Corentin barely manages to avoid the chains that send his friend to the ground. The whirl of battle allow him no time to check on Szacha though and so he tries to take advantage of the giants massive attack.
The things thick hide turns the blade before it can do any real damage however.
Jaghal couldn't do much to help Corentin from his current position, so he channeled again to heal him and the others from a distance.
"Healing wave!"
Excluding the enemies, of course.
Corentin takes another shot at the massive creature, missing and leaving himself slightly unbalanced. Szacha, who only appeared to be buried under the mass of chains, feels the healing warmth as Jaghal sends forth additional waves of positive energy, and quickly shrugs off the metal links, responding in kind with his bardiche. The attack misses, however the unseen force surrounding the skald slams into the giant, rocking it back on its heels for a moment. Johan buries a final arrow into the orc attacking Jaghal, the creature falling to the ground with a thud. Stepping up, Sasha lands a gruesome blow to the creature, ripping open a gash across its groin and sending a gout of blood spraying forth. The giant teeters for a moment and then comes crashing to the ground, the earth shaking violently at its passing.
"Holy son of god! That was... Nice!"
Corentin lets out a triumphant shout at the giants demise. Taking a deep breath to settle himself from the rush of combat he looks around to the welcome sight of all of his companions alive and well.
He pats Szacha on the shoulder, giving his old battle companion a smile before stepping to their latest addition. Taking a knee to be able to look him in the eye he reaches out a hand and says, "Your skills are formidable Master Jaghal. I fear we would not have fared as well without them."
Rising he refocuses on the chaotic battle going on around them. "The beacon is lit, we should see what the orcs were up to here and then push on to help the defenders within the lower town."
"Whew!" Sasha cleans her sword and allows the heat of the battle to pass. "Looked like we weren't going to make it there. Thanks be to Jaghal!"
"Thanks, thanks, but I would not withstand many attacks if you haven't killed the beast." He approached Szacha, who was almost crushed by the powerful punch of the monster. "Are you ok? How hurt are you? Let's patch ourselves up for another income."
He touches Szacha with another healing spell, bringing him almost to full hit points. "Cure Wounds!" Lastly he uses another one on himself, reactivates his Life Link and gets ready to move with the group. "All set!"
"Well done everyone. That was a close call."
Gizsmith will roll the orcs and giant for 'loot'.
With the fall of Crusher and his handlers, the orc raid is effectively halted. With the loss of both their siege engines - thanks to the Trunauan cavalry, and their cave giant - thanks to the party, the Twisted Nail orcs are defeated and demoralized, and begin a mass rout, fleeing back into the Belkzen wilderness. Many are cut down by soldiers or archers as they quickly retreat from the city, but many more escape, disappearing into the night.
As you are catching your breath, and going over the corpses in hopes of finding loot, Kurst Grath rides up with several of his soldiers, blood covering the flanks and legs of the horses and splattered over their armor. Pulling the horse to a halt, he salutes you and says, "Friends, it is good to see you alive. Look at the size of that thing!" he marvels, impressed with the slaying of the giant. "An amazing accomplishment to be sure, and there will be time enough for honors soon enough. However, there is a more pressing task at hand. One of the guards in the northern tower spotted a pair of humanoids accompanied by wolves dash into the tunnel over there almost immediately after the giant opened it, followed shortly after by another humanoid figure." His eyes survey the carnage and ruin a moment before continuing, "I would ask once more of you, if you are willing. Enter that tunnel, secure whatever’s inside, and apprehend or flush out whoever’s hiding within. I will appoint guards outside the tunnel entrance to make sure no one else enters or exits it. What do you say? Once more, for Trunau?"
"For as many times as Trunau needs." Corentin states stoically. While the party musters themselves he takes a moment of Kurst's time. "It's good to see you in good health and successful. We haven't been able to reach the Rambelhouse yet, could you send someone to check on Cham and Resolute?"
