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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 9337950" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 51: SHRINERS CONVENTION</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 12</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 12</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 12</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 12</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Orchid, elf druid 12</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 1 May 2024</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>The meeting with the Karkaletch stone giant clan had some surprises. First of all, the heroes hadn't expected to see so many dwarves working in the quarry among the stone giants, but in retrospect they recalled Kasselban griping about how many of his miners had been "stolen away" from him by promises of better wages. They recognized Krag Splitshriek and Blue Lichen, but hadn't anticipated seeing the giantess pregnant; by the looks of things, she likely had but a month or so before she'd be delivering another baby stone giant into the world (assuming, that is, that the giants' gestation period was similar to that of a human; none of the heroes felt it necessary to ask). And they were saddened to hear of the loss of the clan's oldest member, Calcitracia. Krag invited them inside their dwelling to hear the tales of their recent exploits.</p><p></p><p>After recounting their encounter with the two fire giants and the two ogres who were seeking out the Karkaletch quarry, Krag said there was an abandoned shrine over past the next valley, a good eight hours away by foot. "It could be that's this 'shrine of Rheelbo' the fire giant was talking about," he suggested.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris projected the door to their extradimensional dwelling onto a nearby wall and entered inside to bring out the giant-sized armor and weapons they'd taken from their opponents on the road. "Careful with this one," she warned, indicating the torc bearing the agate they believed was a <em>hag's-eye</em>. It was wrapped in a blanket so the eye wouldn't be able to "see" anything once they brought it back out of the extradimensional space and into the Material Plane. With Krag's assistance, they pried the agate out of the torc and the stone giant handled it over to Harlan for safe keeping. He placed it into an empty belt pouch, where the hags would see nothing of import should they try scrying through it. The heroes opted to spend the day with the stone giant clan to bring them up to speed on events around Ghourmand Vale and to hear what all had been transpiring there at the quarry.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, though, the heroes were off to the abandoned shrine to see if it was where the hags associated with the giants were lairing. Krag thanked them again for all of the loot they'd turned over to the clan, and offered to build them a stone keep of their own in Ghourmand Vale, should they ever tire of living on the top floor of the Dark and Light Club. Harlan said they'd start working on some blueprints, then the five took off on their various mounts. It was noticeably colder this morning.</p><p></p><p>The trip to the shrine was pretty much uneventful, save for the last few miles, for a thick fog covered the mountain they approached. Ambrose volunteered to try to fly up through it and returned to inform Alistair it was just as thick a mile or so up. "Seems unnatural," opined Orchid. "Very likely a <em>control weather</em> spell in play."</p><p></p><p>"Can you counter it?" asked Ageratum.</p><p></p><p>"Not with the spells I have on hand today," the druid admitted. "It looks like we're stuck being able to only see about 20 feet around us at a time."</p><p></p><p>"Well, we should be nearly there," Harlan observed. "According to Krag, the road turns to a switchback that leads up to the level where the shrine stands. It might be best if we were to cast our preparatory spells." Orchid led off with her traditional <em>longstrider</em> spell and a series of <em>barkskin</em> spells upon Orchid, Nova, and herself. Alistair cast a <em>mage armor</em> spell upon himself and a <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell joining all five of them together in a mental mind-link. He'd developed enough as a sorcerer to join all five heroes with but a single casting of the spell.</p><p></p><p>"Okay, here's my suggestion," said Orchid. "I don't like the idea of continuing on the switchback road in this fog, as the hags will likely have defenses set up. Instead, we should approach by the air - they probably won't expect that, especially in this fog. I'll wildshape into a dire bat; that'll allow be to sense objects around me at a much farther distance than vision alone will do. Alistair and Ageratum, you can ride on my back, while Chaevaris and Harlan ride Nova. As long as Nova follows directly behind me and moves where I move, he should be able to avoid flying into a cliff wall or anything."</p><p></p><p>"Do you have an <em>air walk</em> spell handy?" asked Chaevaris. "I'd like to be able to jump off Nova when the time is right without worrying about how high up I am." Orchid did have such a spell handy, and cast it upon her fellow elf. Then she cast two more spells upon the assembled group: <em>mass bear's endurance</em> and <em>mass owl's wisdom</em>, before changing her shape from that of a comely elf maiden to that of a leather-winged bat the size of a large horse. Chaevaris opened the door to their extradimensional dwelling and ushered their horses and Shushitan inside before returning the door to her amulet. Then she allowed Harlan to pull her up into the saddle behind him. Alistair, in the meantime, had climbed upon Orchid's shoulders, his legs straddling her neck and Ambrose sitting perched beside his master's neck. The young nobleman bent over and reached a hand out to help Ageratum climb up, but she waved him away. "I'll just <em>spider climb</em> onto her chest," the little halfling explained, activating her <em>cloak of arachnida</em> to do just that. Then Orchid stretched out her bat-wings and took flight, Nova following immediately behind.