"Continuing on is logical."
"Caimor, do you have any idea if the gremlins can keep teleporting around us, or are they limited on how often they can pull off that trick?" Taz asks.
"If they're limited now, we'd be better off to deal with them so they can't pull that trick on us again."
"Their reserve is usually limited to once an hour, but I would not advise going into the situation unprepared. They're well-known for their traps."
Caimor looks to where the gremlins fled. "However, you may be right in saying that it would be better to deal with them now rather than have them surprise us later when we are weakened from exploration. I would advise getting a skulk to guide us to where they are, as well as for insurance."
"If we're going to dig them out of those tunnels, should we lead off with the person most likely to see the ambush coming, or should we lead off with the person most likely to shrug off whatever trap they spring?" asks Tazwell.
After being completely waylaid and rendered unconscious by the robots fist will gradually pull his face up out of the dirt "uuuuugghhh I HATE it when things are made out of metal like that. Hell! I'll take someone trying to kill me while wearing full plate over that." he said groggily.
"If we go after the gremlins I think after that we should head back and rest up a bit." fist said eager to actually defeat something and regain some of his pride.
"I'll go first. I'd rather avoid the traps than spring them for no good reason. And you'll be fine, Fist. Gremlins aren't metal."
While the conversation is going on, Caimor fiddles with his alchemical equipment, mixing something up in one of the vials.
"So, you know, I'll just be off now, you know." he said, running away.
"Good job spotting that trap Caimor!
Sarona keeps her hammer readied. She nods at Caimor and moves to try and disarm the trap.
"A spring-loaded trap? A basic mechanical contraption. It shouldn't be that hard for me to disarm."
Caimor nods in reply and pulls his rapier out. "That means we're close. Be ready."
Making sure everyone is behind him, he starts moving forward, eyes scanning the area for traps and any trace of the gremlins.
"Yeah. Let's get a move on, ehh?"
Kerin trudges on.
"Lets crush some skulls then hehehe that council woman is going to owe me a new hat."
Fist said with eager anticipation as he scaled the cliff with everyone keeping an eye out for the gremlins.
Taz keeps his dagger handy and follows along behind, keeping an eye out behind them for signs of an ambush.
"No sign of anything back here ...."
As you continue onward, nothing really seems of intrest, the traping having been disabled. You continue rather well, until caimor turns a corner and has a crossbow bolt fired at him by another gremlin, who runs further into the tunnel.
Kerin barrels off after the pest at top speed. "C'mere, you little twit!"
Tazwell follows behind Kerin, not wanting to be left behind.
Sarona looks up from her handiwork in time for Kerin and Tazwell to take off after a gremlin. Her eyes widen. "Wait! Wait! Rushing ahead is tactically inadvisable!"
Indeed it is, because kerin manages to charge forward after the fleeing goblin, he steps on a spring loaded spike trap he didn't even bother trying to find. It stabs his feet.
Painfully. The trap impales Kerin's foot, and is a extreme pain in it- He now moves at half speed, as if he stepped on a caltrap.
In addition, as Tazwell runs by, the gremlin, preparing for this, fires a bolt as it's readied action is shot off, running further into the cavern.
"Darn it!!!! Those are sneaky little boogers!" Taz exclaims as he ducks the gremlins shot.
He kneels down to place his lantern on the floor and put an arrow to the string of his bow, then he looks over to the dwarf and notices his wound.
"Crikey, that looks nasty Kerin...." he says.
"Hey Sarona, you were right ....we probably shouldn't have rushed ahead like that." he calls back down the hall.
Caimor doesn't bother with a reprimand, taking point for the party again. He waits to see if Sarona will try healing Kerin before advising, "From the descriptions, there shouldn't be further to go. Avoid letting them bait you and be ready to retreat if they have something unexpected planned."
Sarona sighs and walks up to Kerin, producing one of the scrolls he gave her earlier.
"Please don't do that again." She says as she reads the scroll. She rests a hand on Kerin, channeling the energy from the scroll into his wound.
"What, we're just supposed to take it while they shoot at us?"
"It might yield better results than running ahead blindly and needlessly getting caught in traps." Sarona shrugs. "Ideally, we should stick together--they have demonstrated that they have some teleportation ability, and if we break formation, they can use them to divide and overwhelm us."
Fortunately for you, you're incredibly right in the dividing respect, as suddenly, the ground behind you two appears to rise up, blocking the exit as the wall appears to close- And the path the kobold who attacked Tazwell walked down, seperating Kerin, Tazwell, and Sarona from Caimor and Fist. From behind the northmost wall, you hear laughing.
