"Is...is he...?" Alfreldi squeaked.<br/><br/>Bakr knelt at the side of the downed doctor.  "He'll make it, but he's going to be out cold for quite a while."<br/><br/>Then the alchemist came over to Menya.  "Looks like you took a few cuts and bruises from earlier.  Hold still, this will only sting but for a moment..."<br/><br/>Menya regains 11 hit points. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=79035)<br/><br/><em>Menya also gains 1,200 experience points.</em><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Garetz' Equipment</div><div class="spoiler_body">Amulet of Natural Armor +2<br/><br/>+1 Wounding Scalpel (treat as kukri)<br/><br/>Whispering Coin (Lust Rune, Enchantment) (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/c-d/coin-whispering)</div></div><br/>"Everyone, come here, I can see it!"  Zelda's eyes brightly glowed with an otherworldly light.  "Our al-Samara, he's in an underground bunker, beneath our fins and feet.  Oh no, he's wounded...!"<br/><br/>"Well, how can we get there?!" Alfreldi exclaimed.<br/><br/>The mermaid held up a finger.  "I can trace his movements, follow me."<br/><br/>"What were those eels you fed her?" Hanifa asked as the group chased after the flying mermaid.<br/><br/>"Lumos eels," Bakr answered matter-of-factly.  "Their saliva, can act as a potent divinatory potion if consumed by a sea-dwelling entity.  Normally I'd distill it instead of feeding it to her raw, but desperate times call for desperate measures."<br/><br/>Alfreldi spun him around to face her.  "Did you feed Zelda something dangerous?"<br/><br/>"Oh hush!  The worst she'll get are itchy scales and feelings of dizziness.  Nothing life-threatening."<br/><br/><br/>Moving at a breakneck Zelda darted and turned past columns and arches, with most of the directions less than conventional.  Perhaps to no great surprise the great entryway to al-Samara's safehouse was beneath a fountain in the back courtyard.  Zelda paused.  All eyes were on her now.<br/><br/>"I...I can't open it.  Only the scale of the long-dead Leviathan can open it."<br/><br/>"Those are only granted to the heirs of the bloodline..." Bakr said.  "Of course that would be the key."<br/><br/>The one Menya held onto vibrated within the folds of her clothes, begging to come forth.  Taken out, the scale levitated in the air by a magical conduit between it and the fountain.  Like a missing puzzle piece the scale affixed itself to the north side of the fountain's base, and a sucking motion could be heard as the floor opened up to a set of stairs beneath.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">The Safehouse</span></span></div><br/>The air within felt thick, as though it straddled the line between a gas and a liquid, yet it still remained breathable.  Clear, gently flowing water rose up to Menya's knees; Alfreldi, Hanifa, and Bakr struggled to move, and stealth was very hard what with all the sloshing, but Zelda was unimpaired, and the walls were sturdy enough to hold Menya's weight for climbing purposes.  The place was a watery maze of hallways and four-way intersections.  The crimson flow of blood washed forth from unknown battles at certain points, giving a hint of ruin to an otherwise clean catacomb.<br/><br/><em>Roll a DC 22 Perception check.</em><br/><br/>Hanifa fails to hear it. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=79037)<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Scent Automatic</div><div class="spoiler_body">Menya's sensitive nose catches the distinctive smell of her beloved al-Samara!  It is like a blast of fresh springwater with a hint of lime, one of his favorite fruits to eat.  There was also the smell of a metallic tint.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Success</div><div class="spoiler_body">Menya hears movement from above.  The catacombs have another level above!  She recognizes the sound of the gait, one she is intimately familiar with: the slow but deliberate walk of a poised man, none other than al-Samara!<br/><br/>But it is different...there is a stagger in it, possibly injured, fatigued, or both.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Failure</div><div class="spoiler_body">Menya hears the sound of rushing water and the sloshing of her companions behind her.</div></div><br/>The northern pathway empties out into a very tall room.  A huge 60 foot tall statue of a blue whale vertically stretches up as though doing an out of water backflip, and 20 feet above the ground level is a circular platform with a ladder and railing.<br/><br/>Due to the acoustics of the room and the wide space, it is much easier to hear disturbances in the nearby areas.<br/><br/><em>"Come out, come out wherever you are..."</em><br/><br/>The voice sounded like that of a young man's, accompanied by a carefree humming.<br/><br/><em>"The warrior becomes the rebel, only to become the defeated.  How sad, how expected, now poetic, hmmhmmhmm..."</em><br/><br/>Alfreldi and Zelda held back, letting Bakr and Hanifa go up the ladder.  The ranger drew her bow, but her quiver was running low.  The past two fights cost her eight arrows, and she looked to have slightly more than half that left.  As for the alchemist, well, he had only a pouch, leatherbound journal, and bandolier of vials, well-armed for an alchemist but hardly adventurer material.