Round 3 - recap
The party continues to pursue the fleeing bugbear. Berashel catches the bugbear just before it is able to get down the stairs. The rest of the party quickly scans the main room on the first level as they enter the room where they previously fought the traitor
Round 4
The bugbear continues to withdraw into the lower levels of the moathouse.
Braden rides his dog after the beast, delighting in the chase.
Berashel takes a swipe as the bugbear moves away, "C'mon stick around! Where do yout hink you're going?"
The giant frog takes one last chomp at the fallen bugbear before hopping off into the marsh, while Maegge/Gimpy follow after Arindale and Berashel toward the level down the keep.
Tybek follows Berashel and Arindale, eager for a piece of the action (Double move). However, while he rushes through the room, he glances at it to see anything of note and/or if it looks like it has been visited since Tybek was last in this room.
"Ahh'm a comin! Ahh'm a commin. We dannae want this beastie gettin tae far ahead and warnin the others that we're aboot tae bring destruction upon them!"
Round 4
HP 26/26
AC 15 T11 FF13 CMD16
F/R/W 1/4/2
Bardic Music 10/12
Elemental Assault 1/1
Spells
1st - 3/4
Effects
None
Ranim moves up with the others, lashing out with her whip in dance to inspire the others.
As the bugbear attempts to dodge around the corner, Berashel lunges out with his giant sword. Although the corner of the wall partially deflects his blow, the lucky swing manages to connect with the bugbear catching it in the middle of the back. Apparently hoping to continue getting away, the bugbear continues to move down the stairs. Unfortunately, the blow was too much and after three or four steps, the huge goblinoid stumbles forward and falls to the ground, blood seeping from the massive wound in its back.
Once the bugbear falls, the moathouse returns to its rather unnatural silence although the heavy breathing of the party following the sudden combat, as well as the chirping of small insects and animals in the half dried swamp outside at least provide some semblance of life.
Let's check over these guys.
Once that is complete. Ty, you going to sneak down the stairs and make sure they don't have a bunch of Bubears waiting to attack us?
Will cast Guidance on Ty. Picture Cayden in your mind, he will help you be quieter.
"Ty, you going to sneak down the stairs and make sure they don't have a bunch of Bubears waiting to attack us?"
"Ach! Ahh can dae that! Mind yae, Ahh'm nae gonnae gae tae far awa. Ahh dannae want to be getting whompped on by anither bug beastie!"
Tybek slowly creeps down the stairs with his axe drawn and looks around to see if there are any enemies about.
Maegge quietly 'coos' over Gimpy while Tybek sneaks around, ready for the dwarf to find trouble at any moment!
Braden will be 50' behind Ty on his dog.
Ranim casts Message upon Tybek, "Remember to whisper if you get in trouble and we'll know."
As Tybek gets to the bottom of the stairs, he sees a bit of light glinting off something near the ground. Looking closely he sees a thin piece of wire strung across the bottom of the steps. Poking his head out from the bottom of the steps, he sees that the wire is connected to a crossbow set off to one side of the steps. Perhaps not the most beautiful of traps, but clearly someone has decided to make it more difficult to get into the moathouse this way.
As Tybek sneak down the steps, Berashel prepares himself to jump to his aid if more enemies appear
Upon seeing the trap, Tybek quickly whispers to the others.
"Can yae hear me? Yoo hoo. Are yae there? Are yae sure that yae can hear me talkin tae yae? Ahh dannae ken how this works, but Ahh'm here with a trap. There is a wee string attached tae a mechanical crossbow that hold a wee sharp pointy bolt. If yae dannae watch yer step up ahead, yae're sure tae get yerself hit by the crude, but painful bolt. Noo, follow mae lead and dannae mak tae much noise. Dae yae want me disable the trap er dae yae wantae leave it fer some unsuspecting dolt tae trip o'er?"
Get rid of it, I guess if there is no one around you could wait for Cayden's blessing again.
Arindale walks down and casts Guidance on Ty again.
Braden approaches on Dworkin stopping about ten feet away.
"Good catch. Can you disable that?"
"Aye, Ahh can dae it in mae sleep. It isnae half as complicated as fixin a watch. All Ahh have tae dae is cut the rope and yae'll be free tae stroll by. Gimmae jist a moment."
Tybek attempts to disable the trap.
"I don't know. I would start with that thingy there."
Tybek begins to fiddle with the wire strung across the bottom of the steps, while still talking over his shoulder to his companions. Despite his best efforts at blind trap disabling, his inability to control his tongue and fingers at the same time cause his beard to suddenly catch on the wire. Suddenly there is a click, followed a second later by:
Attack:
a large bolt shooting from a giant crossbow which catches Tybek in his shoulder.
Damage:
Tybek - give me 2 fort saves.
"Danggoshtick! Wid yae'll stop yer interruptin! Can yae nae see that Ahh'm tryn tae work?! Noo look what's happened! The damn bolt has come and stuck me!!"
As Tybek looks with a strange dwarven look of surprise at the rather rusty bold sticking from his shoulder, he suddenly realizes that there is a bluish goo on the bolt. His head gets woozy for a moment and he almost loses his balance, but a second later his dwarven constitution kicks in and he regains what he uses for an excuse for common sense.
