Book 1: The Seventh Arch

Chapter 3: Memories of the Green

Back in town, the party embraces and enjoys some downtime. They find work to earn some money; Shylock tells fortunes, Zephrym gathers herbs for physicians, Kalathel sells his knowledge about constellations as well as monster lore. The group also sell some of the items which they have accumulated while purchasing things that they need. Sammakko seeks out the wetlands in which he can meditate to focus and retrain his sorcerous abilities. While communing with the swamp, he perfects his tyrannical control over toads, reveling in his new found power.

A week later, Alleli greets the party and says that she might have a way to get them home. An astronomer on Golarion, Sakuachi, has somehow connected their telescopes so that they could communicate. Alleli believes that it is fate that the party uses this connection to get home and help Sakuachi in her quest to fight an ancient evil. The party decides to go and help, though the peace and safety of Castrovel has been welcome. Nonetheless, adventure is in their blood and, thus, they must go on!

The group, accompanied by the some of the Oatia elves who will help set up the transmission, trek back to the gate from which they originally arrived. Unfortunately, it is also the lair of a drake, and it is home! The group quickly combs their collective knowledge before engaging in combat. The elves take a seat to observe the battle between the party and the drake. Breaking out blankets and refreshments, they settle in and enjoy the show.

Sammakko, failing to communicate with the beast, augments his spell and inflicts fear on the drake. Shylock attempts to further stun the drake but only causes damage. The frightened drake launches at Sammakko and clamps the helpless tripkee in its razor sharp jaws. Kalathel uses his esoteric lore to find the drake’s personal weakness. Zephrym attempts a lightning strike, but hits the tree next to the creature. Sammakko is able to free himself from he jaws of the drake but Shylock gets knocked unconscious with a wicked tail attack when he attempts a flanking maneuver. Kalathel hurls his deadly star knife as he glared intimidatingly at the drake, frightening and wounding it. Zephrym administers a healing potion to Shylock to wake him before Sammakko blasts the drake with a bolt of lightning.

The drake spits venom upon the huddled group, poisoning them with its foul toxin. Shylock casts a dome of healing over the group which heals their bodies but does nothing to stop the poison. Kalathel uses an antidote and Shylock is able to overcome the poison on his own.

Zephrym unleashes the fury of the elements in the form of lightning but misses and Sammakko, swaying with poison, reaches out with his mind to grab the discarded star knife and hurl it at the drake. Thus the battle rages with the drake viciously biting and slashing at the brave heroes while the group hurl magic and melee attacks in a pitched battle. Bloody and beaten, the drake finally retreats into the jungle with a howl of pain. The heroes are once again victorious.
The elves stand from their plush blankets, applauding the heroes’ success before offering aid in healing. After recovering, a breast plate with a +1 armor rune is discovered among the drake’s scat in the area. One of the elves wails as he realizes that it is the breast plate of his uncle Raxnalinor who has been missing and thought on a fishing expedition.

Meanwhile Alleli straps the telescope and key to the gate. “It’s working” she yells but something goes horribly wrong. Scenes of distant places, alien landscapes, and unknown beings appear and disappear as the the gateway malfunctions. A rat man named Nurl riding his giant gecko girlfriend Carla, comes into focus as the area around the gate is torn from Castrovel and deposited on an unknown red planet. The elves, transported as well, cheer and sit back on their blankets, ready for the next conflict.

Nurl dismounts, requesting in a respectful and loving tone that Carla attack the interlopers, while the heroes take up attack positions and the elves cheer them on excitedly. Nurl tosses a potion and Carla launches viciously at Kalathel. Absorbing the cold damage and taking Carla’s attack, Kalathel shouts “take that gecko”, before raising his star knife high and plunging it through her skull and into her brain. Nurl wails in in grief and sadness, “No!!! My love!!!,” he sobs as he is struck with a golden beam of stunning light. Sammakko releases a final arcane blast at Nurl, only for the dessert to change again.
Now the nightmarish landscape is covered with blisters and giant hair follicles. A wave of nausea hits the group; invigorating Kalathel, sickening the rest of the group and causing the feasting elves to vomit up all of the cheese and wine they had thus far consumed. A black winged creature is flying toward our heroes, menacingly.

Diving at Zephrym, the creature swipes ineffectively at the stalwart hero. Shylock unleashes golden light to daze the creature while shouting the lore he knows of the Night Gaunt to his companions. Kalathel falls prone when attacking with his knife, misgauging the creatures movements, but Sammakko blasts it with a phase bolt. Zephrym uses his mastery of his elemental gate to create clean air around Kalathel before blasting the Night Gaunt with lightening. Kalathel, learning the creatures personal weakness to eyeballs, skillfully slashes a chunk of its flesh off. Focusing his arcane powers, Sammakko throws the removed chunk of flesh from the gaunt back in the face of its owner.

The scene suddenly shifts again and they slam back in to the jungle reality. As the gate oscillates, Alleli shouts that she is not sure how long she can hold it in place and that the heroes need to leave now if they are to return to their world. There is another vacillation in the gate and Shylock steps forward imploring his mysterious patron to give him the power to help the woman he has fallen so deeply in love with over the past few weeks. With a surge of golden light, the portal is held steady but for how long is unknown. “Go on without me!” Shylock shouts to the others, “I am staying here to be with Alleli. Besides, I was not built for the adventuring life.” “Go now, while you still can,” Alleli shouts to the group, adding “we will always remember you and the service you have provided.” Kalathel and Sammakko both wave sadly to Shylock as they dive through the gate, focused on their duty and what still remains to be done.

Only Zephrym hesitates, torn between the obligation he feels back on Galarion and the life he can see for himself here with the elves. With a final burst of golden light, the portal flickers and gutters out of existence. The temporarily blinded audience is unaware of Zephrym’s ultimate choice.

Treasure: 90 gp, +1 breastplate