Fighting from a distance and hitting fast....two tactics the archer is very familiar with. He gauges the distance to the roper holding Kreig as he reaches for his quiver. Telman does not say a word but its hard to miss the fact that each arrowhead is coated in a thin layer of frost as the arrow touches the string. The arrows streak across the cave, only the first salvo breaking through its defenses, and the ice seems to have no additional effect when they strike.
At a nod from Rikar, Latys bounds past the remaining roper, circling behind it as her master approaches from the front. She lashes out with a deadly claw at the tentacled beast!
Rikar moves rapidly forward, calling out, "We'll get you out of there one way or another, Kreig! I thought you were quicker than that!" He swings his scythe at the roper, cutting it deeply!
- Really! Dang poor time to roll max (for the DM).
vs Rikar AC 24 - Threat
vs Rikar AC 24 - Confirm
vs Latys Touch AC 16
Therena casts a spell and a pit opens up under the roper to the west, however it is just able to move to safety by backing up behind the pit. Josef casts haste on the group. Kreig feels weakened by the tendrils and attempts to escape from them. He manages to twist and turn just enough to escape from all of them, but is not able to move away, for now. Telman, noticing the west most roper backing up to avoid the pit, concentrates his arrows on the east one and only manages to hit it once. He is disappointed that the roper does not seem to be affected by the frost damage that the arrow delivered. Latys bounds over the east roper, which is not able to reach out and grab the cat, and she kits it hard. Rikar, moving under the haste affect moves close enough to lunge and his weapon significantly damages the roper, and he is aware that the fire does a little more damage than he anticipated. Misha, attempting to keep the ranger from being snagged like Kreig, casts grease on him to offset any tendrils coming his way.
As his prey is right before him and in range, the east roper forgoes his tendril attacks and opens the its toothy maw and simply bites the ranger, critically wounding him. The west roper scuttles away from the pits edge and launches a tendril at the cat grabbing it, hoping for at least a morsel to eat.
Telman grunts what might be a response to Josef. Trying not to let his frustration get the best of him he reaches for his quiver again. This time he fares only slightly better as only two of his four shots fail to penetrate the beast's defenses.
"Maybe it would be better if both of us emulate the ranger!"
Therena would have used bit of luck on Telman, letting him roll twice per d20.
Latys lashes out at the roper that has injured Rikar, tearing it to pieces!
Seeing the first roper fall, Rikar takes a few steps toward the other one and slices at it with his scythe!
vs Rikar AC 24
Therena touches Telman on the shoulder, giving him a bit of luck with his attacks. Josef fires his longbow, and emulating Telman only hits with his first shot. Kreig is still recovering from loosing half his strength, and moves back next to Therena. Telman, fires four arrows, and with Therena help hits with three of them.
Seeing the creature fall from the arrows, Latys moves towards the remaining roper and bites it savagely, while his master moves close enough to lunge attack the roper. Misha, waits to see the outcome of the next few moments.
The remaining roper, grinning, or at least what passes for a grin with these creatures, as his prey comes within range lashes out with a bite and wounds the ranger even more.
Shocked at how quickly he's been injured, Rikar determines to end this fight. He steps closer to the remaining roper and swings his scythe in a blur. His wounds cause all but one strike to miss, but, oh, that one, it is devastating indeed! A brilliant burst of flame explodes from his weapon as he cuts the roper down!
With the creature defeated, he turns his bloodied body towards his friends and says, "Another close one, eh? I think I need to spend some gold on a bit of protective magic."
Misha walks up to Rikar once he beats the roper, and casts cure moderate wounds on him.
Shocked at how much damage he has taken, Rikar steps up to the remaining roper and slaughters it with his flaming scythe. Misha, seeing the ranger in serious trouble, calls upon some healing power to ensure he is still standing.
Therena examines Kreig and Rikar to ensure that the Strength damage is temporary and not drain. Assuming it is just temporary, she uses her restoration spell on Kreig, and lesser ones on Rikar and Latys.