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Johan looks up from his regaining some arrows and nods agreement. Would that none of these orcs or those that support got away. If these humanoids supported the raid in any way, then I would put an end to them. Johan looks over Kurst and the soldiers with him and asks Do any of you have arrows to spare for this mission? My quivers are nearly empty.
Jaghal finds Cham and Resolute very weird names, but he ignores the drift and focus on the subject. "Ready when you guys are!"
"Then let's go!" the feisty halfling cries. "For Trunau!"
"I agree Szacha. It seems odd to me that a third person would enter later. If they were with whomever is interested in this place no doubt they would have entered with them. There is nothing to be done but enter and sort it out however. Sasha, Johan are there any tracks your sharp eyes can find that might tell us more about our foes or put a number to the wolves?"
"Alright let's do this then."
Giz picks his crossbow back up and pulls out a scroll, carrying it in his hand.
Kurst looks over to Johan and shakes his head, "Would that I could, brave warrior, but our supplies have been severely depleted during the raid. Many of our own archers found themselves throwing whatever they could lay a hand on at the attackers once their own supplies were spent. Surely there are some within the city, but I feel this tunnel warrants immediate investigation, limiting our time for a search for supplies."
Searching the ground, Johan and Sasha can make out the tracks of two humanoids and one larger creature, the tracks similar in size and shape to the flood troll encountered in the ruins outside the city the day before. The wolf tracks appear to indicate the presence of two of the creatures, and both seem much larger than those of Galor.
Moving to the entrance, you find slabs of rock that appear crushed by the giant you defeated just moments ago. Beyond this rock lies a tunnel, the age of the stone revealing that the passage itself is centuries old at least. Gossamer cobwebs hang from the ceiling of this rough tunnel, and the misty spray from the Hopespring’s waterfall outside glimmers faintly on strands of spider silk. Chunks of rubble lie scattered on the floor amid piles of dirt.
Moving further into the tunnel, it opens up into a moist cave. The air in this cavern is humid but cool, and a thin sheen of condensation coats its rocky walls. A narrow passage exits the cavern to the west. To the south, the floor drops away into darkness, while a bridge of stone leads to another cavern to the east. The sound of trickling water echoes through the cavern.
"Keep your eyes sharp, I don't doubt that there are creatures beyond just our quarry in these caverns. Do the tracks leave any clue as to which path they took? If not then I suspect downward to the south might be our best bet."
"Dire wolves, and perhaps a troll!" Sasha whispers, "We should be very cautious." Entering the cavern, she pauses at the intersection and searches for more tracks.
Its a simple enough matter for Sasha to work out that the tracks you followed in continue to the south.
"South then." the cavalier says softly. He begins walking forward but it's quickly apparent that his domain is charging through an open field or fighting in the midst of a battle. Here the clank of his heavy armor echos about the cavern and his size seems more hindrance than boon. Despite this his focused, confident demeanor remains unchanged.
As Corentin moves deeper into the cavern, the constant dripping of water can be heard echoing through the large chamber. Below the rocky bridge a running body of water makes its way through the cavern, likely the runoff from the Hopespring above. Clicks and scuttles sound though the cavernous space, every sound keeping the party on high alert.
As the group begins to move over the rocky bridge, chitters and squeaks from ahead begin to build, until the light reveals a mass of squirming and decaying rats. Some are missing huge bits of fur, others have holes where eyes should be, but all appear to be equally deadly, and hungry.
The swarm of decaying rats seethes forward, rushing over the front ranks of the party and covering them with amazingly swift speed. The creatures bite and tear at exposed flesh, their rotting and bittle teeth leaving foul slime and saliva in their wake.
These are shadow rats. Shadow rats are essentially undead rats that can assume an incorporeal form. Other than their semi-translucent form, they resemble their earthly counterparts in all respects. A shadow rat swarm is simply a massive number of shadow rats that have cluttered or banded together for survival or food.
