"Murder, Lies and Civic Duty." a Pathfinder Campaign Journal

[GorinichSerpant]

McCrow is going to play the last Unicorn? This seems like a race practically tailored to him.

This also adds a whole new layer to unicorns only letting virgin maidens ride them.

[Grim Portent]

This also adds a whole new layer to unicorns only letting virgin maidens ride them.

I think there's a dirty joke in there somewhere... But I'm not sure if it violates forum rules...

[Kid Jake]

One of his racial drawbacks is actually that if he ever lets a non-virgin ride him (or vice versa ) he loses all supernatural abilities for 24 hours.

[Kid Jake]

Just finished a session a few hours ago and figured I'd type up what I could before conking out. We ended up completely splitting the party, so Part One here is just Kavos's mystical journey; I'll include Eadric's adventures sometime after I wake up. Hope you enjoy.

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A day has passed since the events of our last session and Kavos awakens to find Eadric practicing martial arts in his yard; his pace slow and deliberate; more meditation than actual exercise. Kavos attempts to ask him a question, but discovers that the kobold is too focused on his movements to even hear.

Figuring that Eadric can just sit this one out then, Kavos heads to his basement and stuffs Gandil's rotting and mutilated corpse in a body bag before dragging it out to the town square and shouting for all eyes to be on him.

With manly tears running down his face, Kavos loudly says "A few days ago, I had a vision that the Duke's forces were gathering in the East. I called upon The Hero of Westbank, our good friend and protector Gandil, to investigate my premonitions."

The crowd goes hushed, nobody seems to know what to say. "This morning...I recovered this." he says, sliding the bag off to reveal Gandil's corpse; missing its hands and face. The crowd gasps, a woman near the front breaks down into tears.

"These men are monsters! They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be trusted and they CANNOT be allowed to escape justice!" Kavos shouts and the crowd shouts with him.

The human mercenary Bartan shouts over the din, "I'll be taking volunteers for a militia. My partner and myself will train any man willing to defend his home!"

The crowd begins to cheer when Lark raises his hand as well. "I'm willing to teach anyone with the wit to wield a bow." the ranger offers as well.

Kavos smiles at the surge of civic spirit and wipes one of his moist eyes. "I apologize, but I'll have to leave this to you. Gandil was a close friend and....and I need some time to finish processing this tragedy."

Head bowed as he returns home to the chorus of fresh volunteers, Kavos catches Eadric finishing up his meditation. "I'm not to be disturbed." the priest says flatly; "If something comes up today, YOU handle it."

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Once alone in his locked bedroom, Kavos goes through the preparations to cast Lesser Planar Ally and within just a few minutes has a Nightmare facing him down. The infernal horse gives a haughty snort, its flaming mane making the room stiflingly hot.

"Can you understand me?" he asks, before repeating the question in Infernal.

The beast nods once.

"Good. I won't keep you long then. I need you to transport me to Hell and then you're free to go about your business." Kavos says, tossing a sack of gold before the beast. The gold goes up in a puff of smoke and it bows to allow the aging cleric onto its back.

Once Kavos is on, the creature stands and leaps towards a wall; however instead of a shower of splinters and pain the two of them land on a street of iron and brass. The air is thick with the unnatural heat and choking stench of sulfur and smoke; though the numerous inhabitants don't seem to mind.

Groups of lemure led by bearded devils, patrols of bearded devils led by erinyes or barbed devils and countless other variations march the streets in near mechanical precision. The entire flowing city is abuzz with activity and life. A thriving market square filled with strange and exotic wares lays before Kavos and he steps out of the way of a group of surly tormentors as he overhears a group of erinyes engage in a shouting match with a particularly sleazy bone devil.

Kavos looks around in stunned awe for a moment, trying not to look like such a tourist, when he realizes that he's on the 2nd Layer of Hell: Dis. Before he has enough time to fully process this; the bone devil is shouting at him; having apparently driven the erinyes away.

"A mortal! Tell me mortal, what do you want? What do you NEED? I can acquire anything you know...for the right price." the creature says temptingly; a permanent grin splitting its skeletal face.

"I have come to fully pledge myself, body and soul, to Lord Asmodeus. I doubt one such as you could be so well connected however." Kavos replies.

The bone devil steeples its slender fingers before it. "You're right. I can't get you in good with the boss...but I know someone who can."

After a moment of silent waiting, Kavos looks around expectantly, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Not to sound crass...but what's in it for me?" the devil asks. "A favor, for a favor, right? "

"Consider this very opportunity a favor, whoever you are sending me to will be very pleased. I'm sure they will award you."

The bone devil nods, amusement clear in its voice. "Well...that's something for sure. But I was thinking something a little more...immediate. The name's Cain. C-A-I-N. Remember that name. When you get out of here; you summon me and we're square, right? I've got business in your world."

"I'll see what I can do. I'm an exceedingly busy man." Kavos replies nonchalantly.

With a flick of his wrist, Cain presents a contract made of supple hide. "Sign if you please, and I'll fetch who you seek."

Kavos thoroughly looks over the agreement and it seems pretty straight forward. In a nutshell it says that regardless of ANY extenuating circumstances that Kavos will summon Cain, or arrange for him to be summoned, and turned loose onto the material plane left to his own devices within 30 days.

With a shake of his head and a groan, Kavos signs the offered contract. "You devils and your contracts. Is all this really necessary?"

"More often than not." answers a booming, monotone voice from behind Kavos.

As the aging cleric spins on his heels he discovers an ogre sized devil with massive bat-like wings; red, leathery wings and a pair of strangely casual spectacles standing in the middle of the bazaar, sipping a steaming beverage from a large white mug.

"You know what they say," the pit fiend says, staring over the rims of his glasses. "If you don't have it in writing, it didn't happen."

Kavos notices the other, lesser devils giving them a wide berth now. "I...uh...don't believe we've been introduced." he says.

"Cole." the pit fiend says, taking another bored sip. "Used to be a general, but our lord saw something more in me; so he moved me up to management. You're...uh...Kavin, right?"

"Kavos Dasgrograv, Mayor of Westbank and servant of Asmodeus. But you already know that, I'd wager. I have a feeling you already know what I want as well." Kavos says plainly.

"Yeah...about that..." Cole says, enjoying another drink of his beverage. "Asmodeus is a busy deity and weren't expecting you for a while yet. I mean...you're not due that spell for another..." glancing at a pocket watch he sucks his dagger-like teeth, "...month or so at least. So we're gonna need you to go ahead and just, go back. M'kay? Just head back until we call for you and we'll let you know when we're ready."

"I might not HAVE another month Cole. I need power, as much as I can possibly obtain if I'm expected to survive what's coming my way." Kavos presses forcefully.

Cole takes another sip, Cole nods slowly. "Well, things do have a way of getting worse before they get better. Tell you what, you know Asmodeus's motto: He helps those who help themselves. Well, the rest of Hell is a little less picky; most are willing to help those willing to pay...so I'd start there."

"That's is? I come to pledge myself and request aid and you recommend I hire mercenaries?" Kavos asks incredulously. "I have..an army of men out for my blood and now some mysterious figure is leisurely strolling my way; apparently seeking my head. I have enemies I don't even know of Cole, what am I supposed to do?" he asks, a note of potential panic slipping into his voice.

"This figure, he got a bit 8 on him?" the bone devil asks.

"Yes...oddly enough." Kavos responds. "Two of them in fact, on his forearms."

"See, I knew you could work it out." Cole says and pats Kavos on the back. By the time the cleric's turned around however, the pit fiend has disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

"I heard as much from Hezrael." the bone devil says gleefully. "I know of this man who seeks you, and the others who will follow. Mercenaries, and highly paid." Cain gloats. "Eight men who wage constant war for fun and profit."

"What's so special about these men?" Kavos asks.

"Most cannot truly said to be men at all, least not anymore." Cain replies. "They are skilled and well tested; I've heard of them from the lips of the dead, new souls appear daily who owe their damnation to these 8."

"To whom do they pray?" Kavos asks, hoping to find some common ground with them.

Cain laughs. "One offers prayers to old One Eye, the rest worship the three gods of all men; Platinum, Gold and Silver.

"How do I defeat them?" Kavos asks, cutting to the chase.

Cain begins to speak and then stops, his damnable smile gloating as he feigns a gasp. "THAT is the question my friend, isn't it? The first bit is free, now...what's in it for me?"