(See map for current layout)
"As they have just aptly demonstrated." Sarona sighs in resignation. "Although in this case, it's their usage of dividing walls instead of teleportation."
"Well lets root them out of their nest and teach them not to play tricks on people with sharp, pointy things in their hands" Taz suggests.
He looks down the passage to see if any of them are currently spying on us.
Fist damn near runs face first into the wall that apears between all them and pounds on it to see how sturdy it is.
"Damnit is their another way around?"
The wall's a lie. An outright fabrication. It's staring there, lying to your face, with the fact that it's a lie, lying at you and your allies. Your hand slides through the illusion with the utmost ease.
Tazwell hears nothing besides the laughing behind the illusiatory wall.
Caimor is about to test the wall, considering he saw no clues to its existence beforehand, when he sees Fist's hand go through it. "Hmn."
Sarona looks back in time to see Fist's... well, fist poking through the rock wall. "Oh? Trying to split us up with illusions? Interesting."
"They must be afraid of Fist. Let's go kill the interesting buggers."
Kerin is apparently still a bit put out due to being stabbed for being stupid.
Steping right through the wall fist grins as he cracks his knuckles
"alright lets clean house."
Fist sais as he takes position beside kerin and goes deeper into the cave together with the group.
Sarona nods and readies her hammer, following the team.
Tazwell follows along behind Sarona and Kerin, an arrow ready on his bowstring.
You slowly walk forward into the cavern, hearing the scampering of fleeing. Several different passageways converge on a narrow ledge, overlooking a rubble filled cavern. The far wall is made of a smooth, dark gray metal. A single circular door, tightly closed, sits on the metal wall just above the upper level of the rubble. Atop a pile of rubble, you watch as a gremlin sits down, idly sharpening it's weapon.
"I've been expecting you."
He chuckles, "You know, I wonder what it'll be like, in the future. On the other side, you see."
He looks at you, and stands up, "Come and get me!" he said, tauntingly.
"What other side?" Caimor asks calmly, having no plans of being baited to approach. His eyes seem fixed on the gremlin but he still possesses an uncanny awareness of his surroundings. "And why not go there and find out?"
If they weren't going to attack then this might be the only time to get information from the only other residents of the cavern.
"That's one puny excuse for a taunt. 'I wonder what dying's going ter feel like?' Pfah! I'll show you all right!"
He doesn't charge, although he does keep his axe at the ready.
Tazwell figures this is another attempt to trick us into a trap of some sort, so he concentrates on looking for the trap.
"I think im going to enjoy kicking your ass."
Fist sais with a growl as he slowly steps forward keeping a sharp eye out for any potential traps.
Sarona sighs. "I would have tried diplomacy, but that's just me."
She snaps her fingers, conjuring up a bolt of blue fire. "Let's get this over with."
She launches it at the gremlin...
Taz quickly raises his bow and snaps off a shot at the Gremlin.
Kerin draws a hammer and lobs it at the offending offender.
Light hammer throw (30ft RI)
Caimor sighs.
Caimor's sighs were, in fact, not entirely warrented, as the gremlin stumbles back as bolt of fire hits it's face.
"What the-"
He then gets a hammer directly to the skull, stumbling back. He stares in shock, and immidiately tries to run the hell away from you guys as you spoil his brilliant plan by not actually charging at him.
Fist sees no traps as he moves forward, but does hear four archers in the cavern to the left, and advoids their attacks. You hear as he shouts in Undercommon to "Kill them!"
He crawls into a corner and prepares a total defense action, as you hear him count down from eight.
You watch as four gremlins run out into the open (All of them provoking AoO from Fist as the run out), and you watch as they all try to desperately fire bolts at you from their crossbows.
They all aim at Kerin, desperately hoping to knock him down, and firing in unison.
One of the bolts clangs off his armor, and he manages to step aside from the second. The last two get him, however. They're not enough to stop him, and he closes the distance with a roar, swinging his axe around.
Caimor uses the distraction of the fight to dash across the ledge, trusting the party to take care of themselves. That eight-second countdown doesn't bode well.
"Sneeaky buggers!" exclaims Taz and then he returns fire at the lead gremlin.
Seeing Kerin leap into a swarm of gremlins, Sarona steps forward, her hands wreathed in blue fire.
"May my faith lend me strength..." She prays as she thrusts her hands forward. An arc of blue fire leaps forth to engulf the gremlins without hurting Kerin...
Fist will instinctively snap his hand out and strike one of the crossbow wielders.
after they fire upon the dwarf Fist will start screaming at the top of his lungs and wailing on them. starting with the most wounded and moving to others if they drop.
"YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?"