A Quest for the Stars

"Lenoria, leave me here! If Tizoc loses control-"

"Then we'll knock him out, tie him up, and reason with him! I'm not leaving either of you here!" Lenoria inspected the portcullis, but given the duress of the situation around her, her senses were not as sharp as before. "Help me get you out of there!"

"What are you louts standing around for?!" The Blue Jay with the morningstar barked orders. "Kill the girls and skin this cat alive!"

"S-sir, with all due respect," said another Blue Jay nervously, "he's one of them!"

"You're going to let one little kitten scare you?" The apparent leader whistled to a man in a black trench coat. "You, rookie! Show them how it's done!"

The man in the black trench coat, a black-haired humanoid with a pale complexion smirking with a cigar in his mouth, drew a pistol and aimed it at Tizoc. "Is that all, boss? You're making this too easy for me."

BANG!

"Tizoc!" Lenoria flinched from the gunshot, but Clara got her attention with a tap from her metal prison.

"Keep going, you're almost there." Clara pointed at a metal box Lenoria had found and was in the middle of fiddling with the gears inside. "I doubt Tizoc will need our help."

The elven girl shifted her gaze back at the scene. Drops of blood had fallen from Tizoc, who stood firmly in place as the gunman, with a horrified expression, backed away. The werebeast dug a bloody bullet out of his wound and tossed it aside before letting out an angered roar.

"Any other volunteers?" The leader asked.

"Boss, that man just took a bullet wound like it's nothing!" The nervous Blue Jay from earlier sheathed his weapon. "We stand no chance!"

"Since when did you boys get a choice in the matter? You know what the code of the Blue Jay says. 'Stand up for what we believe is right and die trying.' You agreed to exterminate all of the jaguars in the region for a pretty copper as part of your initiation into the Order, so now you have no choice but to obey!"

"Wait a second." Lenoria gazed at the leader first. He was a neatly dressed man with a black suit, top hat, and a blue cape. Meanwhile, his men - ranging from humans, catfolk, and bugbears - wore tattered clothes and appeared to be tired, emaciated, and scared. Closing her fist angrily, Lenoria removed the final gear from the box which released Clara from her prison. "Clara, they may be Blue Jays, but I don't think they had a choice. Tell Tizoc to focus on their leader."

"Why me?"

"If you think he's lost all reason, then you can snap him out of it. He's gotta love you like crazy, still."

"Uh..." Clara twiddled her fingers shyly. "I-it's not that big of a deal. I mean, Tizoc looks calm, so maybe he didn't lose his inhibitions-"

"Clara, just read the room, will ya?"

Clara stepped outside her cell for a closer look. A couple of the Blue Jays had drawn knives and stabbed Tizoc, but he simply grabbed them and tossed them away. In his new form, the catfolk warrior showed no sign of pain despite the blood the Blue Jays had obviously drawn from him.

When Tizoc swiped at both men with a murderous look on his face, the leader wore a smile on his.

"Tizoc, stop!" Clara shouted.

Tizoc stopped himself before he could deal a killing blow to a prone Blue Jay. "Clara, I can't stop now! If their goal is to kill the wildlife in the area, then I have to do something about it!"

"Yeah, Clara. Don't butt in!" The leader readjusted his collar nervously. "I mean, uh, who's next? Come on, boys, you can beat him!"

"No, this ends now! Tizoc, if you kill those guys here, you'll be making a big mistake!"

----------

A few days ago...

Blinded and injured, Spark and Chet stumbled their way towards the exit as they left Hunter behind.

Alistair was furious. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Spark turned back as he ran away. "The deal is off, little man! You deal with the giant!"

"Boss, wait for me!" Hunter ran after them, but due to his watering eyes and the poison of the manchineel tree, he soon stumbled on a rock and tripped.

"Sorry, Hunter! But it looks like you inhaled most of the smoke! You have to remember the rules of the Order!"

"'If anyone in the Order falls short, cut them off no matter your bond,'" Chet said. The two Blue Jays stumbled their way out of the cave, hoping to leave enough distance before the giant could see them.

----------

Present day

"The dark shrines, the elimination of wildlife, thriving on betrayal, shedding innocent blood, a full moon!" Clara pointed at the group leader. "The Order of the Blue Jay is nothing more than a demonic murder cult, and he's one of the instigators! Why else would he smile after seeing one of his own subordinates getting hurt?"

All of the Blue Jays present gasped at this revelation and turned to their leader for an answer.