Kavos gives the devil a nasty glare. "It would be a shame if this mercenary were to kill me before I could honor our first contract..."

"It would!" Cain agrees earnestly. "You know, we take our contracts quite seriously in Hell; I mean if you can't be bothered to keep your word, then you certainly can't be trusted with any responsibility; right? Mind taking another look at our contract?"

With a finger on the part that reads "Despite ANY extenuating circumstances", Cain clucks his tongue at Kavos disapprovingly.

"Death is an extenuating circumstance, and normally a damned good one." Cain says, "But I do believe it falls under the purview of ANY and as such doesn't absolve you of your legal duties. This is the kind of thing that could hang around your neck for, well...ever."

"Help me, help you Cain." Kavos says exasperatedly.

With a sympathetic sigh, Cain nods his agreement. "Fine, but you owe me a favor." Scribbling a hasty map of the city, the bone devil presses it into Kavos's palm. "Barque is a fine soldier with good men under him. Go here and tell him that I sent you; he can provide you with the reinforcements that you seek."

Muttering his thanks, Kavos follows the directions almost to the other side of the sprawling city, to a courtyard where a bearded devil is shouting at a pack of two dozen Lemure so hard and illegibly that he's turned completely red in the face.

Kavos watches as the bearded devil takes a moment to catch his breath before flying off the deep end again and kicking one of the lemure over, it whines pitifully but this only seems to enrage its attacker further. "NO WONDER you idiots are still lemure. Do you see these? Huh!? See these?" the bearded devil says, pointing at his legs. "These are for people that KNOW HOW TO DO THEIR JOB! I ONLY WISH YOU STUPID LUMPS OF FLESH HAD SOME, SO I COULD PERSONALLY BREAK THEM!!!" the devil screeches, flexing his hands in the universal sign for wanting to strangle something.

"Barque?" Kavos says, questioningly.

The bearded devil spins on its heels. "What do you want, can't you seem I'm busy?" he growls; kicking a second lemure so hard it temporarily loses its shape in order to emphasise his point.

"Obviously." Kavos replies. "But Cain sent me."

A look of relief suddenly washes over Barque's face. "Praise Asmodeus." the wrathful devil shouts. "Here I thought the skull faced bastard was just a cheat. How many did you bring?"

Kavos looks around before responding. "I'm alone...were you expecting something else?"

Barque collapses in disappointment, landing on one of his mistreated lemure. The creature whines a little louder than usual, but doesn't seem inclined to try and dislodge him. "He promised me reinforcements. I'm due on the front lines in a matter of weeks, and all I've got are..."

Barque motions towards the lemure and it seems that one of them found an unattended sword somewhere; it slowly, and seemingly completely by accident, impales one of its fellows. They both begin whining and attempting to slip away from each other, but it forgets to turn loose of the sword and they're stuck fast.

"There has to be some mistake, he told me that you could provide reinforcements." Kavos says, shaking his head.

"That son of a bitch..." Barque replies, messaging his temples. "That's the same thing he did to me. Sent me and my men to meet some cornugon by the name of Wick; said that he'd be able to give us an edge before we shipped out. Instead, my men were conscripted as errand boys and I was left with nothing but our lemure."

"I guess you won't be much help after all then, would you?" Kavos says with a sigh.

Barque leaps up. "Look guy, I'm desperate here. I don't want to go to the front lines and die alone; help me get my men back and I'll owe you one, eh?"

Kavos laughs. "I'm a mere mortal in a land of devils. What do you think I can do?"

Barque scratches his head. "Look, you might be a mortal; but you can step between the planes. I'll admit that I don't know exactly what that means, but I know it means you're worth knowing. You help me out and I'll help you, eh?" the devil says, a pleading note in his voice.

Kavos thinks for a moment and then nods. "I'll help you Barque. When's your deadline?"

"Six weeks." Barque replies immediately.

Kavos figures that leaves him plenty of time. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. If I think of anything, I'll summon you."


Once Kavos slips away from the conned barbazu he makes his way back to the market square to settle up with Cain and prove once and for all that the mayor of Westbank is not to be taken lightly.

Kavos is more than a little perturbed to discover that Cain seemed to have packed up his stall and left while he was running that little errand and is irritated to realize he doesn't have a Plan B for finding him before going home.

"Heard you been wheelin' and dealin' boss." a familiar gravelly voice calls out from nearby.

Kavos spins to face it and watches the imp Hezrael flutter down to perch on a nearby stall.

"If you can call it that." Kavos grumbles. "Devils are a nitpicky bunch."

"There ain't much to do down here other'n try to screw each other over and kiss ass." Hezrael admits.

"So what's your deal?" Kavos asks conversationally. "What swindles are you running?"

Hezrael shrugs. "I try not to get involved in shady business boss. Life's too long to make lasting enemies; I prefer honest work for honest pay. Might not get rich, but the likelihood of getting shanked for it's pretty low."

"Honest work, eh... You want a job?" Kavos asks. "What would it take to add you to the payroll?"

"I want power boss." Hezrael admits. "Ain't much room for glory or advancement for an imp that keeps his head down, but a big score from your world? That could move me up the pecking order."

"Sounds good." Kavos agrees. "Name your terms."

With a flick of his wrist, Hezrael present Kavos with a short and simple employment contract:


"Hezrael has entered into a period of servitude to the priest Kavos; which shall last a period of 50 years or until Kavos's heart ceases to beat. Whichever comes first.
In return for dutiful service, Hezrael is entitled to recompense in the form of a single article of his choosing among the spoils, treasures or favors among Kavos's possession at the time their agreement ends."

Kavos nods and signs, finding the terms agreeable.

"Not that I don't trust ya boss." the imp says. "But you know what they say about havin' it in writing."

After picking up a souvenir obsidian pentagram from the market, Kavos and Hezrael find a nice quiet alley to return home in. With a word of prayer, Kavos casts Dismissal on himself.

He looks around and discovers that he's standing a world of flame and darkness. At first he thinks the spell failed and he's still in Hell; that is until he hears the bestial growls and notices the bulky shadows flicker along the edge of his vision.

Turning around, he spots a 12ft tall humanoid bathed in flame; sporting a set of bull-like horns and leathery wings. That's when it clicks for Kavos, it's not Hell; it's the Abyss. And that? That's a Balor.

The creature raises its arm, a flaming whip held in its hand and brings it down with a savage roar, meaning to strip flesh from bone and limb from limb; however by the time the whip comes down, Kavos has hit himself with his second (and last) Dismissal and finds himself standing in his room once again; a smugly amused Hezrael perched next to him.

[wobner]

i have to ask, is this all improv? or did you know this was kavos intentions for this session? i didn't get anything from the last session that said this was the likely route he was going to take(although you have been known to leave stuff out, and i definitely have been known to completely miss things) have to reread just to check.

[Kid Jake]

Like 90%. He was good enough to warn me a day or two in advance that he'd like to enter the Diabolist prestige class and wanted to RP getting his Imp familiar but I was expecting like a 10 minute detour and then off to the rest of the session. Except for a list of cool sounding names and the kind of devil I could see them going with, just in case it came up, I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants.

[jguy]

I have a feeling that the Imps choice of possession of Kavos will be his soul.

[Kid Jake]

You think way, way too small.

[Demidos]

Is Kavos' player just roleplaying or did he seriously see nothing wrong with signing TWO contracts with devils within the span of a single session, especially after the first went sour?

...And even if he was roleplaying, Kavos strikes me as rather cleverer than that....

[Kid Jake]

Part of it might be that Hell is like Vegas: You objectively know that it's a bad idea to hit the roulette wheel/sign a contract while you're there; but dammit, when's the next time you're going to be out this way? You only live once.

The rest might have something to do with Kavos's player admitting that he'd been working on a paper for the last 32 hours straight and wasn't entirely on the ball.

[Kid Jake]

Alright, I finally finished typing up the other side of the campaign. We did this over Roll20 and basically the entire session was sent through simultaneous private messages; so neither side knows what the other was up to...until the read the journal anyway.

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No sooner does Kavos shut his door than Eadric decides that Westbank is boring and stupid and not worth wasting a day watching over. After telling Lark to make sure that Kavos isn't disturbed, the kobold leaps upon his dragon's back and orders Ro'than'dur into the sky.

