The ambitious Mayor of a local halfling hill has hired you to retrieve some giant celestial maggots so that he can breed celestial battleflies to ride into battle and rain fiery death on his enemies. He wants four maggots (enough to start a breeding program), and will pay 500 GP for each with a bonus of 1000 GP if you get all four. It's all in halfling village scrip but they sell booze so you should have no trouble liquidating it.
Your patron has benevolently supplied your group with two wagons, each of which contain two cages suitable for a Medium sized creature. You need to cage four celestial maggots and bring them back to Bluebelly Hill to receive payment.
As any idiot could tell you, the only place that giant celestial flies lay their eggs is the rotting corpse of the Almighty Fish God, so that's where you'll have to go looking for them.
The corpse of the Almighty Fish God has been rotting in slow motion for the past thousand years or so. It is a gargantuan fish some 120 feet long and rotting from the inside out. It lays on a beach, just beyond the reach of high tide, being a smelly and awkward drain on tourism.
Corpse of the Almighty Fish God
The golden-colored celestial giant maggots are writhing around in the most putrefied sections of the fish. These sections are sunk almost 5 feet down into the fish. The body of the fish itself is a gentle incline, and as easy to walk up as a hill.
There are also three man-sized golden flies, with bejeweled compound eyes and butterfly-patterned wings, buzzing around about 60 feet above the corpse. The buzzing, while still annoying and quite loud, has a somewhat musical quality to it.
You arrive at the side of the fish, and you can already smell it. Now all you need to do is grab a few maggots and before you know it you'll be drinking yourself stupid on honey beer in a hobbit hole somewhere.
Athraz cocked his head to one side under his robe as he approached. This seemed decent easy enough... the biggest problem was going to be trying to get the maggots into the wagons without upsetting them, or their flying parents...
Athraz approached closer to the giant fish, climbing cautiously up the side and to the closest grub possible. He examined the wriggly little thing, grimacing a bit before poking it with his scimitar to gauge it's reaction.
Yvanesh casts Mage Armor on himself and moves forward ().
Shouts to the flies, "Were coming for your maggots, stop us if you can!"
Dwynra sneaks forward toward the maggots
Jaan leaps from the wagon, retrieving a large sack from his backpack and patting his little piglet on the head.
Don't sweat, Theo, I'll be right back!
Bookin' up towards the fish god Jaan falls into place with his companions, hunting for the foulest wiggling beastie in the bunch.
Athras and Brother Hu move up together, wary of any attack from the flies.
Dwynra casts vanish and heads in another direction, straight towards the nearest maggot.
The flies seem oblivious to your existence until Arthas pokes one of the maggots with his scimitar. There is an audible change in the buzzing sound; the fly equivalent of a record scratch.
The northernmost fly swoops around with startling speed and comes buzzing towards Athras and Brother Hu, although strangely it stays in the air 60 feet above them. The reason for this soon becomes horribly clear as the giant insect calls down the fury of the gods and drops a pillar of holy flame on the two adventurers like it was a bomb.
They both leap out of the way only a fraction of a second too late, avoiding the full force of the explosion but still getting burned by divine flame.
You each take 6 damage, 3 fire, 3 holy.
Not wonder that crazed halfling was willing to wreck his town's economy to pay you guy's to grab these maggots.
An invisible Dwynra goes unnoticed by the southern-most fly.
Seeing the battle has begun, Yvanesh and Sir Jann rush up to join their comrades. When Sir Jann steps into the putrefied part of the fish, and his feet sink a foot deep into the rotten flesh, he has to suppress an urge to vomit.
Sir Jann is sickened.
"Someone try grabbing a maggot! They just might fly down lw enough to try and stop us. I only have one spell that can reach them... and here it goes."
Yvanesh casts Magic Missile at the nearest fly ().
As a flash of light flies from his hand, he screams "and whoever manages to get their hands on a maggot, I have a spell to enlarge you so you may bear down this madness!"
Dwynra grabs hold of the maggot and runs toward the southern most wagon.
With a stumble and a bumble Jaan brings a hand to his mouth, a knot forming in his gut as the putrid fishodor fills his lungs. He hacks a bit before shaking himself into a proper headspace, seizing the J13 maggot and stuffing it into his sack. Assuming there's room for another squiggly-wiggly Jaan'll grab a second next round, otherwise he books it back to the northern wagon.
He'll still be taking total defense as a readied action in case he's physically attacked by the flies.
Athraz snarled as the holy fires attacked him. So THAT'S what that felt like! He'd always been on the attacking end of those spells... that hurts! He'd keep that in mind next time. Not now, though.