</p><p></p><p>In all of their planning, Alistair had forgotten a scheme he'd come up with: he didn't recall the details, but he was fairly certain that smashing a <em>hag's-eye</em> had a detrimental effect upon the hag covey it belonged to, and he'd been planning on having Carruthers smash it to oblivion right before they made their assault upon the shrine. But in all the excitement of riding a dire bat through thick fog, it had completely slipped his mind - and their shield guardian was inside the extradimensional dwelling with Shushitan and the mounts, out of range for the sorcerer to give him any instructions (not that it would have mattered in any case, for the <em>hag's-eye</em> was now out here in Harlan's belt pouch).</p><p></p><p>Orchid flew forward until she sensed a cliff-face directly ahead, then - after warning everyone what she was about to do over their shared mental link - flew straight up, keeping a good 15-foot distance from the cliff face. Harlan and Chaevaris clung tight onto Nova as the celestial pegasus followed in the dire bat's wake. After about 50 feet, the cliff ended on a level plateau and Orchid repositioned herself back to horizontal movement, staying about 15 feet above the surface of the ground. She used her blindsense to its fullest, concentrating on the radar images it gave her about her immediate surroundings. Ageratum slapped at her wrist, activating her <em>bracelet of invisibility</em>; now anyone getting close enough to the flying dire bat wouldn't see the upside-down halfling hanging from the bat's chest. Alistair, glad to no longer be flying straight up, took the opportunity to cast a <em>shield</em> spell upon himself and Ambrose, who remained perched upon his shoulder. (To be honest, the grackle was somewhat amused at the feeling of flying through the air without having to exert any effort on his own part.)</p><p></p><p><Two beings over to the right!> Orchid reported over the <em>telepathic bond</em>. <Ogres, by their size and shape.></p><p></p><p><Low priority - ignore them for now,> suggested Harlan.</p><p></p><p>Orchid continued flying forward, dropping down to about 10 feet above the ground. <Got something ahead - an annis, likely, from the size!> Orchid called out, them immediately began casting an <em>insect plague</em> spell. There was the sudden buzzing of thousands of wings as a massive swarm of locusts manifested 10 feet in all directions around the annis - which, unknown to Orchid, also covered the position of a green hag on the far side of the annis, blocked from the druid's blindsense. But her enhanced hearing did pick up two distinct voices cursing the sudden presence of hungry locusts biting at their flesh.</p><p></p><p>From his perch upon Nova's back, Harlan cast his senses out into the fog ahead and could sense the presence of evil, likely the ogres and annis Orchid had called out. He was too far away to see them, and the ogres were too far away to see the heroes fly by, but they heard the flapping of mighty wings heading towards the shrine, and the first ogre, <strong>Hraag</strong>, began climbing up an embankment to follow the sounds of the wings. It sounded like they were headed for the annis, <strong>Gerty Gapgullet</strong>, and Hraag knew Gerty would be quick to punish him if he failed to protect her and the others in her covey.</p><p></p><p>The green hag, <strong>Velma Cuttlecrop</strong>, was nauseated by the locusts swarming all around her, several of them trying to get into her nostrils and mouth. "Pfaah!" she spat, staggering away from the massive swarm. "<strong>Beryl!</strong>" she cried. "Get out here - we need you!"</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris decided it was time to head out on her own and activated her <em>ring of invisibility</em> as she leapt off the side of Nova's back and stood in mid-air, buoyed by the <em>air walk</em> spell Orchid had cast upon her earlier. She stalked forward through the air, well aware that by not touching the ground she was all but guaranteed to move silently as she approached, her longbow out with an arrow nocked so she could shoot as soon as she got within visual range of an enemy. Sure enough, before too long Hraag came climbing up into view, and she pivoted his way, getting a lock onto his left eye.</p><p></p><p>With her blindsense still active, Orchid sensed a massive form enter within range, over by the annis. By its size and shape (and that of the massive rock it held in one hand), she surmised it was a fire giant, like the pair they had fought the previous day while on the road to the quarry. As the druid gave warning to her friends over the mental link, <strong>Surtur</strong> tossed his rock at a clump of the flying locusts, squishing flat those it hit and burning up others nearby when the rock exploded upon impact into a gout of flame. The annis, swatting locusts as she went, departed from the area where they were concentrated, glad to be able to take a breath without inhaling a handful of insects.</p><p></p><p>Then another figure moved into range of Orchid's blindsight: a horse the size of a small elephant. Her bat-senses were unable to pick up the light from its flaming mane and hooves, but she was able to hear the crackling of flames from that direction. The cauchemar headed over by the locusts, who by the magic of the spell which brought them forth stayed in the same general area as where they had first appeared. And Chaevaris, off on her own to the south, saw the second ogre, <strong>Iraag</strong>, trudge up the steep embankment out of the corner of her eye, but refused to break her concentration - or her aim - at Hraag's left eye, which was too good a target to pass up.