For a couple of hours the two of them drift lazily through the air without direction; Ro'than'dur enjoying the feel of the wind against his face and Eadric just taking the time to get the hang of directing his new mount.

Eadric inquires as to how familiar his reluctant partner is with the surrounding area and Ro'than'dur admits that he rarely ventured beyond his meagre territory; unsure of what slew the rest of his kind but uneager to face it before he was more confident.

With a grin, Eadric asks the dragon how his kind feel about unicorns.

"I've never known another of my kind, nor a unicorn to my knowledge." Ro'than'dur replies. "Though I suspect they're as agreeable as any other creature, once they're in your gullet."

Wanting to get a better sense of what he's gotten himself into, Eadric guides the dragon towards the unicorn's grove; passing easily through the treetops due to the dragon's natural affinity for the forest.

Eadric and the dragon crash into the grove itself, startling a handful of wolves and bears lazily napping in the warm sunlight. One of the wolves leaps up upon finding unexpected visitors in this sacred place and launches itself into the underbrush immediately.

The rest of the animals split their attention between the kobold and glaring dragon and a tense standoff ensues for the better part of fifteen minutes. Finally, the unicorn lumbers out from the forest along with its usual retinue of wolves.

"Dragon whelp." the unicorn says, by way of greeting. "Why do you bring this creature into our home?" it demands, staring Ro'than'dur down.

"The same reason you bring wolves to our meetings." Eadric says, sticking close to his scaly protector. "A demonstration of power to ensure respect."

"A poor demonstration." the unicorn replies, lumbering forward. "We have crushed dragons before; if called upon we can do so again."

Ro'than'dur growls savagely and flares his wings to appear more intimidating, however the unicorn simply snorts derisively. While the dragon has the lean, coiled look of a predator; the unicorn has enough bulk and faded scars to confirm it's noone's prey.

"Easy Ro'than'dur," Eadric says. "I seek knowledge unicorn, nothing more. I wish to know more of my allies; what little I am aware of...disturbs me."

"Ask your questions dragon whelp." the unicorn demands.

"The man Kavos has made cryptic remarks considering the town's sheriff and the mage Rambalt collects the corpses of his own kind. What kind of men have I tossed my lot in with?" Eadric asks.

"Weak and soft, as all men." the unicorn retorts. "The manflesh is agreeable enough when properly motivated, but the mage's stench still haunts our domain. We have seen its abominations...and are unimpressed."

Eadric considers the unicorn's words and quickly remounts Ro'than'dur.

"I appreciate your time." the kobold calls out, as he and his mount take to the air once more; leaving the grove once again.




"What do you think, Ro'than'dur, could you take him?" Eadric asks, now that the dragon's seen what they may be up against.

"I would surely like the chance to try." Ro'than'dur snarls. "Though...it doesn't smell like prey."

Eadric tilts his head, "What does it smell like then?"

"Blood." the dragon responds. "Man's blood, beast's blood...something else I don't recognize. It isn't just a horse..."

"Don't get too worked up yet Ro." Eadric calls out. "We're just weighing just weighing our options at the moment."

Drifting through the clouds in silence once more, Eadric has an amusing idea as to how they can spend their day.

"Set down near there." he calls to his mount, pointing at what seems to be just another stand of trees in a forest filled with miles and miles of the stuff. To most eyes, the land would appear overgrown and empty; though as Eadric personally knows, his people make their home just below the surface.

Eadric orders Ro'than'dur to roar as loud as he can manage to alert them to their presence and the dragon obliges; rattling leaves off the trees with the sheer volume of his voice. After a moment or two passes without anything to show for his effort, he does it again.

It's several more minutes before Eadric finallys notices a pair very nervous kobold snouts, sticking out of a nearby bush. They both squeak in surprise and fear when they realize they've been made. One bolts back inside the safety of their home, however the second simply stares open mouthed at the dragon before him, before noticing Eadric next to it.

"N-nihilux?" it stammers. "That you Nihilux?"

"I don't go by that name any longer." Eadric says dangerously, "Nihilux was a filthy, uneducated fool; much like yourself Erwick. He is dead and will NEVER return if I have a say in it. Eadric however HAS returned and brought with him the mighty Ro'than'dur! King of the skies and last of his line."

The kobold stares back at him, obviously confused. "So....you not Ni-"

"Yes. I'm Nihilux and I brought a dragon." Eadric says irritably, remembering why he left these imbeciles in the dirt. "Go get everybody, I want to show them."

"Oh...Yaldin not like that. Yaldin not like that AT ALL." Erwick says, scrambling back inside. Eadric stands cross armed, waiting for the entire warren to come out and behold their new deity, however instead he comes face to face with the chieftain Yaldin.

Now it had been a number of years since Eadric had left and Yaldin was still a young upstart back then; bigger and stupider than the rest of his kind with an emphasis on the bigger, however Eadric is still unprepared for what he sees.

Yaldin is absolute massive, by kobold standards, nearly as large and thick as a dwarf with finely sharpened teeth and a man sized axe strapped to his back. "Take dragon. Go." the brutish chieftain demands.

"Always a pleasure Yaldin." Eadric says, relieved at least to see that he's not grown any sharper. "I see that you've been doing well for yourself."

"No need Nihilux. No need dragon!" Yaldin growls. "Fire God bigger than old gods!"

"Fire God?" Eadric asks, raising a brow. "What makes this 'Fire God' of yours superior to a flesh and blood dragon Yaldin?"

Yaldin smiles smughly and puffs out his chest. "Dragons all die. Fire God lives! Fire God live here now, dragon goes away!"

Glancing at Ro'than'dur, Eadric asks "Know anything about a Fire God Ro?"

The dragon shakes its head. "Knowing your kind, he probably found an old lantern somewhere and prescribed divine significance to it."

Ignoring the insult, Eadric returns his attention to Yaldin. "May I see this Fire God Yaldin, so that I might bask in his magnificence with the rest of my brothers and sisters?"

Yaldin suddenly seems less sure of himself. "Umm...no. No... Fire God is sleeping now...we no wake him."

"This is ridiculous. I challenge your Fire God against MY dragon Yaldin. Winner rules the tribe." Eadric shouts. "If your god can't be bothered to defend his own name, then what use is he?"

"He no need defend name. He have me." Yaldin says proudly.

Eadric laughs. "Fine then, I accept your challenge. Gather the tribe so that they may see me cast you and your false idol down."

Yaldin nods and turns around as if to do as he's bid, however instead he spins around with his axe held in both hands and a bloodthirsty howl in his throat; Eadric tilts his head back just quick enough to avoid having it taken off his shoulders and responds by lashing out with a a front kick of his own, which Yaldin brings his axe back just in time to block, but is staggered backwards.

"If that's how you want it Yaldin, we'll settle this with the Old Ways." Eadric says, assuming a martial arts stance.

"Let's do it." Yaldin says with a toothy grin, hefting his axe up in a defensive posture and leaping back into his bush; disappearing form sight. Eadric can hear the chieftain screaming for his guards the whole way.

With a sigh, Eadric remembers why he's always hated the Old Ways.

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Eadric leaps down after the cowardly Yaldin and lands, striking a dramatic pose for any potential onlookers. He hears a sudden *click* and looks up just in time for an 80lb stone block to swing directly into his chest, tossing him off his feet and knocking the wind out of him.

As the injured kobold rolls to his feet a group of four spear wielding warriors emerge from a side tunnel and all attempt to stab him. He dodges and weaves past their attacks and leaps into the air, delivering a powerful donkey kick into the chest of one warrior and launching himself in a devastating Falcon Punch into the face of a second. They both collapse without so much as a squeak and the remaining warriors flee screaming down two separate passages.

Still rubbing his bruised chest, Eadric drinks an Invisibility extract and slips down the eastern tunnel after one of the fleeing kobolds; he manages to find the irritating creature waiting patiently by a false column meant to bring the whole roof down on the heads of intruders. Slipping behind the devious little monster, Eadric grabs the kobold in a chokehold and puts him to sleep before continuing along his way, his invisibility spent.

Turning the corner he's ambushed by a pair of kobold spearmen and an elderly wiseman, one of the spearmen pierces Eadric's side painfully, but he manages to dodge the second attack. Now bloody and bruised, Eadric leaps into the air performs a split kick; knocking them both out cold and landing before the wiseman who takes a deep breath and unleashes an ear-splitting scream which disorients Eadric for a moment and makes his ears bleed. Before the sorcerer can open his mouth for a second attempt however, Eadric punches him in the throat and shuts him up.