Bracing himself against the attack, he panted as he felt his energy being drained. Looking to Hu, he planted his staff into the ground as prayed. "Lady-Of-Mercies! Grant your unworthy servant the power to protect!" Tapping his staff into the fish, a wave of divine energy swept over his nearby allies, but swiftly moving around the flies.
Athras unleashes a wave of positive energy, healing some of the holy burns sustained by himself and Brother Hu.
As soon as he finishes Brother Hu sprints up to the fish's head.
Dwynra attempts to pick up one of the golden celestial maggots.
The squirming, withing little beast is too wriggly for the halfling to get a good grip on it. Although light enough for her to lift, the maggot is larger than Dwynra. It eludes her grasp for now.
The southernmost giant fly sees Dwynra do this, and swoops from the air with it's disgusting mandibles poised, dripping fluid, ready to attack.
The fly slams into her, seizes her in it's mandibles and throws her to the ground, ripping through her flesh as it does so. Dwynra falls to the ground, unconscious and in need of healing.
The fly that used the holy flame against Athras and Brother Hu swoops around and also launches a dive attack.
This one merely grazes the Kobold, but added to his other wounds it does not leave him in an enviable place.
The last fly follows Brother Hu to the fish's head and summons another column of holy fire.
Again Brother Hu leaps away just in time, and avoids the full brunt of the attack.
Once again 6 damage, 3 fire and 3 holy.
Yvanesh hurls a magic missile, which inerringly strikes it's mark and leaves a force burn on one of the celestial flies.
While all this chaos rages, Sir Jaan, ankle deep in putrefied flesh, attempts to wade after one of the maggots.
The maggots wriggle away like greased up pigs, and all Jaan succeeds in doing is covering himself in more rotting filth.
Dwynra spasms on the ground.
Jaan wipes the muck away from his face as he hears of a yelp of pain from Dwynra. Looking high over the fish he charges the fly with a single-minded determination
You foul and yet holy monster! I'll repay the blood you've spilled!
Realizing he has no time to draw his blade the young ward tackles the dire insect, initiating a grapple
Double moved to 16k (EDIT)
"Guys, two of these flies are now on the ground. Let us finish them off before they take-off again. But still what are these things?"
Yvanesh will 5ft step to F14 and cast Ray of Frost vs H14 fly.
Athras channels negative energy into his hands and then reaches out to touch the nearby giant fly.
The black magic burns and sears the flesh of the insect like a brand, and it screams an inhuman, musical scream.
It takes some doing, but Brother Hu is able to firmly grasp one of the maggots in his hands. He takes a 5-foot step towards the wagon.
Dwynra is, unfortunately, still down.
The fly that was still int he air fives down at Brother Hu, who is trying to carry away it's baby.
Brother Hu leaps out of the way of the Fly's mandibles, still clutching the maggot.
The fly engaged with Athras responds to his spell with a savage bite.
Unfortunately the tiny Kobold is too slippery for the fly to catch in it's mandibles.
The third fly stands guard over the maggot Dwynra was trying to grab.
Yvanesh's cantrip misses it's mark just as Sir Jaan manages to pin down the fly that attacked Dwynra with a wrestling move.
*twitch*
Yvanesh will move to H12 and cast Ray of Frost again to H14 Fly.
Locked in a battle of strength and stamina our young paladin struggles in his grapple against the great buzzing beast. Grabbing hold of it's antennae Sir Jaan attempts to pull himself atop the monster, pounding it with his gauntlets.
"Behold, oh celestial ruiner of picnics come down from on high, my fists strike pure and true, yield before our strength!"
Seeing his ray miss the fly again, Yvanesh growls at himself in anger.
However, seeing Sir Jaan's efforts with the Maggot seems to revive his composure, "Well done Sir Jaan! Athraz, can you manage to revive Dwynra? These flies are vulnerable to spells!"
Athraz races over to Dwnyra and heals her.
Meanwhile Brother Hu finally makes it to the wagon. It will be a simple move action next turn to slam the maggot into the cage.
Sir Jaan continues to keep the fly in a grappling hold, which looks like halfway between a wrestling match and a rodeo.
Yvanesh is too busy yelling advice to his team mates to aim properly, and another of his cantrips flies wild.
The remaining flies take to the air again.
Dwynra casts Silent Image to "summon" a 15' fly swatter, giving it the illusion that it's about to smash the Godfly .
She holds the illusion while backing away quickly .
After seeing Brother Hu dash next to him, Yvanesh will nod and say "Good work Brother Hu, though I can't say the same for myself at the moment. I shall go ahead and help the others down south..."
Without another word he casts Expeditious Retreat on himself and dashes forward ().
Enlarge Person would have been a handy spell for Brother Hu; sadly it's not one of the spells I have ready today...