</p><p></p><p>Beryl, a night hag, manifested from the Ethereal Plane at her green hag "sister's" call. Unable to see any further than the others in the fog, she cast a <em>detect good</em> spell and let her magically-enhanced senses tell her where there were individuals of such a nature nearby.</p><p></p><p>With all of the players seemingly on the field - Orchid and Chaevaris had been updating the others over the <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell - Ageratum decided it was time to take action. Dropping from Orchid's underside, she flipped over in mid-air and landed like a cat on the ground, running over towards Hraag, stabbing at the surprised ogre with her magic short sword. Of all of the things he could have imagined coming out at him through the fog, a stab-happy halfling had been fairly low on his list. Nova veered over that way as well, allowing Harlan to lean over from the saddle and strike at Hraag with his <em>holy flaming burst longsword</em>, catching him in his broad chest and opening up a deep wound which began bleeding immediately. Then Nova delivered the final blow, a kick of a hoof just under the ogre's chin, and he collapsed backwards off the embankment, rolling to a stop at the bottom. His ragged breathing told he was still alive, but Ageratum vowed not for long, as she started sliding down the steep slope to go follow him and see to his permanent demise. Chaevaris just lowered her raised longbow and stalked through the air, seeking a different target for her arrow.</p><p></p><p>Alistair had no real idea of the exact location of any of his foes, as his human vision wasn't anywhere near as good as Orchid's blindsense while in dire bat form, so he let loose with a <em>cone of cold</em> spell in the general direction of "in front of him." After all, he'd heard there was a fire giant about, and he knew full well they were particularly susceptible to cold. His spell caught Surtur (as he had hoped), but also Iraag, the cauchemar, and - unfortunately - the locust swarms. He felt bad about "undoing" Orchid's spell, but the druid reminded him that unlike a <em>summon monster</em> swarm, these locusts were pretty much just going to stay in place and the hags caught in their midst had already departed.</p><p></p><p>Then Orchid flapped her bat-wings that much harder and gained elevation, casting her senses down below her so she could "see" as many of her foes in her radar-sense as possible. Only then did she cast a <em>wall of thorns</em> spell, which encompassed all but Beryl the night hag, who was too far away for the druid to tell she was there. The thorns pierced through armor, clothing, and flesh with equal abandon, causing a series of surprised shrieks, curses, and moans of pain.</p><p></p><p>Velma the green hag called something out in the Giant language, signaling to her covey-sisters her intentions; she had an idea of what spell they could cast to aid them, but it would take the three of them acting in harmony. But then Chaevaris got close enough to be able to see the cauchemar, its massive bulk wrapped in piercing thorns, and she rapidly aimed at its right eye, firing before it had a chance to try to move out of the way. The arrow hit the eye and split the orb down the middle, then buried itself halfway along the length of its shaft. With half an arrow protruding from its head, to Orchid's blindsense - which "saw" mostly in silhouette - it took on the appearance of a massive unicorn where before it had looked like an oversize horse. Chaevaris was now perfectly visible, but the only foes who could actually see her were imprisoned in a <em>wall of thorns</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Surtur and Gerty were both tall enough that their heads stuck out over the top of the <em>wall of thorns</em> trapping the rest of their bodies. The fire giant pulled his right arm up above the thorns, and it was holding another of his flaming rocks. He tossed it at Orchid, but the throw went wide - Orchid was able to "see" it with her radar in time to swerve out of its path in midair. Gerty, in the meantime, was readying to join Velma in their shared spellcasting, just as soon as Beryl was able to mesh up with them.</p><p></p><p>With a frenzied whinny of pain, the cauchemar simply faded from view. As the creature was just a larger-than-normal nightmare, Chaevaris realized it had probably shunted its body out of the Material Plane and into the Ethereal, where it could move around unhampered by thorns until positioning itself where it wanted to re-enter the Material Plane once more. The archer reloaded her bow, ignoring the grunts Iraag made as he tried, without success, to extricate himself from the piercing thorns. By this time, Ageratum had made it to Hraag's unconscious form and dragged her sharp blade across his throat, slaying him instantly.</p><p></p><p>Nova flapped his wings furiously and flew up along the embankment, allowing Harlan to strike Iraag through the thorns, piercing the ogre's heart and killing him instantly, leaving him to collapse, still halfway standing up as he was propped in place by the entangling thorn-branches.</p><p></p><p>Alistair cast another <em>cone of cold</em> spell, catching Surtur, Velma, Gerty, and this time Beryl as well, for Orchid had flown closer and the sorcerer was still sitting upon her shoulders. The freezing spell slew none of its victims, but by this time the annis was on her last legs, barely able to remain on her feet and stay conscious. Orchid cast a <em>summon swarm</em> spell immediately thereafter, covering Velma and Gerty with thousands of hungry, biting spiders. The venom coursed through the Gerty's blood, weakening her even further with the arachnid poison.