Warriors begin rushing from the west, behind Eadric, and he presses on further into the tunnel; running face first into a pair of crossbowmen who seem to have been waiting for him. Only one bolt hits and it barely nicks him, however every scratch and bump slows him down that much more.

Eadric finally takes note of how many warriors are rushing from the west, counting eight among them, and quickly darts to the south and into yet another tunnel, just in time to see a squad of four more warriors and another sorcerous wiseman cutting off his retreat.

Doubling back the way he came, Eadric dodges a pair of crossbow bolts and most of the attempts to stab him, but is backed into a corner by the throng of soldiers. He unleashes his newly acquired acid breath and eight kobolds, along with their weapons and armor are reduced to little more than gooey slag.

Before he has the chance to catch his breath, the crossbowmen have each pelted him with another bolt and the squad of soldiers and the sorcerer emerge from their tunnel and a pair of dire weasels accompanied by four more spearmen rush from the western tunnel.

Eadric assumes a stance and goes on the defensive, however the sorcerer mutters something and the floor is covered in a thick layer of grease. Despite Eadric's insane Reflex save, he somehow manages to trip and fall on his ass.

The soldiers move in to take advantage of his prone status and several more bleeding wounds appear in his side. The kobold staggers to his feet, eating several AoO's and tries to back away; tripping and falling once more.

One of the dire weasels manage to slip through the crowd of stabhappy warriors and latches onto Eadric's leg painfully. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he snatches a vial from his belt and upends it into his open mouth and takes a deep breath.

The crossbowmen and warriors in the back only manage to see a burst of flame envelop half the combatants and Eadric emerge from the ashes. The remaining 4 spearmen charge the waiting Eadric and the first two receive broken ribs from a savage snap kick.

Eadric flips away from the rest of them and lands next to the sorcerer. The spearmen charge, however he sidesteps their attacks and when the sorcerer begins muttering the words of his spell, Eadric breaks his jaw with a quick punch.

The remaining dire weasel charges into the fray while Eadric is distracted and attempts to latch onto one of the kobold's flailing arms, distracting him enough for the spearfighters to back out of range and allow the crossbowmen another shot.

One bolt flies wide, the other crits and embeds itself painfully in Eadric's shoulder; dropping his health below the halfway point as he finally shakes off the weasel and tumbles over to the spearmen.

Eadric attempts to take them both out with a roundhouse kick. The first is struck in the face and knocked to the floor unconscious, the second ducks under the kick and responds by stabbing Eadric in the side.

Eadric snarls and prepares to knock him out, when he hears yet MORE spearmen marching from the south. Instead, the wily martial artist vaults over the warrior's head and pins the kobold's speararm behind its back; wrapping arm arm around the warrior's neck and shouting that if anyone moves he'll kill him.

The crossbowmen exchange glances and the approaching squad shuffle forward slowly, Eadric realizes that he's only bought himself a handful of seconds and begins inching back down the western tunnel; hostage in tow. However as he begins to pass a north facing side tunnel, a massive axe buries itself in his side.

With a pained shout, Eadric snaps his hostage's neck and spins to face Yaldin's ambush, managing to land a kick square in the chieftain's chest and knocking the breath from the burly kobold.

Now bleeding profusely, Eadric dodges a second attack from the increasingly enrage Yaldin as well as another attempted bite from the dire weasel. With a skillfully executed snap kick, Eadric manages to knock the weasel out cold and land a blow against Yaldin's side.

Yaldin responds with a rage backed Power Attack and manages to connect, dropping Eadric down to just barely above single digit HP. Eadric leaps into the air and delivers a devastating dropkick directly into Yaldin's chest which shatters bone and sends the chief tumbling head over heels backwards.

He prepares to finish Yaldin off, when a pair of bolts whiz past his head and another squad of guards come rushing from the north tunnel.

Glancing around and figuring that he's more or less cornered at this point, Eadric abandons Yaldin and charges to the east at full speed; directly at the reloading crossbowmen. He notices one of them smile and realizes at the last second that he's played into their hands...or rather, nearly did.

He leaps with everything he's worth, only noticing the tightly drawn razorwire AFTER he's cleared it and extends both arms; clotheslining both crossbowmen so hard he snaps their necks outright.

The remaining warriors surge towards him with a heroic battlecry and with an irritable growl, Eadric takes a deep breath exhales another gout of flame into their midst; setting a good number of them on fire and reducing them to charred husks.

The handful of warriors which remain, look at each other; look at Eadric; realize that Yaldin has abandoned them and to a man drop their spears, raising their hands.

"We done. No fight, we done." one of them offers helpfully.

Eadric pants, his eyes dancing wildly as he downs a a CLW extract. "How do I know I can trust you?" he demands.

The same one glances around, then back at Eadric and replies "Cause...we done."

"You recognize ME as the strongest then?" Eadric asks.

They all nod in absolute agreement. "Oh yep. Nihilux is chief now; Yaldin cut and run."

"Well..." Eadric says, wiping blood from his mouth. "Messier than I would have liked, but mission accomplished..." he says, glancing around at the numerous dead and injured among the forces he came to recruit. "I guess..."

Pointing at one of the warriors he shouts "You! Round everybody up and herd them topside, there's something I want you to see."

It doesn't take long for the forest to fill with the gawking faces of kobold; all awed at the sight of a real dragon, even one as young and inexperienced as Ro'than'dur. Half of the population drop to one knee reverently, the rest are too distracted by all the sunshine and fresh air to do much more than huddle together for safety and glance longingly at their little hole in the ground.

"As you can see, THIS is a true god." Eadric shouts. "Mighty and visible! HE deserves your piety...and he serves me." the kobold says, to the gasps of his assembled kin. "Now, somebody show me to this false idol of Yaldin's. SHOW ME the weak and ineffectual Fire God so that I may strike it down!"

The kobolds chatter nervously among themselves, and Erwick steps out of the crowd. "I show you..." he mutters, leading Eadric through the warrens and into Yaldin's private quarters. Eadric recognizes the Fire God immediately upon entering.

A reddened brass statue, resembling a mighty dwarf with flames replacing the hair and beard stands here emitting tremendous heat. Eadric reaches out to touch it and immediately pulls his hand back in pain. He looks at the forming blister in amazement and then turns to face Erwick with open mouthed awe.

"Does it speak?" Eadric asks.

Erwick nods. "The Fire God whispers, but only to Yaldin. We can't hear, but Yaldin....Yaldin knows..."

He pulls upon his impressive reportoire of knowledge for what this might be, but comes up empty. It appears to resemble an Azer, from the elemental plane of fire, but that explains very little.

Questions swimming in his mind, Eadric decides against smashing such an intriguing find in a display of bravado and instead orders Yaldin's quarters sealed up. Any kobold that even attempts to go near the room is to be executed as a warning to the others.

Returning to the surface, Eadric calls for everyone's attention. He explains that Ro'than'dur will stay to govern and protect them, however he must return to the human settlement of Westbank and confer with his associates.

Ro'than'dur is a little put out to be abandoned like this, but Eadric explains that kobold society isn't exactly stable; he explains how he had to kill a sizable chunk of the population just to get their attention and that he doesn't feel like doing THAT again. Ro'than'dur growls and barks at a group of kobolds to start widening the entrance because he's NOT sleeping outside.

They leap to do as they're bid and the dragon smiles.

Eadric assures Ro'than'dur that this is only temporary, assures the kobolds that he intends on bringing them into a new age of prosperity and assures Erwick that he will personally break his legs if anybody touches the Fire God while he's gone. With mixed emotions all around, Eadric sets out on the long walk home.

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Kavos finds himself in the home of his youth, only...different. Twisted and more sinister than he remembers; with more doors than he remembers, leading to rooms he never visited. He hears a voice calling him into a cellar he doesn't remember having, a voice that he cannot ignore.

Entering the cellar, Kavos is relieved to find it empty. Just an old dirt floor and low, wooden walls. Looking down, he notices a large 8 drawn in the dirt of the floor. It's strange, he feels like he should recognize that number for some reason. Looking around, he realizes why; it's on the walls...every few steps is a new one in fact.