All strength back to Kreig.
Full
Full
Then she burns a dispel magic to heal Rikar further.
"The wand is done for. I can heal the rest of your injuries, but that'll be it for most of my more powerful divine magic."
She waits to see what the consensus is before healing him further.
As the creature falls Telman takes a few steps back and trains his attention back the way they came .... Just in case the sounds of battle have inspired the "mad giant" to see what the commotion was all about.
Kreig nods his thanks to Therena and shakely regains his feet.
"I gotta couple o' healin' juices here. Plus a Restoratin' dose here somewhere's..."
Rikar thanks Misha and Therena for the healing, shaking his head at the fact that Latys has once again emerged unscathed from a big fight. "You're a lucky one, girl, lucky indeed," he says, patting the big cat on the flank while he rests a bit.
"Now where, folks?" he asks his friends. "I guess we head south, now that we're all patched up again? And I try not to step in between any more big bads..."
You come to yet another great chasm, this one deeper and darker than any you have seen previously. Unnaturally thick, black mist seems to actually come up from the abyss…
Misha casts cure light wounds a couple times to help bring Rikar up further.
"I think cases like that are where we need to let Telman turn the enemy into pincushions and Josef zap them rather than rush in," Misha says.
When they reach the chasm, Misha examines the dark mist. Does she know what it is?
In the meantime, she replies to Josef. "This seems to be the only way immediately from here. The only way to backtrack would be not only to pass the crazed giant and the stone giants again, but also the frost giants who would unlikely be unhappy to see us again."
"Unless there have been secret or hidden passageways that we have missed," Therena says.
"Possible, but given I think Rikar and Krieg both could spot a half-inch long crack in a wall a mile away, I feel confident in our scouts' abilities to see any possible ways forward."
Rikar listens to Misha's counsel on how they should have fought the ropers, then responds a bit gruffly, "I didn't rush in! You'll notice I tried to do exactly what you just said, no? Cut myself loose and came right back to join you so we could pepper them from a distance, but the damn things seemed to have a taste for dwarf and grabbed Kreig with a whole bunch of those tentacles. I rushed in then, to save our friend's nimble butt!"
Calming himself as they make their way to the next chasm, Rikar drinks a potion to knit up his wounds further as the others discuss the path forward. Holding the empty vial in his hand, he contemplates tossing it into the chasm in front of them, speaking in more measured tones to Misha as he does so, "I agree, I don't expect Kreig and I missed anything, though it's possible."
Game terms:
Going down - medium fort save every ten minutes or so; fail take damage; pass ok for that time only.
At bottom - high fort save every minute or so; fail take damage; pass ok for that minute
Misha actually physically winces at Rikar's heated response. "Whoah there, wasn't yelling at or blaming you. Just speculating on tactics for next time. I appreciate what you were trying to do. But we also have other ways to help situations like that too, that's all. I didnt mean to imply you did anything wrong."
She shakes her head and moves away, muttering, "Sheesh, way to bite off the hand that heals you..."
In spite of his evident frustration, Rikar can't help but notice Misha's reaction, and he softens his tone considerably before replying, "Ah, Mishinika, I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little thin-skinned because I could have handled things better, and I feel bad that I left ol' Kreig sitting there for the ropers to snack on while I hustled back to a better spot. We all do a pretty solid job watching each others' backs, and this time I left Kreig's back wrapped up in tentacles. But that doesn't mean you were calling me out for doing something wrong - and at least nobody died, eh?"
He extends a massive hand to the diminutive bard, an offering of peace, and says with a rueful smile, "We got plenty of things down here happy to fight us, no sense in us fighting each other, right? We good, clever one? Friends?"
Kreig spits over the side. "Roper hoop, mountain Rock, don't make a lick o' nevermind." Kreig steps back and lights a cheroot, puffing away so the embers light up his eyes and his grin. "Some sunovab$~$# wants ta turn me into a midnight snack, ol' Kreig goes in one end, but he carves his way out the other."