</p><p></p><p>"Cast with me!" called out Velma in desperation, not sure if Gerty was going to be able to pull her own weight in the ritual. That, the green hag realized, was the biggest problem with a covey: having to rely upon two others to get anything truly powerful done. She brushed a score of spiders from her face in irritation, angered that their individual small size made them all but immune to the sharp thorns that punished her for her every movement.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris moved even closer to the <em>wall of thorns</em> spell and sent an arrow whizzing into Velma's right eye, killing her before she - and the rest of the covey - were able to pull off the ritual the green hag had placed all of her hopes upon turning the tide of this battle. As she died, she cursed their <em>control weather</em> spell that had blanketed the mountain in such thick fog - it had ended up hampering them as much as their attackers! Surtur tossed another flaming rock Chaevaris's way, but the archer merely stepped over it as it closed in on her, the <em>air walk</em> spell being one of her personal favorites.</p><p></p><p>With a gasp of effort, Gerty managed to force her way through about five feet of the thorns; freedom was now just out of reach! But the effort proved to be her undoing, for the numerous scratches and gashes she endured by trying to force her way out was too much for her battered body to handle, and she fell over, unconscious, her weight crushing the thorns before her and stabbing them even deeper into her flesh. Blood pooled on the ground below her, unseen by anyone else in the fog.</p><p></p><p>The cauchemar chose that moment to re-enter the Material Plane, positioning himself immediately behind Orchid and Alistair (and Ambrose, still perched upon his master's shoulder and keeping a look out behind them). The grackle squawked out a warning, alerting Nova, who chose to charge directly at the flaming-maned menace. The cauchemar kicked out at Nova as he approached and shorted out a cloud of smoke that encompassed both pegasus and rider, but Harlan didn't let that stop him from channeling Pelor's smiting energy through his blade and striking the black-skinned equine on the side of his neck. Ageratum started running their way, returning to invisibility as she ran with the tap of a hand upon her magic bracelet, then returning to the visible realm when she stabbed up at the unsuspecting cauchemar, driving her blade into the horse's belly and pulling it along its length for a good foot or more. The nimble halfling had just enough time to leap back and avoid being hit with the steaming intestines spilling from the cauchemar's belly, then leap back again as the creature's corpse collapsed on the ground where she'd just been standing.</p><p></p><p>Her plans of powerful spellcasting with her covey-sisters now dashed, Beryl threw a <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> spell at Chaevaris, but the elf archer dodged it with ease. Alistair fired off another <em>cone of cold</em> spell - why mess with what had worked so well thus far? - and this was enough to slay the fire giant where he stood, although he was big and bulky enough to crush the thorns beneath him completely as he toppled over. This left Beryl, the only one not imprisoned by thorns, as their only remaining foe, so Orchid dismissed her <em>wall of thorns</em> spell, which were now only acting as an obstacle to Ageratum, the only hero fighting from ground level. She also gave up concentrating on the spider swarm, realizing they weren't going to be of much use against the night hag, even as they crept her way as she was the closest living thing to their present location.</p><p></p><p>But then Chaevaris came running through the air, and she took a quick shot at Beryl's left eye and let fly with her arrow, piercing the orb and dropping the night hag dead. Ageratum went from body to body making sure everyone was dead (and dispatching those who needed a little help in leaving the mortal coil), while Orchid continued flying around until she finally located the shrine. It was a bit of a disappointment; whereas Alistair had envisioned something along the lines of a full-fledged temple, the shrine of Rheelbo turned out to be an open structure a mere 10 feet in diameter - basically, a gazebo with delusions of grandeur.</p><p></p><p>"That's it?" declared the young nobleman. "<em>That's</em> the fabled shrine of Rheelbo?"</p><p></p><p>"It is kind of underwhelming," Chaevaris admitted.</p><p></p><p>"Still, let's check it out!" replied Ageratum, and the others were soon glad she had done so, for she was able to find a hiding place where the hags stored their treasure: 4,000 pieces of gold stacked in the hollow of a magic shield made of steel, and of obvious masterwork quality. There were also a few potions of various types and an arcane scroll containing the <em>mind fog</em> spell, as Alistair ascertained with a <em>read magic</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>"Not bad," agreed Harlan as they stashed everything inside their extradimensional dwelling. "Now then, let's all get back down from this foggy mountain and back on the road, where we can all ride our mounts and actually see where we're going! It's eight hours back to the quarry and another two days of travel back to the Vale."</p><p></p><p>"We can start designing our keep on the way," Ageratum reminded the others. "I wouldn't mind a secure vault where we can stash our treasures."</p><p></p><p>"And enough bedrooms that we can each have our own room!" suggested Orchid. "Not that I'm not grateful for Chaevaris letting me share her quarters."</p><p></p><p>"And I would greatly appreciate it if it came with stables for the mounts," added Alistair. "I know it's safest for us to place the horses inside our extradimensional dwelling when we go off into battle without them, but I grow a little weary at the thought of constantly having to use <em>prestidigitation</em> spells to clean up after their...wastes."