Glancing around nervously, the number is everywhere; he moves go back upstairs when he realizes he isn't in his nonexistent childhood cellar, but the Duke's dungeon. His hands and feet are chained and his body is covered in scars and burns from the Duke's interrogators.

He starts to scream wordlessly, when an inhumanly monotone voice admonishes him for forgetting his station. He's the Mayor of Westbank for the gods' sake.

Kavos's head whips around feverishly, trying to spot the source of the voice when he finds it standing directly in front of him. A horrible abomination with rubbery, purple skin and sall slits for eyes; a quartet of thick, three foot long tentacles extend from the creature's face and viscous saliva drips from its horrible concealed mouth. Upon its bloated forehead is a single notable mark: a simple 8.

Kavos feels the things tendrils digging painfully into the flesh of his throat as he feels his very life being slowly squeezed from him. Kavos thrashes to the best of his ability, trying to free himself of the inhuman monster attempting to devour his mind.

He chokes and sputters as he attempts to pull away until finally, he slams face forward onto his bedroom floor; his covers dragged from the bed with him. He finds that he's painfully short of breath, but try as he might he can't take more than the tiniest gulp of air.

He staggers to his feet in the pitch black room and lights a candle to find his way around. As he stumbles, still half asleep, towards the mirror he realizes it was only a dream; he's all alone in a familiar room and yet...

As he glances in the mirror he has to ask himself: If it was all a simple dream...where did the thick bruises around his throat come from?

[GorinichSerpant]

Wow, I have no comment about this other then how amazed I am at how you pulled this off.

[Kid Jake]

It was a helluva juggling act, pretty sure I mixed them up a time or two but as Kavos said "I stopped reading when I saw something about the unicorn. Assuming he's not in Hell right?"

It was kind of funny, because right after he saw Unicorn; Eadric's player asked me to roll a bunch of dice. He told me later than Kavos was convinced that the unicorn had killed him again.

[Afool]

I have a feeling that the Imps choice of possession of Kavos will be his soul.

You think way, way too small.

:does math:

(<1 year to become Mayor of Westbank*PC efficiency for conquest*Dukely interactions)+(Diabolist prestige class (of Asmodeus)*PC efficiency for climbing up the latter)= Pit Fiend

Or something like that.

Little dude's expressed interest in climbing up the diabolical ladder, and you can't get much higher than a Pit Fiend. Well you CAN, but you can generally get to those places some time after BECOMING a Pit Fiend. Or betraying major orders of evil/good/neutrality. Or some other thing. But yeah, what's one soul compared to Imploding people as a standard action?

:research: Okay apparently they can't do that in Pathfinder.

Still, 20 hit dice and a yearly wish.

[Steckie]

If the imp has worded his contract in the right way he could perhaps argue that Westbank is owned by Kavos and will claim the whole town (or province if Kavos does things right) when the priest dies.

[Bad Wolf]

Does Kavos own his cleric casting?

[Afool]

Does Kavos own his cleric casting?

I believe that's Asmodeus's property. The whole "source of the power" thing.

[Kid Jake]

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If things go the way I assume they're going to go, Kavos will most likely seize control of the country before the campaign is over. When that happens then obviously the most valuable treasure that Kavos will have accumulated during his time as Hezrael's master will be 'His Kingdom'.

[Grim Portent]

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If things go the way I assume they're going to go, Kavos will most likely seize control of the country before the campaign is over. When that happens then obviously the most valuable treasure that Kavos will have accumulated during his time as Hezrael's master will be 'His Kingdom'.

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Earlier I was thinking it would be 'His Throne.'

[Kid Jake]

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Earlier I was thinking it would be 'His Throne.'

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That'd probably be a better wording.

[The Bandicoot]

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That'd probably be a better wording.

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Sure, sure, you can have my throne. *gives the imp his actual throne and buys another one*

[Kid Jake]

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Sure, sure, you can have my throne. *gives the imp his actual throne and buys another one*

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Maybe I'll stick with Kingdom after all.

[Malcador]

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Maybe I'll stick with Kingdom after all.

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What's an imp going to do with a kingdom? A king is only a king if enough people think he is, and nobody's going to recognize an imp as king. Also, what if Kavos dies penniless? He could give away all of his stuff, resign or abdicate from any positions of power, forgive all debts, etc. Then he would have nothing the imp would want.

[Kid Jake]

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What's an imp going to do with a kingdom? A king is only a king if enough people think he is, and nobody's going to recognize an imp as king. Also, what if Kavos dies penniless? He could give away all of his stuff, resign or abdicate from any positions of power, forgive all debts, etc. Then he would have nothing the imp would want.

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Plunder everything worth a damn in the magical armory before the people can revolt? Transfer ownership to another entity in exchange for something he CAN use? Impersonate Kavos through a series of wacky illusions and rule in his stead? That's off the top of my head. I doubt if it comes up before the end game regardless of what his ultimate plan is.

If Kavos bites it while he's destitute then Hezrael is no better off than he started; no worse either really since he at least got to spend some time out of Hell. But I can pretty much guarantee that he's not going to suddenly just give away everything of any importance he owns out of spite and if for some reason he does, then Hezrael played a long shot and lost. Still better than not playing at all.

[Kid Jake]

Alright, so we just finished another session last night. They decided to split the party and do their own thing again for the majority of the session, but we got it back together near the end.

Lemme know what you think.

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It's been two days since the events of our last session and Kavos has spent the time capturing local ghouls and sacrificing them in Barque's name. Whatever's left of their souls going to bolster his fiendish ally.

Bartan, Rutgard and Lark have followed through with their promise and have a militia of roughly 30 good men standing by to assist the town. They're still only in training, but they're enthusiastic.

Eadric has spent this time trying to figure out the mystery of the Fire God; but so far all he's found are interesting facts about Azer. Such as: Azer like brass. Azer don't like efreeti. Azer burn things.... It's been less than enlightening, and nothing tells him what the object is doing on this plane; let alone what it could be.

Eadric's finally fed up and goes to Rambalt to demand the bookish mage move in with the kobolds and study the thing first hand...that is until he sees what Rambalt's working on. A pair of roughly mansized effigies with reptilian features and large, vicious talons. They're made of iron, wood and leather. Eadric realizes he's heard of these things before, they supposedly haunt the southern jungles...he believes they're called velociraptors.

Eadric actually gasps and rushes over, running his hands over the mechanical creatures.

Rambalt smiles "Always glad when somebody appreciates my work." he says, wiping his brow as he lays down the unfinished leg of a third effigy. "I wanted to experiment with this model before I moved on to the more complicated and dangerous varieties."

"What are these for?" Eadric asks, lost in his own little world.

"Hopefully to supplement our defenses." Rambalt replies. "A few dozen of these would give us a squad of infantry that could outpace cavalry. They're as strong and fast as the beasts they mimic, but not so hearty...luckily, they're relatively simple to replace if need be."

Eadric stares at the effigies in wonderment. "Rambalt...forget what I said, you stay here. I'll go study the idol. Just keep working!" the little kobold nearly shouts, sweeping an armful of books related to the planes into a sack and taking off for the warrens without further warning.

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Kavos calls the imp Hezrael into his room and asks about his relationship to the bone devil Cain. Hezrael explains that their relationship pretty much revolved around Hezrael passing him rumors and gossip for a paycheck.

"He wants to come to the material plane." Kavos says. "Any idea why?"

The imp shrugs. "He does that every now and then. I guess he's collecting on debts or trying to make a deal. I can guarantee it's gonna ruin SOMEBODY's day boss."

Kavos suggests that Hezrael use his 1/week Commune ability to contact Cain and make sure THEIR day isn't going to be the one to get ruined.

Hezrael nods and presses a finger to his ear. After a second or two Kavos hears him ask "So, Cain..I hear you're coming to the Material Plane pretty soon. I'm assuming you've heard about my new partnership, just wanted to make sure we don't have anything to look out for." Hezrael gives Kavos a silent thumbs up. "Uh-huh... Well who does?"

"Uh-huh..." Hezrael mutters, looking at Kavos he asks "Hey boss, you know anyone in Dera Morea?"

Kavos shakes his head. "I don't know anyone in the desert...that I know of." Kavos replies. The destination doesn't surprise Kavos however, pretty much the only people that live in Dera Morea are the outlaws and lunatics that were driven from 'civilized' lands.