"Uh, well, you see, uh, t-that's knowledge we can't reveal to just anyone. You have to be at a higher rank, which you can get to after spending some gold. You have to understand my position here!"

"Sir," said the nervous Blue Jay, "you threatened us to join you."

"Or else you'd hire hitmen to kill our families," another said. "And you just wanted us to get killed by this...monster the moment the plan fell apart?"

The mooks dropped their weapons and raised their hands to surrender. Even the ones Tizoc had swiped preferred to crawl away than spend another moment fighting. They all stepped aside so that there was nothing standing between Tizoc and the leader.

"I almost shed innocent blood." Tizoc pitched a growl. "Demons. They ruin all that is beautiful, including nature. I will never forgive someone like you!"

Tizoc pounced, but the group leader was ready. Just as the werejaguar had reached him, the man disappeared in a blink of an eye. But he quickly caught the scent of blood behind him, and to his horror, an emaciated creature looking like a human skeleton coated in red slime had stabbed Clara with its claw right on her waist area. Blood spouted out of her, mingling with the red slime around the creature.

The Blue Jays were understandably horrified. "What the hell is that?"

"Is that a demon?"

"It's one of them undead skeletons!"

"Clara!" Lenoria threw a punch at the creature, but her fist sizzled on contact, the red slime corroding her skin. "Yeow!"

"My slime will corrode your skin every time you touch it." The creature laughed. "Ladies, ladies, stop crying and accept your punishment with grace!" The ugly creature leaned closer to Clara as it jammed its claw deeper into her abdomen. "I'm sorry, but caring for the innocent? Protecting nature? Familial bonds? Hygiene? Human weaknesses! Thanks to you, I have to kill you all to keep the Order's name clean or else our glorious leader will be after my ass! If it's any consolation, though, you're the first outsiders to figure out what we're really about. I'll make sure your deaths are as agonizing as possible!"

"His skin is as tough as leather. My punches can't pierce it! Huh?"

Lenoria and the demonic creature heard chuckling from Clara.

"What's so funny, elf?! Blood loss made you delirious already?"

"No." Clara flashed a bloodied smile. "If you're worried about your image, I-I'm afraid you're a little late to the party. Your friend Spark abandoned one of his lackeys a few days ago during our confrontation with them, and this lackey just so happened to have detailed plans about your movements. Isn't that funny? He slipped up by betraying his friend. Ironic that he was just following your Order's tenets, and he ended up dooming you all."

"B-big deal!" The demon was clearly nervous. "No one will believe a group of adventurers like you!"

"Maybe not. But they'll surely believe our friend, Melodious Aquamarine."

The demon yelped. "What? Are you saying Spark failed in killing her?!"

"It's only a matter of time before your Order's exposed. By now, the Church should be mobilizing all the forces it can spare to take you down. Imagine their surprise when they find out the Order's been consorting with demons."

Clara had absolutely no idea if what she said was true, but in a pinch she had decided to wound the demon's pride in the best way possible.

"Then I better kill you and tell our leader-" The demon sniffed the air. "Why does it smell like incense?"

The creature turned around. What he saw behind him was a young boy - his armor caked with mud and his entire face downcast in a shadow, save for a single, hateful eye - about to strike with a mace swipe. The image of a hammer glowed on the creature's hands like a glyph, and the magic aura from the boy's mace reacted to it by glowing in the same manner.

"Um, a little late to talk this out, huh?

"Very," Alistair answered matter-of-factly before bludgeoning the creature's face with a fierce blow. The creature howled in pain and grabbed his face to cover the wound. Red slime splashed on Alistair's mace, corroding it slightly.

"Al, be careful!" Lenoria warned. "That thing has tough skin and it melts things like acid!"

"I'm acutely aware." With a swing of his mace, Alistair splashed some of the corrosive slime away into the ground. "We're dealing with a babau, Lenoria. A demon. You can't punch it without getting hurt, so I'll need you to leave him to me. Tend to Miss Clara!"

Initiative Order

Babau

Alistair

Tizoc

Clara

Lenoria

"You better win!" Lenoria's feet slid on the stone floor until she reached Clara. "Clara, speak to me. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. The acid in my wound hurts pretty bad, though." Clara uncorked one of the vials Tizoc had given her and took a swig. "It's bitter, but I feel better already."

"Oh, boo-hoo!" The babau taunted. "Are you gonna cry because I hurt your woman, kid?"