</p><p></p><p>"Good call," agreed Harlan.</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>The fog made this adventure - which took place on a Paizo fold-out map - completely different than any other we've had in the past. I'm just glad the fog ended up as bad for our foes as it was for us. And the decision for Orchid to wildshape into a dire bat, with blindsense, really ended up working in our favor.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 9337950, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 51: SHRINERS CONVENTION[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 12 Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 12 Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 12 Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 12[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Orchid, elf druid 12[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 1 May 2024 - - - The meeting with the Karkaletch stone giant clan had some surprises. First of all, the heroes hadn't expected to see so many dwarves working in the quarry among the stone giants, but in retrospect they recalled Kasselban griping about how many of his miners had been "stolen away" from him by promises of better wages. They recognized Krag Splitshriek and Blue Lichen, but hadn't anticipated seeing the giantess pregnant; by the looks of things, she likely had but a month or so before she'd be delivering another baby stone giant into the world (assuming, that is, that the giants' gestation period was similar to that of a human; none of the heroes felt it necessary to ask). And they were saddened to hear of the loss of the clan's oldest member, Calcitracia. Krag invited them inside their dwelling to hear the tales of their recent exploits. After recounting their encounter with the two fire giants and the two ogres who were seeking out the Karkaletch quarry, Krag said there was an abandoned shrine over past the next valley, a good eight hours away by foot. "It could be that's this 'shrine of Rheelbo' the fire giant was talking about," he suggested. Chaevaris projected the door to their extradimensional dwelling onto a nearby wall and entered inside to bring out the giant-sized armor and weapons they'd taken from their opponents on the road. "Careful with this one," she warned, indicating the torc bearing the agate they believed was a [i]hag's-eye[/i]. It was wrapped in a blanket so the eye wouldn't be able to "see" anything once they brought it back out of the extradimensional space and into the Material Plane. With Krag's assistance, they pried the agate out of the torc and the stone giant handled it over to Harlan for safe keeping. He placed it into an empty belt pouch, where the hags would see nothing of import should they try scrying through it. The heroes opted to spend the day with the stone giant clan to bring them up to speed on events around Ghourmand Vale and to hear what all had been transpiring there at the quarry. The next morning, though, the heroes were off to the abandoned shrine to see if it was where the hags associated with the giants were lairing. Krag thanked them again for all of the loot they'd turned over to the clan, and offered to build them a stone keep of their own in Ghourmand Vale, should they ever tire of living on the top floor of the Dark and Light Club. Harlan said they'd start working on some blueprints, then the five took off on their various mounts. It was noticeably colder this morning. The trip to the shrine was pretty much uneventful, save for the last few miles, for a thick fog covered the mountain they approached. Ambrose volunteered to try to fly up through it and returned to inform Alistair it was just as thick a mile or so up. "Seems unnatural," opined Orchid. "Very likely a [i]control weather[/i] spell in play." "Can you counter it?" asked Ageratum. "Not with the spells I have on hand today," the druid admitted. "It looks like we're stuck being able to only see about 20 feet around us at a time." "Well, we should be nearly there," Harlan observed. "According to Krag, the road turns to a switchback that leads up to the level where the shrine stands. It might be best if we were to cast our preparatory spells." Orchid led off with her traditional [i]longstrider[/i] spell and a series of [i]barkskin[/i] spells upon Orchid, Nova, and herself. Alistair cast a [i]mage armor[/i] spell upon himself and a [i]Rary's telepathic bond[/i] spell joining all five of them together in a mental mind-link. He'd developed enough as a sorcerer to join all five heroes with but a single casting of the spell. "Okay, here's my suggestion," said Orchid. "I don't like the idea of continuing on the switchback road in this fog, as the hags will likely have defenses set up. Instead, we should approach by the air - they probably won't expect that, especially in this fog. I'll wildshape into a dire bat; that'll allow be to sense objects around me at a much farther distance than vision alone will do. Alistair and Ageratum, you can ride on my back, while Chaevaris and Harlan ride Nova. As long as Nova follows directly behind me and moves where I move, he should be able to avoid flying into a cliff wall or anything." "Do you have an [i]air walk[/i] spell handy?" asked Chaevaris. "I'd like to be able to jump off Nova when the time is right without worrying about how high up I am." Orchid did have such a spell handy, and cast it upon her fellow elf. Then she cast two more spells upon the assembled group: [i]mass bear's endurance[/i] and [i]mass owl's wisdom[/i], before changing her shape from that of a comely elf maiden to that of a leather-winged bat the size of a large horse. Chaevaris opened the door to their extradimensional dwelling and ushered their horses and Shushitan inside before returning the door to her