Hezrael nods and flashes another thumbs up. "Well how long is that going to take? Uh-huh... Well, while you're here why don't you keep an eye out for our thing, 'eh?" the imp asks, before realizing how little time he has left "Ok...ok, I gotta go." Hezrael says quickly as his Communion finally ends.

Looking up at Kavos, Hezrael explains "Some poor schmuck in the desert thinks going lich is a valid alternative to paying his dues. Cain disagrees. Wants to go out there and collect personally."

Not an unreasonable request; all things considered, Kavos thinks to himself. "I can see his urgency. I'll make arrangements for tomorrow." he tells the imp.

"Be careful around him boss. He's quick to deal, but won't part with anything more than he has to." Hezrael warns.

Kavos smiles. "The same can be said of me."

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Eadric arrives at the warren early the next day. The guards all bow and scrape before him as he makes his way into the former chieftain's hall which now holds the young green dragon Ro'than'dur. Eadric's forced blood brother lounges languidly as kobolds rush around nervously, tending to his every desire.

With more than a little disgust for his kind's...well everything, Eadric asks "Ro'than'dur...how would you like the claim the warren as your own? You lead them, instead of me."

The dragon almost purrs as his frightened servants continue to pamper him. "I could see that. It is the natural order of things after all."

"See?" Eadric asks. "Blood rituals aside, this partnership actually has its benefits."

Ro'than'dur snorts. "There are some." he reluctantly agrees.

With a truly half-assed speech, Eadric explains that the kobolds now directly serve their new deity with no mouthpieces to muddle his edicts. Eadric leaves out that he considers them nothing but disgusting savages and can't stand the sight of them.

Despite renouncing his official station, the kobolds remain respectful of Eadric; considering he beat a fair number of them half to death or better. The ones set to guard the Fire God proudly announce that nobody's gotten through in all this time.

Eadric orders them out of the way and they scurry out of his sight. He then goes about laying is borrowed books out in Yaldin's old room so that he can study the idol directly. For several hours he pores over the books, finding nothing that shines any light over the idol's origins or use.

But then he hears it. A faint whispering, the words unfamiliar... He drinks an extract of Comprehend Languages and it immediately comes into focus.

"Offer to me a sacrifice little kobold. Prove your worth as the last chief did." the whispers demand.

Eadric bristles. "And what did you give him in return for such loyalty?" he asks.

"His deepest desires." the whispers respond. "Strength, prosperity...the clan."

Eadric smirks. "For all the good it did him, he wasn't strong enough to best me and now I have the clan."

"He asked for too little in return." the whispers assure Eadric.

Eadric laughs. "I care not for this clan or its prosperity; you won't find me such an easy mark."

"What of your own?" the voice asks. "I have so much to offer..."

"To me, it looks like you're the one who's stuck here. If you ever want to get free, you need me; not the other way around." Eadric states boldly.

A rumbling laugh echoes in Eadric's head. "You offer me freedom little kobold? How can you deal with something that you yourself lack?" the whisper chides.

Feeling himself flush in anger, Eadric shouts "Explain spirit!"

"You are a slave to time; as all your kind. Assuming you survive the coming storm, you will wither and die long before you find the acceptance you pursue. Your life is measured in heartbeats and you waste too many of them groveling for your next meal." the voice chuckles.

Eadric holds his head up high. "I don't want for much spirit, and what I do desire has a way of becoming mine. Stop speaking in riddles or I'll find a hole to bury you in."

The spirit seems unimpressed. "You want enough." it replies. "Ask yourself what you're chasing...THAT is what I offer. You claim to have no attachment to this clan...then prove it. Burn one of your own in my name and I will show you true power."

"I desire knowledge spirit." Eadric says. "To be the cleverest in all the land. Surely you can't-" the kobold starts with a scoff, before being cut off.

"Trivial." the spirit replies, dripping with self assurance.

Eadric stops mid sentence before stumbling over himself to the exit. "Alright then. Wait here and I'll fetch you a sacrifice. One of my own!"

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Around midday there is a knock at Kavos's door. He finds Sheriff Longarm and Father Adrian standing outside. He asks them in and invites them to sit down for a glass of wine. Longarm refuses, stating that he doesn't drink anymore but Adrian accepts a glass.

"Curtis and I were talking," Adrian starts as they seat themselves around Kavos's dining room table. "With everything that's been happening lately, we think it's time to have a serious discussion about our defenses."

Longarm clears his throat. "I'm assuming you've heard of Blackstone Keep? Hell, I'm positive you have. It's the only thing worth knowing about around here."

Kavos nods.

Father Adrian nods, "It used to be the seat of power for the whole region... It fell long ago, but never to invaders. The Duke's men required treachery to penetrate its defenses." the elderly priest explains from personal experience. "I've been using Blackstone's dungeons in my experiments for years, but the rest of the castle is still serviceable."

Kavos raises an eyebrow. "What do you propose? Would it fit our whole town?"

"Everyone that's left." Adrian says with a sigh.

"When was the last time you were up there? Is the path to the keep safe, or have ghouls reached the area?" Kavos fires off quickly.

"I'm not sure." Adrian admits. "The last time I was there was when the ghouls attacked the town; I haven't went back since for fear of the town falling in my absence."

Kavos sips his wine silently for a moment. "What's the earliest we can have the town ready to evacuate?"

Longarm cuts Adrian off, "The farmers would have to bring in their crops first, otherwise you'd just sit up there and starve."

"Harvest is nearly over." Adrian points out, "Only a week or two left, and we could begin moving everyone else in the meantime."

"Does it need repairs?" Kavos asks.

"Numerous." Adrian replies. "It's sturdy, but hasn't been lived in for forty years. Everything SHOULD be replaced and it needs considerable cleaning, but it will serve its purpose even as it is."

Kavos considers this for a moment. "Longarm, are the scouts reporting ghoul activity?"

Longarm shakes his head.

"Alright, meet up with Bartan and the militia; lead them to the keep and clear a path if need be. Adrian, once they're done you need to clean up any projects you've still got going; make sure that the dungeons are inaccessible." Kavos orders. "While they're gone however, I need you to help me explain the move to the civilians."

They work fast, and while the citizens mutter complaints nobody wants to be left behind. Bartan returns with half a dozen men in the evening to report that while ghoul activity is almost nonexistant, the path to the keep simply isn't fit for a wagon. He stresses how dangerous it would be to actually move a large number of people with the roads in this condition, but assures Kavos that he can have it fixed; he just needs supplies.

Kavos gives him free reign over the stores with only a single demand: Have it done by the end of the week.

Bartan admits that it's not really his area of expertise, but figures that even minimal repairs would at least make the path traversible and agrees to Kavos's timeline.

Before he goes, Kavos utters a theatrical prayer. "Pelor be with your and your endeavor." the cleric offers.

Bartan looks uncomfortable, unsure of how to respond. "Uhh..yeah. You too?"

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Eadric takes Ro'than'dur and rides to the unicorn's grove; finding the great beast surrounded by its followers in the its tranquil clearing. The unicorn snorts irritably when they come into view.

"A pleasure as always." Eadric says, leaping from his dragon's back.

"What do you seek dragon whelp?" the unicorn demands.

"I need your assistance," Eadric admits. "And if I receive it, then I think I can offer you something very interesting in return."

"We're listening." the unicorn says with a tilt of its head.

Eadric quickly explains about the Fire God's promises and that he wants the unicorn to help locate Yaldin. Eadric offers the idol to the unicorn in exchange for Yaldin.

"It promises to grant ANY wish." Eadric says enticingly.

The unicorn snorts. "What use would we have for a statue full of empty promises?"

Eadric is taken aback, but recovers quickly. "For your wolves, tracking Yaldin down would be trivial. With but a word you could drag the chieftain before us. This creature is of another world, the mage and I can both verify that. Surely that alone would be worth a simple word or two?"

The unicorn considers these words for a moment and then nods towards one of the wolves. The creature bolts off into the underbrush without a sound.


It takes a number of hours, but eventually Yaldin is dragged from the underbrush by a handful of wolves. The kobold chieftain seems smaller and frailer than the last time Eadric saw him; covered in scratches and bite marks. He's barely conscious.

Eadric draws his hand back and slaps Yalding across the face to wake him up. Yaldin howls as he sits up.

"This Fire God of yours is offering me a reward for sacrificing you." Eadric bluffs, "He must really want you dead."

Yaldin visibly shudders, "F-f-fire God knows I serve...he change mind."

