX]

Freed of the need to cast for the moment Telgarana gives a Tien shout of her own and lays in with her suddenly accelerated blade.

Spoiler

Show

Swift action spend one arcane pool point to activate speed on her blade

Free Action Spend 1 point of the blades own pool to activate Black Blade Strike giving +2 on damage for one minute, not calculated into rolls below.

First Attack (1d20+12)[27] damage (1d8+6)[11]

Second Attack (1d20+12)[24] damage (1d8+6)[11]

Third Attack (1d20+7)[23] damage (1d8+6)[7]

If any hit Shocking Grasp Damage (7d6)[28]

[lostsole31]

R2T19: Freed of the need to cast for the moment Telgarana gives a Tien shout of her own. There is a ringing response heard from a Tien tenor from her own blade as well.

Spoiler: Tien

Show

"I serve the wielder! Honor and courage!"

As Telly allows both fire and ice to trail along the blade, she feels the solidity of her blade intensify for truly deadly strokes. Smiling at the readiness of her friend to give her aid, she lays into her opponent with her charged blade. The detractors of her blade usually mention its cutting power against steel, but when electricity acts like a homing beacon it is hard to go wrong as her first stroke hits the Gray Maiden in the center of the chest for 12 + 28 electricity + 1 fire + 2 cold. With the other two cuts given against a woman already in mid-fall, she is dead before she ever hits the ground.

R2T18: Erima, what do you do?

Snot-monster on deck, Rezah in the hole ...

[silphael]

Spoiler: Mental order

Show

"Smite the last of the Gray Maidens and attack her !"

Erima steps close to the last Gray Maiden, and unleashes a onslaught with her axe.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

5 foot step N, full attack on the last one; with risky strike. If she's dropped on the first hit, no second.

Attack - (1d20+12)[27]
Damage - (3d6+16)[27]
Attack - (1d20+7)[19]
Damage - (3d6+16)[25]

[lostsole31]

R2T18:

Spoiler: Erima >>> Snottigotti

Show

"Smite the last of the Gray Maidens and attack her!"

Erima steps close to the last Gray Maiden, and unleashes a onslaught with her axe, killing her dead.

R2T15: Snot-monster stands there, confused.

R2T14: Rezah dismisses his spiritual weapon and walks over to the sleeping Gray Maiden.

Combat Ends ....

You have a sleeping Gray Maiden. Now what?