amulet. Then she allowed Harlan to pull her up into the saddle behind him. Alistair, in the meantime, had climbed upon Orchid's shoulders, his legs straddling her neck and Ambrose sitting perched beside his master's neck. The young nobleman bent over and reached a hand out to help Ageratum climb up, but she waved him away. "I'll just [i]spider climb[/i] onto her chest," the little halfling explained, activating her [i]cloak of arachnida[/i] to do just that. Then Orchid stretched out her bat-wings and took flight, Nova following immediately behind. In all of their planning, Alistair had forgotten a scheme he'd come up with: he didn't recall the details, but he was fairly certain that smashing a [i]hag's-eye[/i] had a detrimental effect upon the hag covey it belonged to, and he'd been planning on having Carruthers smash it to oblivion right before they made their assault upon the shrine. But in all the excitement of riding a dire bat through thick fog, it had completely slipped his mind - and their shield guardian was inside the extradimensional dwelling with Shushitan and the mounts, out of range for the sorcerer to give him any instructions (not that it would have mattered in any case, for the [i]hag's-eye[/i] was now out here in Harlan's belt pouch). Orchid flew forward until she sensed a cliff-face directly ahead, then - after warning everyone what she was about to do over their shared mental link - flew straight up, keeping a good 15-foot distance from the cliff face. Harlan and Chaevaris clung tight onto Nova as the celestial pegasus followed in the dire bat's wake. After about 50 feet, the cliff ended on a level plateau and Orchid repositioned herself back to horizontal movement, staying about 15 feet above the surface of the ground. She used her blindsense to its fullest, concentrating on the radar images it gave her about her immediate surroundings. Ageratum slapped at her wrist, activating her [i]bracelet of invisibility[/i]; now anyone getting close enough to the flying dire bat wouldn't see the upside-down halfling hanging from the bat's chest. Alistair, glad to no longer be flying straight up, took the opportunity to cast a [i]shield[/i] spell upon himself and Ambrose, who remained perched upon his shoulder. (To be honest, the grackle was somewhat amused at the feeling of flying through the air without having to exert any effort on his own part.) <Two beings over to the right!> Orchid reported over the [i]telepathic bond[/i]. <Ogres, by their size and shape.> <Low priority - ignore them for now,> suggested Harlan. Orchid continued flying forward, dropping down to about 10 feet above the ground. <Got something ahead - an annis, likely, from the size!> Orchid called out, them immediately began casting an [i]insect plague[/i] spell. There was the sudden buzzing of thousands of wings as a massive swarm of locusts manifested 10 feet in all directions around the annis - which, unknown to Orchid, also covered the position of a green hag on the far side of the annis, blocked from the druid's blindsense. But her enhanced hearing did pick up two distinct voices cursing the sudden presence of hungry locusts biting at their flesh. From his perch upon Nova's back, Harlan cast his senses out into the fog ahead and could sense the presence of evil, likely the ogres and annis Orchid had called out. He was too far away to see them, and the ogres were too far away to see the heroes fly by, but they heard the flapping of mighty wings heading towards the shrine, and the first ogre, [b]Hraag[/b], began climbing up an embankment to follow the sounds of the wings. It sounded like they were headed for the annis, [b]Gerty Gapgullet[/b], and Hraag knew Gerty would be quick to punish him if he failed to protect her and the others in her covey. The green hag, [b]Velma Cuttlecrop[/b], was nauseated by the locusts swarming all around her, several of them trying to get into her nostrils and mouth. "Pfaah!" she spat, staggering away from the massive swarm. "[b]Beryl![/b]" she cried. "Get out here - we need you!" Chaevaris decided it was time to head out on her own and activated her [i]ring of invisibility[/i] as she leapt off the side of Nova's back and stood in mid-air, buoyed by the [i]air walk[/i] spell Orchid had cast upon her earlier. She stalked forward through the air, well aware that by not touching the ground she was all but guaranteed to move silently as she approached, her longbow out with an arrow nocked so she could shoot as soon as she got within visual range of an enemy. Sure enough, before too long Hraag came climbing up into view, and she pivoted his way, getting a lock onto his left eye. With her blindsense still active, Orchid sensed a massive form enter within range, over by the annis. By its size and shape (and that of the massive rock it held in one hand), she surmised it was a fire giant, like the pair they had fought the previous day while on the road to the quarry. As the druid gave warning to her friends over the mental link, [b]Surtur[/b] tossed his rock at a clump of the flying locusts, squishing flat those it hit and burning up others nearby when the rock exploded upon impact into a gout of flame. The annis, swatting locusts as she went, departed from the area where they were concentrated, glad to be able to take a breath without inhaling a handful of insects. Then another figure moved into range of Orchid's blindsight: a horse the size of a small elephant. Her bat-senses were unable to pick up the light from its flaming mane and hooves, but she was able to hear the crackling of flames from that direction. The cauchemar headed over by the locusts, who by the magic of the spell which brought them forth stayed in the same general area as where they had first appeared. And Chaevaris, off on her own to the south, saw the second ogre, [b]Iraag[/b], trudge up the steep embankment out of the corner of her eye, but refused to