"Well, we can see about that when I bring you to him." Eadric says with a grin, "Or, maybe you can answer a few questions and I let you go...starting with, where did you find the 'Fire God'?"

Yaldin glances around nervously before admitting that he didn't find it, other kobolds did...but they aren't around to ask anymore.

"What did you wish for Yaldin? What did you want so badly that you would sacrifice kin?" Eadric demands.

"Strength." Yaldin replies simply, drawing Eadric's mind to the kobold's unnaturally massive physique.

Eadric shakes his head and thanks the unicorn for his assistance, promising to uphold his end of the bargain soon. He then mounts Ro'than'dur and returns to the warren with Yaldin in tow. He drags Yaldin to the idol, repeating his demand to know where the Fire God was found or else he swears he'll do to Yaldin what Yaldin did to the tribe.

The second Yaldin sees the idol however, he rushes to it and throws his arms around the statues waste, gibbering something that sounds like a prayer the whole time. Smoke rises from where his flesh makes contact, but the zealous kobold refuses to let go even as he catches fire and his body begins to blacken.

Eadric curses and tries to pry Yaldin off the idol with a spear, but he can't even budge Yaldin thanks to his immense strength. He continues trying however and to his horror Yaldin falls away to ashes.

An amused voice echoes in Eadric's head "An eager servant to the end..." it whispers, and Eadric realizes his perceptions are expanding...his mind seems quicker and more focused. Focused enough to realize that this is a bad idea.

"Do you enjoy the feeling of true genius?" the voice asks.

"Whatever you did to Yaldin..it's unnatural. What hold did you have over him?" Eadric demands. "What did you do to make him so eagerly throw himself into death?!"

The voice chuckles. "Not death, little kobold. New life. He prayed and I listened..."

Eadric stiffens, "You mean...Yaldin still lives?"

"Somewhere." the voice replies. "Not really in the spirit of my request to attempt to sacrifice one of my own worshipers. But a deal was a deal, so enjoy my gifts...for the next 72 hours. Then you may find new ways to serve me."

Eadric shakes his head, ordering the kobolds to fashion some sort of sledge to carry the statue with. "It's not worth it..." he whispers to the statue. "I was bluffing you sick bastard, I wasn't going to sacrifice Yaldin; I just wanted to know what you were. Luckily, you're not my problem anymore."

Ignoring the idol's protests, Eadric uses Ro'than'dur to haul it into the unicorn's grove. The beast sneers as they approach and expresses genuine surprise that Eadric fulfilled his end of the bargain.

Eadric tells the unicorn about the events involving the idol and the great beast scoffs, but then suddenly its ears perk up and it regards the idol intently.

"Be careful unicorn, Yaldin went crazy because of this thing...I saw madness, real madness, in his eyes. I no longer think this should be trifled with." Eadric warns.

The unicorns eyes are focused intently on the idol. "We are..acquainted with madness." the unicorn says dismissively, stepping towards the idol intently. "Now leave us with our prize...we require privacy."

"You don't even speak the language." Eadric says, "I really think I should stick around to-"

"LEAVE!" the unicorn barks, digging at the ground threateningly.

Leaping onto Ro'than'dur's back, Eadric shouts that he'll be in Westbank when the unicorn needs him; and with that they take to the air and leave the grove behind.

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The next day begins with Kavos fulfilling his bargain with Cain and summoning the bone devil onto the material plane.

Cain takes a deep breath and glances around. "I see you finally got around to it." the devil says snarkily.

"Just...enjoy your stay Cain." Kavos says dismissively.

With a grin, the bone devil replies "Oh, I always do." and disappears before Kavos's eyes.

Kavos's player comments that the world becomes a slightly more cheerful place, every week they're in it. I point out that they've at least stopped exposing the population to highly infectious cannibal plagues, they accept that as a win.

Meanwhile, Eadric has returned to town in his usual secretive manner and is freaking right the hell out to Rambalt about what he's discovered concerning the Fire God. Rambalt doesn't like ANYTHING about this situaion; specifically the part about the crazy unicorn having possession of an evil fire idol that apparently grants wishes.

Eadric winces. "Yeah, that...that's on me. Things were escalating quickly and I really didn't want to see how they turned out, so I dumped the idol on the unicorn. I thought he'd smash it for us...but in hindsight I probably should have confirmed that before making the deal..."

Rambalt groans, but before they can continue their conversation a commotion begins arising outside. The townspeople are shouting excitedly.

Eadric excuses himself and runs outside to find a crowd surging towards the jailhouse. He notices Kavos leaving his own home and the two make their way towards the excitement. As they get closer they can hear people shouting "They caught a spy! A duke spy!"

Eadric and Kavos exchange nervous glances and press through the crowd after the deputies, they finally slip into the building and bar the door to the public. The three deputies have already forced their 'guest' into the only remaining cell and turn excitedly to tell Kavos about how they caught him hanging out in the woods.

The man himself is tall and leanly muscled with close cropped blonde hair and sharp blue eyes; he wears nice, but functional, clothing that accentuates his impressive physique. His arms are bare and a large 8 has been tattooed on each of them.

As the deputies are excitedly recounting their tale, the man interrupts. "You Kavass?" he asks casually. "You look like the boss...which must make you Kavass."

Kavos stands tall. "That's mayor Dasgrograv miscreant. What are you doing here?" the cleric asks forcefully.

"Where's Grendel?" the man asks, ignoring the question.

"You don't get to ask questions, do you not see the situation you're in?" Kavos asks, motioning towards the armed men which surround him.

"Is he at least in this room?" the man asks with a sigh. "Are you Grendel? How about you? You? You?" he asks each of the occupants in turn. "Anybody know where Grendel is?"

Looman looks at Kavos and then at the man. "You mean..Gandil?"

The man snaps his fingers "That's it! Why, what did I say?"

Kavos suddenly gets an uneasy feeling from this man and asks Devon "Where are the weapons you confiscated from him?"

Devon shakes his head, "He didn't have any."

Kavos suddenly goes white and orders the deputies to leave.

"NOBODY is going anywhere, until you tell me where Grendel...err...Gandil is." the man snaps.

"None of them are Gandil, he's not here." Kavos says, drawing the prisoner's attention so that the deputies can try to disperse the crowd.

"Then I guess it's just you, eh Kavass?" the man asks, resting his hands against the bars of his cell leisurely.

"If I allow you to take me...will Westbank be spared?" Kavos asks.

The man shrugs. "No idea what they want with Westbank, I'm just here for you. I can say with certainty though that if you come with me then only one person in this room has to die."

"You talk big for a man in your situation." Kavos says, trying to buy time.

With a flick of the man's hand the lock shatters and the cell door groans open, obviously warped from the pressure. "Is this a better situation?" the man asks threateningly. "It'll go easier if you don't resist. I mean, we both know how this is going to go, right?"

"I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree." Kavos says, quickly casting Bestow Curse.

The man smiles as he easily makes his save. He throws a wild swing and Kavos stumbles over himself backwards to escape, the man's arm punctures directly through the wall next to Kavos and as he withdraws it and shakes off debris they can see sunlight shining through.

The man assumes a pugilist stance and begins bobbing back and forth. "I gave you a chance, don't say I didn't... I am Dolph, the Fist. Newest member of The 8 and undefeated by man or beast."

Then as an afterthought, Dolph adds "And since nobody seems to know where the hell Grendel is, I guess I'll just have to kill everyone in this damned town to be safe."

It's at this point that Eadric's player actually puts everything together and realizes who he's facing. He shouts "Watch out, this guy killed Appollo Creed! What chance do we have!?"

IC Kavos shouts that Gandil went to Eastbank.

Eadric downs a potion of Thornbody and then leaps into the air, kicking Dolph in the side of the head. Dolph immediately responds by bringing his knee up so hard that it knocks the wind out of Eadric's lungs. Dolph then lands a left right combination on Eadric's face that blacks his eyes.

Eadric manages to squeak out "Kavos, forget this guy! Get Rambalt and the giant!"

Kavos bolts towards the door, stopping to throw out a Hellfire Sound Burst, however the nergy washes over Dolph like water over a duck. Kavos rushes past the gathered crowd, shouting for Rambalt at the top of his lungs.

The deputies form a wall of swords in front of the doorway and Eadric takes a 5ft step backwards before popping a mutagen and using his acid breath. The attack fills the room, but once it dissipates Dolph casually drops from the ceiling with a smirk.