"Not his." Alistair and the babau looked towards Tizoc's direction. The werejaguar, relaxed at first once Alistair had arrived, furiously got on all fours. "Mine!"

Tizoc ran past the rest of the Blue Jays, who wanted nothing to do with this fight, and launched himself at the demon once he got in range. The babau tried to dodge it, but Tizoc read his movements in time and chomped down on his skull. Every single tooth and fang sank into the leathery skull of the babau, but the force was surprisingly not enough to kill.

"Is that...all you...got?" The babau taunted Tizoc, who immediately knocked the creature to the ground and used all four claws - front and hind - to slash it. But Tizoc's claws did little to pierce the demon's skin, making it cackle with amusement. What's more, Tizoc's jaws and skin burned red thanks to the demon's slimy coating.

"Tizoc, get out of there!" Alistair shouted. "Babau demons can't be damaged normally! Their skin is as tough as yours, and the acid is only going to hurt more the longer you keep touching him! Only holy weapons and cold iron can hurt them normally!"

"Cold iron?" One of the Blue Jays, sitting atop a wooden crate, jumped off and opened it.

"It's too late! I know you're trying to keep me in place so boy wonder over there can kill me, but you'll die before you get the chance, you damned cat!"

The babau, confident in his imminent victory, swiped his bony claws at Tizoc's face, followed by two bites. The second bite appeared to be quicker than the first, but proved to be just as deadly when the babau demon went right for the neck.

Clara picked up her staff. "Tizoc!"

"All you have to do is let me go if you want to live! You don't have to die for these people, you know!"

But to the demon's surprise, Tizoc tightened his squeeze. He tried to speak, but it was hard to convey his message with his mouth open. "For generations, my people have dealt with you demons. Some gave in to their power while others died opposing you. But if I'm to die here, then may my sacrifice be pleasant to the Feathered Serpent!" He then stared at Alistair, the whites of his feline eyes visible and his pupils shrunken. "Alistair! We Jaguar Lycans made a sacred vow to defend the wilds from fiends like him! I leave the rest to you!"

Successfully keeping the demon in place, Tizoc held the fiend which allowed Alistair to deliver two painful strikes. The creature howled in pain, but it was still not down.

"Don't speak like that," Alistair said. "We can still-"

"Clara! I wanted nothing more than to find you and care for you! But fate has decided this cannot be! All I can do now is repay the favor your parents have done for me and my fellow Lycans!"

"Fellow Lycans?" Clara shook her head. "Tizoc, let go! Don't throw your life away for a creature like him!"

"Listen to her," the demon pleaded. "Look, if this is about getting a woman, I can give you elves! A lot of elves! Elves prettier than her! You would drown in no time."

But his words fell on deaf ears. The demon would strike, then Alistair, then Tizoc would endure to hold him in place, and the process would repeat anew.

That is, until Tizoc's feet staggered. He struggled to stay awake, and his jaw strength weakened.

"Clara...is the only one I wish to be with. Even if I die here, I hope I can be reborn so I can reunite with her once again. I have already waited fifteen years for this moment, and I won't allow you to take her from me!"

Shaking her fists, Clara grabbed a bolt from the ground and loaded it on her crossbow. Aiming for the demon, she opened fire just as Tizoc released him and passed out. "No. I refuse to let you throw your life away like this!"

The crossbow bolt made a squelching sound when it struck the demon's head. "Fool! Don't you realize ordinary weapons can't hurt me?" He looked like he was within an inch of his life, but even now the demon seemed confident. "You can't hurt me with regular human weapons!"

Clara grinned. "I know."

That's when the babau demon felt a burning sensation coming from his head. By instinct, he dislodged the bolt from his head but immediately dropped it when his hand burned. "Cold iron? When did she-?"

He looked over back at Clara, then Lenoria. A wooden crate had been placed next to them, and Lenoria had just finished putting on a pair of silvery caestus.

"That's the weapon crate we were going to use against the fey! How did you get that?"

"We had a hand!" Clara nodded at her friend. "Lenoria!"

"With gusto!" Lenoria bumped her metal caestus together and charged in. Seeing Tizoc's unconscious body made her lose her temper, and all she wanted to do now was beat the demon down.

The charging punch connected, twisting the demon's head with a sickening crunch. The cold iron from her new weapon was like a grill on a steak, burning the demon's skin.

"That one's for Tizoc!"

With the demon now on the ground from its mace wounds and the final blow, combat was over.

Rewards

Encounter treated as having a party of 4-5 people.