break her concentration - or her aim - at Hraag's left eye, which was too good a target to pass up. Beryl, a night hag, manifested from the Ethereal Plane at her green hag "sister's" call. Unable to see any further than the others in the fog, she cast a [i]detect good[/i] spell and let her magically-enhanced senses tell her where there were individuals of such a nature nearby. With all of the players seemingly on the field - Orchid and Chaevaris had been updating the others over the [i]Rary's telepathic bond[/i] spell - Ageratum decided it was time to take action. Dropping from Orchid's underside, she flipped over in mid-air and landed like a cat on the ground, running over towards Hraag, stabbing at the surprised ogre with her magic short sword. Of all of the things he could have imagined coming out at him through the fog, a stab-happy halfling had been fairly low on his list. Nova veered over that way as well, allowing Harlan to lean over from the saddle and strike at Hraag with his [i]holy flaming burst longsword[/i], catching him in his broad chest and opening up a deep wound which began bleeding immediately. Then Nova delivered the final blow, a kick of a hoof just under the ogre's chin, and he collapsed backwards off the embankment, rolling to a stop at the bottom. His ragged breathing told he was still alive, but Ageratum vowed not for long, as she started sliding down the steep slope to go follow him and see to his permanent demise. Chaevaris just lowered her raised longbow and stalked through the air, seeking a different target for her arrow. Alistair had no real idea of the exact location of any of his foes, as his human vision wasn't anywhere near as good as Orchid's blindsense while in dire bat form, so he let loose with a [i]cone of cold[/i] spell in the general direction of "in front of him." After all, he'd heard there was a fire giant about, and he knew full well they were particularly susceptible to cold. His spell caught Surtur (as he had hoped), but also Iraag, the cauchemar, and - unfortunately - the locust swarms. He felt bad about "undoing" Orchid's spell, but the druid reminded him that unlike a [i]summon monster[/i] swarm, these locusts were pretty much just going to stay in place and the hags caught in their midst had already departed. Then Orchid flapped her bat-wings that much harder and gained elevation, casting her senses down below her so she could "see" as many of her foes in her radar-sense as possible. Only then did she cast a [i]wall of thorns[/i] spell, which encompassed all but Beryl the night hag, who was too far away for the druid to tell she was there. The thorns pierced through armor, clothing, and flesh with equal abandon, causing a series of surprised shrieks, curses, and moans of pain. Velma the green hag called something out in the Giant language, signaling to her covey-sisters her intentions; she had an idea of what spell they could cast to aid them, but it would take the three of them acting in harmony. But then Chaevaris got close enough to be able to see the cauchemar, its massive bulk wrapped in piercing thorns, and she rapidly aimed at its right eye, firing before it had a chance to try to move out of the way. The arrow hit the eye and split the orb down the middle, then buried itself halfway along the length of its shaft. With half an arrow protruding from its head, to Orchid's blindsense - which "saw" mostly in silhouette - it took on the appearance of a massive unicorn where before it had looked like an oversize horse. Chaevaris was now perfectly visible, but the only foes who could actually see her were imprisoned in a [i]wall of thorns[/i] spell. Surtur and Gerty were both tall enough that their heads stuck out over the top of the [i]wall of thorns[/i] trapping the rest of their bodies. The fire giant pulled his right arm up above the thorns, and it was holding another of his flaming rocks. He tossed it at Orchid, but the throw went wide - Orchid was able to "see" it with her radar in time to swerve out of its path in midair. Gerty, in the meantime, was readying to join Velma in their shared spellcasting, just as soon as Beryl was able to mesh up with them. With a frenzied whinny of pain, the cauchemar simply faded from view. As the creature was just a larger-than-normal nightmare, Chaevaris realized it had probably shunted its body out of the Material Plane and into the Ethereal, where it could move around unhampered by thorns until positioning itself where it wanted to re-enter the Material Plane once more. The archer reloaded her bow, ignoring the grunts Iraag made as he tried, without success, to extricate himself from the piercing thorns. By this time, Ageratum had made it to Hraag's unconscious form and dragged her sharp blade across his throat, slaying him instantly. Nova flapped his wings furiously and flew up along the embankment, allowing Harlan to strike Iraag through the thorns, piercing the ogre's heart and killing him instantly, leaving him to collapse, still halfway standing up as he was propped in place by the entangling thorn-branches. Alistair cast another [i]cone of cold[/i] spell, catching Surtur, Velma, Gerty, and this time Beryl as well, for Orchid had flown closer and the sorcerer was still sitting upon her shoulders. The freezing spell slew none of its victims, but by this time the annis was on her last legs, barely able to remain on her feet and stay conscious. Orchid cast a [i]summon swarm[/i] spell immediately thereafter, covering Velma and Gerty with thousands of hungry, biting spiders. The venom coursed through the Gerty's blood, weakening her even further with the arachnid poison. "Cast with me!" called out Velma in desperation, not sure if Gerty was going to be able to pull her own weight in the ritual. That, the green hag realized, was the biggest problem with a covey: having to rely upon two others to get anything truly powerful done. She