Dolph doesn't care about the kobold at alland rushes out after Kavos, casually clotheslining Horace as he bursts out of the building with enough force to snap the terrified deputy's neck outright, he slides to a stop just past Kavos. "Going somewhere?" the branded mercenary asks with a laugh.

Kavos shouts for everyone to get away from Dolph, that the Duke sent him and he's dangerous; Looman drops to his friend's side to render aid but the fallen deputy was dead before he hit the ground. Before Dolph can make a move, Kavos casts Sanctuary on himself.

Dolph smirks and glances back towards the jailhouse. "Well, you coming kobold?"

Eadric quaffs a firebreath and then rushes out to meet Dolph. The little kobold throws himself at the intimidating human and attempts to drag him down, however Dolph easily shakes him off; before retaliating with a vicious left that knocks teeth out of Eadric's head.

Dolph then launches a dizzyingly fast flurry of punches, but Eadric manages to weave and dodge around them. Kavos glances at the murdered deputy, realizing he's beyond help; the elderly cleric then begins casting Summon Monster IV.

Eadric exhales a tremendous gout of flame at Dolph, which the pugilist manages to simply side step and delivers a torrent of blows which drops Eadric into single digits and rearrange the kobold's face unpleasantly.

Before Dolph can finish the fight however, Kavos's summon goes off and a raging fiendish grizzly bear appears out of nowhere and envelops Dolph in a painful bearhug. Kavos takes this opportunity to slip next to Eadric and cast Cure Serious Wounds. Eadric then exhales a second burst of flame, which Dolph manages to maneuver the bear into but dodges himself.

With a mighty roar, Dolph flips the bear off of himself and snaps the creature's neck outright; before spinning on his heels throwing an uppercut that takes leaves Eadric's head spinning. Kavos casts another Cure spell just to keep Eadric in the positives and starts to reconsider surrender when half a ton of meat and armor crashes into Dolph, knocking him off his feet.

Kavos looks up to see Junior in full plate mail and wielding a strangely designed sword with six smaller blades along its edge (7-branched sword that Gandil designed), the blade looks odd but draws blood easily enough as Junior brings it down into Dolph's side.

Eadric downs a CLW extract and then leaps into the air, kicking Dolph in the back. Kavos casts Cause Fear, but fails to affect the resilient pugilist once more. Dolph delivers a pair of hammerfists to both Eadric and Junior; Eadric collapses to his knees left at only 1hp and Junior's chest caves in despite the armor. Junior stumbles back, gasping for breath and whining pitifully.

Eadric drives himself into Dolph's sternum with all he's worth, knocking the breath out of the large man's lungs and drawing his ire. Miraculously, Dolph's entire retaliatory flurry misses.

Bleeding profusely from their bond, Ro'than'dur suddenly comes barreling out of the sky with a mighty roar and Eadric sees his opportunity, he leaps into the air, snatching his mount's scales and shouts for the dragon not to stop; to go up! Up!

For a moment it occurs to Eadric that he's safe. That he and Ro'than'dur could fly out of here with their tails tucked between their legs and never look back. It occurs to him that that would be the koboldy thing to do...

Grasping Ro'than'dur tightly as the dragon shoots straight up, Eadric's mouth turns into a frown. The would be the koboldy thing to do...the cowardly thing, he reminds himself.

Without a single word or hesitation, Eadric lets go of Ro'than'dur to the dragon's growing horror and surprise. Plummeting from the sky like a bullet Eadric takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes to avoid distractions. At the last minute he turns a flip and plants his foot directly into a very surprised Dolph's face from above.

They're both driven into the ground where they lay bleeding an unmoving.

Kavos immediately rushes to see to their wounds. Eadric is in surprisingly good shape considering what he just did and Kavos manages to get him walking around again fairly easily. Dolph's wounds are stabilized, but left untreated.

Kavos calls for Rambalt and has Dolph bound with everything the mage can bring to bear and then placed in his basement overnight. Looman and Devon are instructed to keep a vigil over him and to stab in the face if he so much as opens his eyes.

Kavos stresses that EVERYONE's lives depends on this and then retires to his room to pray and rest. He has the same dream as before, though this time he manages to wake up before the strange creature began strangling him. He finds that he has a splitting headache regardless.

After recovering his spells, Kavos goes downstairs to meet with the prisoner; deciding to let Eadric rest. The deputies are only too eager to get out of there and rush off as soon as Kavos gives them leave.

Dolph still hangs limply in his chains. Kavos approaches, presses a hand against his chest and chants the prayer for Malediction, damning Dolph to hell in Barque's name.

Imagine his surprise when Dolph opens his eyes wearily and says "Really, we're starting with this already?"

Kavos frowns and tries the spell again, Dolph resists again.

"How about we stop that?" Dolph asks weakly.

"Give in Dolph, you know this isn't going to end pleasantly." Kavos retort irritably.

Dolph laughs, despite his situation. "You're right you know. Way more than you realize. The 8 don't take sh*t from anybody; this whole town's going to die horribly."

Kavos scoffs. "To avenge you?" he asks incredulously.

"To avenge their rep." Dolph replies. "I'm just glad I won't be around to see it."

Kavos launches a battery of spells at Dolph. Bestow Curse, Cause Fear, etc... Until they start sticking, lowering Dolph's willsave bit by bit and generally messing him up.

"Y-y-you've already seen Farakim!" Dolph says, indicating Kavos's bruises.

Kavos pauses for a second. "Farakim?"

Dolph nods. "The Beast. Been having bad dreams? That's h-h-how he starts. I hate to admit it, but I'm small time man. A work in progress; not even been with The 8 a year."

Kavos considers Dolph's words, but realizes there's nothing to be done about them if they're true. "This ends Dolph. No more fighting." the cleric says, laying his hand on Dolph's chest and sending the battered mercenary to hell.

Once he's dead, Kavos casts gentle repose on the corpse; not wanting to waste such a potentially valuable resource.

He then casts Speak With Dead and asks "Truthfully Dolph, are the other 8 coming for me? Well, The 7 now."

"It's always The 8." Dolph corrects him. "They'll replace me soon, just as they always have. But yes, they will be coming. They can't allow a black mark on their record; they'll have to burn the village and scatter the ashes. That's the secret to a perfect record...no witnesses to say otherwise."

"Then make sure Barque has plenty of room." Kavos replies.

[commander panda]

ignore this post didn't mean to post anything anywhere

[GorinichSerpant]

I will forever wonder how Eradic managed to weave and doge.

http://i.imgur.com/h1NyiH6.gif

[Kid Jake]

He's a kobold of many talents.

[GorinichSerpant]

Many talents indeed.

However, do you know what I see in the near future? I see a mighty beast, nyeh a steed, wreathed in flame, trampling the kingdoms of man, impaling the undead and the dwarves, leaving nothing behind but ash. And I hear cackling, coming from a head drained in blood and with a fiery mane. I see a forest that doesn't fear any flames, that spreads despite all of civilization's best efforts to burn it down. I see the flames turning on the men flesh and devouring them. Leaving fertile soil in it's wake. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who sees this future.

Also I feel you let the dive kick from the top of a dragon work, simply because it's awesome.

[Kid Jake]

Many talents indeed.

However, do you know what I see in the near future? I see a mighty beast, nyeh a steed, wreathed in flame, trampling the kingdoms of man, impaling the undead and the dwarves, leaving nothing behind but ash. And I hear cackling, coming from a head drained in blood and with a fiery mane. I see a forest that doesn't fear any flames, that spreads despite all of civilization's best efforts to burn it down. I see the flames turning on the men flesh and devouring them. Leaving fertile soil in it's wake. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who sees this future.

Also I feel you let the dive kick from the top of a dragon work, simply because it's awesome.

I see that we buy our visions at the same store. I was more than a little surprised when Eadric discovered a magic statue that makes wishes come true and immediately decided to give it to the one creature he knows for a fact wishes it could crush the world.

That had a little bit to do with it. I did give it mechanics though. It was treated as a charge and deals damage based on how far he actually falls; even when his acrobatic check allows HIM to treat the fall as being shorter. We rolled everything straight and he hit Dolph's AC EXACTLY, dropping them both to -2. (Eadric rolled nothing but 1's on his damage and rolled almost max for Dolph.)