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">Catacomb Battle</span></span></div><br/>The Sword of Norgorber had no name: his identity was ripped from his mind and soul to become one of his patron's many, many secrets.  Even though the two had never met, he knew many things about his quarry gained from several weeks of observation: the women he loved, the eunuchs weak-minded enough to fall under enchantment, the areas of the Palace he traveled to in a scheduled pattern, the City of Glass districts and roads he preferred when away on business, and how he killed the previous pair with a blast of subzero cold as one of his concubines leaped to his aid.<br/><br/>Al-Samara was not poisoned; it has been years since he regularly fought the sahuagin scourge, but his martial memory was too ingrained to forget important principles.  But the assassin was just as much a veteran in the art of killing, and he did not know how this battle would unfold.  The marid focused on the flowing water to sense vibrations: he could not sense the Sword, but he could sense...<br/><br/>Menya...<br/><br/>Hanifa... Alfreldi... Zelda... and even Bakr!  They had come for him, even while the Palace was in chaos and he did not know the fate of servants and...Judi!<br/><br/><em>If I should meet my end here, may Gozreh reunite us among the waves once again!</em><br/><br/>The images of his friends, family, servants, and lovers flashed through his mind.  He must survive this day, and if not bid them a proper goodbye.  Somehow.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Menya shares the catacombs with a dangerous assassin.  Care must be taken, as although she knows that danger is afoot and that al-Samara is nearby, that they are not among friends.  Due to his spells and the relatively featureless nature of the catacombs, Menya and the assassin are engaged in a cat-and-mouse game of combat.  One or the other will be able to get in one attack before a sudden disappearance and retreat.<br/><br/>The Sword of Norgorber (SoN for short) has a 23 Armor Class (17 flat-footed), a 24 CMD (19 flat-footed).  Should Menya be able to pinpoint his location with a successful opposed Perception, she won't be flat-footed against him.  If she's successful in her Stealth, he won't realize that she's there yet.<br/><br/>Once a successful attack is resolved, the assassin will duck back into hiding unless Menya and company took pains to make him incapable of movement, starting the chase over again.<br/><br/>Sword of Norgober 29 Stealth (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=79042)<br/><br/>Sword of Norgober 30 Perception (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=79043)<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Stunts</span></span></div><br/><strong>Spread Out:</strong>Menya gestures for Bakr and Hanifa to cover more ground, whether to successfully find al-Samara or trap the assassin in a pincer attack.  Menya must outsmart him in battle tactics with a CMB versus his CMD.  A successful check causes him to be flat-footed against all their attacks, regardless of Perception/Stealth results, and provokes an Attack of Opportunity from one of them when he retreats.  A failure causes Menya to fall flat-footed and provoke an Attack of Opportunity from him!<br/><br/>Note that Menya does not need to have discerned his location in order to use it; the stunt is just as much based on guesswork and predictions as observation.<br/><br/><strong>Greasefire:</strong>Menya casts<em>grease</em>on the water and surrounding walls, followed by Bakr lighting a tindertwig to throw.  The resulting fire smells strong and actually travels down with the flow of water; if Menya's aware of his location and plans accordingly, this grants her a +10 bonus on her next Perception check as he goes out of his way to avoid the fire and his movement's very restricted.  If not then Menya can use it to erect a greasefire barrier to better ambush him next round, imposing a +10 bonus on her next Stealth check.<br/><br/>This is in spite of normal casting time, in that the casting of<em>grease</em>can be done as a free action in addition to Menya's normal actions.<br/><br/><strong>Huntress' Gambit:</strong>Menya and Hanifa gear up for a team attack!  The catgirl positions herself on the ceiling as the Garundi fires off an arrow at each intersection to force the SoN to flee down the last remaining passage.  Menya leaps upon him in a death from above attack.  This is resolved as a CMB maneuver; on a success it's resolved as a normal melee attack, except that it automatically knocks the SoN prone and thus grants a +5 on her next Perception and Stealth checks due to the advantageous drop.<br/><br/><strong>Protect al-Samara:</strong>Using her Scent ability Menya zeroes in on al-Samara's location.  He is<em>invisible</em>but happy to see her but telepathically communicates so as not to attract the assassin's attention.  With this help he and Menya can coordinate efforts and share equipment, as well as be physically present in case her marid lover is in immediate danger.<br/><br/>If Menya knows where the SoN is, she can point him out to al-Samara, who will retaliate with a jet of water attack which can force him to dive into another alcove for cover, granting a +4 on the next attack rolls, combat maneuver, or skill check made against the assassin.  This can be resolved on the same round as the happy reunion (telepathy is a quick communicator!).