brushed a score of spiders from her face in irritation, angered that their individual small size made them all but immune to the sharp thorns that punished her for her every movement. Chaevaris moved even closer to the [i]wall of thorns[/i] spell and sent an arrow whizzing into Velma's right eye, killing her before she - and the rest of the covey - were able to pull off the ritual the green hag had placed all of her hopes upon turning the tide of this battle. As she died, she cursed their [i]control weather[/i] spell that had blanketed the mountain in such thick fog - it had ended up hampering them as much as their attackers! Surtur tossed another flaming rock Chaevaris's way, but the archer merely stepped over it as it closed in on her, the [i]air walk[/i] spell being one of her personal favorites. With a gasp of effort, Gerty managed to force her way through about five feet of the thorns; freedom was now just out of reach! But the effort proved to be her undoing, for the numerous scratches and gashes she endured by trying to force her way out was too much for her battered body to handle, and she fell over, unconscious, her weight crushing the thorns before her and stabbing them even deeper into her flesh. Blood pooled on the ground below her, unseen by anyone else in the fog. The cauchemar chose that moment to re-enter the Material Plane, positioning himself immediately behind Orchid and Alistair (and Ambrose, still perched upon his master's shoulder and keeping a look out behind them). The grackle squawked out a warning, alerting Nova, who chose to charge directly at the flaming-maned menace. The cauchemar kicked out at Nova as he approached and shorted out a cloud of smoke that encompassed both pegasus and rider, but Harlan didn't let that stop him from channeling Pelor's smiting energy through his blade and striking the black-skinned equine on the side of his neck. Ageratum started running their way, returning to invisibility as she ran with the tap of a hand upon her magic bracelet, then returning to the visible realm when she stabbed up at the unsuspecting cauchemar, driving her blade into the horse's belly and pulling it along its length for a good foot or more. The nimble halfling had just enough time to leap back and avoid being hit with the steaming intestines spilling from the cauchemar's belly, then leap back again as the creature's corpse collapsed on the ground where she'd just been standing. Her plans of powerful spellcasting with her covey-sisters now dashed, Beryl threw a [i]ray of enfeeblement[/i] spell at Chaevaris, but the elf archer dodged it with ease. Alistair fired off another [i]cone of cold[/i] spell - why mess with what had worked so well thus far? - and this was enough to slay the fire giant where he stood, although he was big and bulky enough to crush the thorns beneath him completely as he toppled over. This left Beryl, the only one not imprisoned by thorns, as their only remaining foe, so Orchid dismissed her [i]wall of thorns[/i] spell, which were now only acting as an obstacle to Ageratum, the only hero fighting from ground level. She also gave up concentrating on the spider swarm, realizing they weren't going to be of much use against the night hag, even as they crept her way as she was the closest living thing to their present location. But then Chaevaris came running through the air, and she took a quick shot at Beryl's left eye and let fly with her arrow, piercing the orb and dropping the night hag dead. Ageratum went from body to body making sure everyone was dead (and dispatching those who needed a little help in leaving the mortal coil), while Orchid continued flying around until she finally located the shrine. It was a bit of a disappointment; whereas Alistair had envisioned something along the lines of a full-fledged temple, the shrine of Rheelbo turned out to be an open structure a mere 10 feet in diameter - basically, a gazebo with delusions of grandeur. "That's it?" declared the young nobleman. "[i]That's[/i] the fabled shrine of Rheelbo?" "It is kind of underwhelming," Chaevaris admitted. "Still, let's check it out!" replied Ageratum, and the others were soon glad she had done so, for she was able to find a hiding place where the hags stored their treasure: 4,000 pieces of gold stacked in the hollow of a magic shield made of steel, and of obvious masterwork quality. There were also a few potions of various types and an arcane scroll containing the [i]mind fog[/i] spell, as Alistair ascertained with a [i]read magic[/i] spell. "Not bad," agreed Harlan as they stashed everything inside their extradimensional dwelling. "Now then, let's all get back down from this foggy mountain and back on the road, where we can all ride our mounts and actually see where we're going! It's eight hours back to the quarry and another two days of travel back to the Vale." "We can start designing our keep on the way," Ageratum reminded the others. "I wouldn't mind a secure vault where we can stash our treasures." "And enough bedrooms that we can each have our own room!" suggested Orchid. "Not that I'm not grateful for Chaevaris letting me share her quarters." "And I would greatly appreciate it if it came with stables for the mounts," added Alistair. "I know it's safest for us to place the horses inside our extradimensional dwelling when we go off into battle without them, but I grow a little weary at the thought of constantly having to use [i]prestidigitation[/i] spells to clean up after their...wastes." "Good call," agreed Harlan. - - - The fog made this adventure - which took place on a Paizo fold-out map - completely different than any other we've had in the past. I'm just glad the fog ended up as bad for our foes as it was for us. And the decision for Orchid to wildshape into a dire bat, with blindsense, really ended up working in our favor. [/QUOTE]
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