They are undead, deal strength damage, and can also deliver diseases with their bites.
The swarm is composed of tiny creatures, so piercing and slashing weapons deal half damage.
Realizing his axe will be ineffective against so many small foes Corentin let's it fall from his hand and instead attacks with his morning star hoping to crush the disturbing vermin.
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Kurst looks over to Johan and shakes his head, "Would that I could, brave warrior, but our supplies have been severely depleted during the raid. Many of our own archers found themselves throwing whatever they could lay a hand on at the attackers once their own supplies were spent. Surely there are some within the city, but I feel this tunnel warrants immediate investigation, limiting our time for a search for supplies."
Then I will make due with what I have sir. Johan says as he retrieves two so the three shafts from the last battle that missed their targets. He also quickly checks the orcs and giant for anything of use or value.
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[opc]The rats do provoke as they move onto you I believe. That is IF you are not flat footed. [/ooc]
Johan sees the rats moving towards the group. So he pulls and throws his alchemical fire at the creatures. He tries to hit them before the close on the front ranks so that he does not splash his party.
On his next turn he pulls and throws act at the swarm targeting to minimize splash to his party. But this vial is thrown somewhat wide and likely only splashes the swarm. After the throw he moves back away from the creatures. Spread out so that they cannot attack a lot of us at once.
Jaghal transfers a little bit of his vital energy to Szacha and Corentin, since they are hurt enough to need his aid.
Although he was running low of healing resources, Jaghal could not let those creatures alive for long, since they would be devastating to the party. It could not wait another second, so he summoned more of his divine power, but this time to harm the creatures!
"Energy wave!"
Giz pulls out a flask of alchemist fire and lobs it into the writhing mass.
Sasha frantically swats at the beasts. "Get them off!" she screams, forgetting stealth.
As the horde of rats scurries out from the darkness, Johan is the first to react, quickly reaching for a flask hanging from his belt and tossing it at the swarm, center mass. The device bursts into blazing flame, searing dozens of the creatures and killing just as many. The rats surge forward, covering the party and biting at any exposed areas. As they inflict damage, the victims feel the very strength sapped from their bones as the foul things feed upon their life force. Calling the group to spread out, Johan throws another vial at the writhing creatures, this time acid, burning them as the flames continue to spread. Jaghal, realizing their nature, sends forth a burst of positive energy which seems to inflict serious damage to the swarm. Gizsmith, a flask of fire of his own in hand, throws the device and connects with a mass of the creatures, flames blossoming out from the impact and burning the rats horribly. Coretin takes a swing at a group of the rats, splattering them with his morning star and killing over a dozen with a single swing. The rest of the party starts to spread out, avoiding the biting horde.
The scattering party leaves fewer targets for the ghoulish rodents, who continue to gnaw on Corentin, Galor, and Sasha in frustration.
The chill of the twisted rats foul bites goes right to Corentin's muscles. Taking the only recouse he has he continues to shake them off and crush them.
Sasha continues to frantically slash at the rats, even as Galor bites at a few. "Get the off of me!" she screams.
"Damn!" Jaghal's resources wouldn't last forever this way, but he transfer some vital energy to his allies either way.
His energy wave wasn't enough to banish the rats, although they were all hit by it.
Depending on how many rats are still there, Jaghal will take one of the following actions:
IF there are still that many rats, he will summon forth another Energy wave to try to kill them.
If there are only two or three groups of rats he will try to swipe some of them with his Longspear!
Continuing the furious battle with the hungry undead rodents, Corentin and Szacha rain down heavy blows on the creatures while Johan fires off several arrows from a distance, some shots skewering three or four rats before the projectile loses momentum. With his last shot he lines up one last rat perched on Corentin's shoulder and chewing feverishly at the man, and blasts it off of the cavalier, sending it into the darkness beyond.
"Yeah, me neither," Sasha adds.