He turns and spits over the side again. "Ya hear that, ya dirty, dragon-humpin' toadies? Ol'Kreig Ironhand'll tear ya a new one!"
He chuckles to himself. "Sonsob~&#~es...now, I once had a wizard pal o' mine drop a wing-ding on my dome that let me jump from Lord Jutmerlum's fourth floor balcony like I was a feather on the wind. Heh heh, e'en though I was skiddadlin' with an armful o' his wares." He looks to each of the group's spellcasters and asks, "Any o' you gots that sorta magickin' on tap? Me n' Longshanks can go n' scout a landing spot."
|
"Glad to see the mountain cannot suppress your fighting instinct, Kreig. As to your question: I do not have the feather fall spell in my repetoire as of now. I only recently came by flight magic, so it was hardly a priority."
Josef floats around, enjoying the feel of flight.
"As to jumping down the hole, I don't know how wise that would be. There could be any manner of creature in that mist, and spirits only know how nasty the fog itself is."
Is the air walking expired? 10 minute duration
Misha smiles and takes Rikar's hand, grasping it firmly, then releasing it. "I know we rely on you a lot, Rikar, but we don't hold you solely responsible for getting any of us out of a jam. Nor should you expect the same of yourself. There's a difference between having each other's backs and bearing the burden of the group's work on your shoulders alone. I don't want to see you get hurt for doing just that." She pauses. "You DO know we worry as much about you as you do us, right?"
To Krieg's remarks on his escaping various dangers, she adds, "Oh we know Krieg--I expect you'll outlast us all."
To the chasm, Misha examines the dark mist and raises an eyebrow. "This is poisonous--breathe in too much, you're gonna be hurting. It's dispersed up this high, but it's probably concentrated at the bottom." She looks at the group. "If Therena's spell has dissipated, I can cast feather fall and easily cover you all, but if we want to do this, we have to be confident our protective magic and things like antitoxins will be enough to keep us safe.
"Also, if we jump down, and there's no way to progress, then we're stuck at the bottom of a poisonous hole. IF we've got enough rope, we could send Krieg down to take a look as he suggests."
"Of course! How bout we pump you up with wards, Josef, and make you invisible? You can go see if there's anything worth exploring at the bottom, before we start trying to use you as a dumbwaiter."
"I hear ya, Mishinika," Rikar replies with a relieved smile, "and I get that it's not all on me - at least most of the time I get that. But this time I was standing right next to the damned dwarf and I left him behind - seems like that one is on me." With a chuckle, he adds, "But you're right, this mountain could probably come down around our ears and Kreig would pop out of the rubble, looking for trouble." He puts one arm around Misha's shoulders and gives her a quick hug, then turns his attention back to the chasm.
"I'm game to do some exploring, long as we have a way to get back up if there's nothing down there but darkness and poison gas."
Misha accepts and returns Rikar's hug.
Turning back to Josef, she says, "I've got antitoxin and an invisibility spell if you need it. Heroism too if you like. Or I can do that hope spell on all of us, just in case. "
|
|
"I believe heroism is appropriate, given the circumstances. I am trying to be a bug damn hero, after all."
Josef grins and half-bows with that line.
"Better safe than sorry, then. One moment, before the plunge."
Josef casts extended cat's grace followed by shield, gratefully accepting the heroism spell and antitoxin from Misha.
"Now, if you could make a light for me, Therena? So I could see down there, as I assume it's quite dark down there. Any other suggestions, team?"
Once he's been turned invisible, Josef turns and drops the light source down the hole, counting 3 seconds before following it. Moving 40', Josef runs straight down, keeping the light as a beacon to follow as best he can.
A big damn hero whose light will give him away for sure...well, Misha said it's not my job - or not only my job - to worry about everyone. I'm sure Josef will be fine.
"Just be sure you come back, eh? Misha's handy little message spell won't reach us us here, I'm guessing, so come back and tell us what fun awaits us below."