XP awarded for stopping the machinations of eight CR 3 creatures (The Order of the Blue Jay): 1600. Combination of story elements and intimidation contributed to their surrender, and these XP are treated as if they had been defeated in combat.

XP awarded for one CR 6 monster (babau demon): 600

Bonus XP for rescuing the captive jaguars: 220

Total XP awarded: 2,420 each

Lenoria: 16,575/15,000

Clara: 16,485/15,000

Alistair: 29,485/34,000

LEVEL UP!

Lenoria and Clara advanced to 6th level!

Lenoria: Retrain

Clara: Construct Caller Summoner 5/Voice of the Wild Bard 1

Lenoria: 16,575/23,000

Clara: 16,485/23,000

Alistair: 29,485/34,000

Tizoc, the Werejaguar Warrior

Level Class Features Feat

Catfolk Ability Score Modifiers

- +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom

Cat's Luck (Ex)

- Once per day when a catfolk makes a Reflex saving throw, he can roll the saving throw twice and take the better result. He must decide to use this ability before the saving throw is attempted.

Natural Hunter

- Catfolk receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks.

Sprinter

- Catfolk gain a 10-foot racial bonus to their speed when using the charge, run, or withdraw actions.

Low-light Vision

- Catfolk can see twice as far as a human under dim illumination (such as nightfall).

Lycanthropy Ability Score Modifiers

+2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma (all forms); +2 Strength, +2 Constitution in animal and hybrid forms. In addition, In animal and hybrid form, the Lycan's ability scores are the same as the base creature’s or the base animal’s, whichever ability score is higher.

Lycanthropic Empathy

- A Lycan gains a +4 bonus to Diplomacy checks when altering the attitude of an animal related to their animal form (jaguars).

Defensive Abilities

- In animal or hybrid form, the Lycan's natural armor bonus to Armor Class increases by 2, and gains DR 10/silver (takes normal damage from silver weapons, other weapons deal 10 less damage).

Offensive Abilities

- In animal or hybrid form, the Lycan gains the natural weapons, special attacks, qualities, and abilities of the base animal.

- With the jaguar as the base animal, Tizoc gains two claw attacks, a bite attack, and the pounce, rake, and grab special attacks.

- Pounce (Ex): When charging, the werejaguar can make a full-attack action.

- Rake (Ex): When pouncing, the werejaguar makes two additional claw attacks. The werejaguar can also rake a grappled foe, but they must start its turn already grappling the foe.

- Grab (Ex): When successfully connecting with a bite attack, the werejaguar can make a grapple check as a free action, and gains a +4 bonus to grapple checks using its jaws.

1st level (Druid 1) Nature Bond (Herbalism 3/day)

- The druid can make concoctions from his spell list a number of times a day equal to his Wisdom modifier.

Nature Sense

- The druid gains a +2 bonus to Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.

Spells

- Druids can cast divine spells, using their Wisdom modifier for the Difficulty Check of their spells as well as gaining bonus spells.

Wild Empathy

- Druids can improve the attitude of an animal, as if rolling Diplomacy. To make a wild empathy check, the druid adds their Charisma modifier and druid level to the empathy roll.

Other

- Druids learn the Druidic language for free, but they are forbidden to teach this language to non-druids.

- Druids are proficient with a few weapons, as well as light and medium armor, and shields (except tower shields). However, they are forbidden from using metal armor and shields. Druids wearing forbidden equipment lose their spells and supernatural abilities while doing so and 24 hours after.

- Druids who cease to revere nature, change to a prohibited alignment, or teach Druidic to non-druids lose their spells and supernatural abilities, and cannot gain druid levels until they atone (usually with the atonement spell). Martial Weapon Proficiency (Macuahuitl)

- Gains proficiency with a martial weapon.

2nd level (Druid 2) Woodland Stride

- Druids can walk through natural undergrowth at their normal speed without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. They are still affected by magically manipulated undergrowth.

3rd level (Druid 3) Trackless Step

- Druids leave no trail in natural surroundings (unless they want to) and cannot be tracked. Spell Focus (Conjuration)

- Spell DC for Conjuration spells increases by 1.

4th level (Druid 4) Resist Nature's Lure

- Druids gain a +4 bonus to saving throws against the spell-like and supernatural abilities of the fey, as well as spells or effects that utilize or target plants.

Wild Shape 1/day

- Druids can transform into a Small or Medium animal and back again. The effect lasts one hour per druid level, or until the druid changes back.