Once the trap is disarmed by Tybek's shoulder, the big room at the bottom of the stairs is found to be silent and empty except for an occasional drip of water from the northwest corner where a lack of maintenance has allowed the water from the swamp above to slowly penetrate into the old dungeon.
Added purely for color, searching will simply waste good, or bad, rolls.
Braden suggests: "Ty, clean that poison off in that refreshing swamp runoff water."
We should go to where we left off. Let's see if we can surprise them this time. Ty going to sneak just ahead?
Guidance on Ty again.
"Ty, clean that poison off in that refreshing swamp runoff water."
"Poison?!! Achhhhh!!! Ahh hate poison! Get it off! Get it off!" Tybek scurries over to the water and attempts to wash it off as quickly as possible. "Crivens! What evil despicable creature would use such vile disgust on their weapons! Ahh cannae stand the stuff! Ahh hope Ahh dannae die frae it!"
Once Tybek cleans off the poison and discovers that he is still breathing, he calms down considerably and ventures forward in stealth, looking for more traps as he goes.
"Look at the big gash in his shoulder. Someone else should be up front. Maegge., you go first."
Tybek, apparently more concerned about being quiet and the hole in his shoulder, stealthily moves forward only running into two walls, one pillar and stubbing his toe on an uneven stone in the floor. Finally after about twenty minutes of scraping and crawling, the party makes its way back through the still quiet crypt and to the junction where the sunken pool with the crayfish is off to the right and the gnoll chamber is through the door to the north.
There is still the long angled path leading southeast from just outside the door to the gnolls as well as the wide passage leading north from the gnoll room that you have not searched.
Ty, don't go running off before I get a chance to heal you! Arindale scolds him.
See what's down the angled path?
Here's that magic again Ty. Guidance for Ty.
Maegge, once again Gimpy-less, peers down the long corridor toward the southwest.
"Ty, don't go running off before I get a chance to heal you!" Arindale scolds him.
"Well, Ahh grow weary o' askin, but now that yae've done it, Ahh dae admit that turnin stuff yae dae daes hae a nice aroma tae it! Thanks, priest! Be sure tae gie auld Mister Cailean mae thanks!"
"Help me get Dworkin to follow, Maegge. He still doesn't like to come with us."
"How about that north room?"
"Yes the north room sounds good. Maybe we can find some more bugbears?" Berashel almost grins at the thought.
Ty, go check it out so we don't wonder into a trap. They are probably waiting for us so it would be better to be ready for em eh?
Guidance per above.
"Help me get Dworkin to follow, Maegge. He still doesn't like to come with us."
"Mebbae Dwork has mair sense than I realized! Whae in their richt mind would follow this band o' merry adventurers doon into the dark depths of dungeon?!"
"Ty, go check it out so we don't wonder into a trap. They are probably waiting for us so it would be better to be ready for em eh? "
"Aye, Ahh can dae that! Jist dannae lollygag back here passin a flask withoot me!"
Tybek creeps ahead to the north to the unexplored passageway in search of traps and foes, but not necessarily in that order.
Tybek carefully maneuvers his way through a twisty winding passage. After about 50', he comes to a split in the passage, one passage slopes up to the NW while the twisting passage continues to the east.
Tybek's sharp ears pick up what sounds like voices to the east, but he cannot make out the language or what is being said.
Tybek - give me a d20 roll.
Maegge goes to pet Dworkin in an attempt to calm the animal and get him to come along. Unfortunately, the odor coming from the cleft must have still overwhelmed the poor dog's sense of smell as he once again refused to follow even his master or new friend.
Tybek sends words with a whisper of his voice and the message spell. "Can yae folks hear that? Ahh hear voices tae the east, but Ahh cannae understand a word they are sayin. Draw yer weapons and stay alert!"
As Tybek carefully surveys the area, he notices that a large portcullis blocks the uphill passage to the northwest. The arguing voices to the east continue unabated.
Ranim carries Tybek's words through the spell. "Perhaps we should go invites ourselves to their debate?" Ranim unfurls her whip, just in case.
Braden begins to cast and a dimensional portal begins to form.
"I will bring a guest if I can't bring my dog."
"I think that is an excellent plan Ranim! Maybe we can bring a different point of view" Berashel slaps the flat of his greatsword on his palm
Braden begins to cast and a dimensional portal begins to form."I will bring a guest if I can't bring my dog."
"Aye, yae can bring the wee dug, but yae're responsible fer feeding it and pickin up aftair it! Ahh dannae want tae be steppin in any extraplanar dug doo! Ach! And make sure it daesnae bark and gie us all awa!"
Tybek proceeds slowly down the eastern hallway, perceptive as a block of wood, and as stealthy as a cat!
Tybek proceeds slowly down the eastern hallway, perceptive as a block of wood, and as stealthy as a cat!
Tybek carefully makes his way forward as quiet as a mouse, checking every inch of the wall for hidden passages, unusual cracks, and cobwebs that might get tangled in his beard. Unfortunately, most of the time, he is watching out for the cobwebs and ignoring most everything else.
When he turns around about the fourth corner, he finds himself staring into a room very similar to the one the party just left in the gnoll area. Before him are two large ugly goblinoid creatures, which he is pretty sure are more bugbears. They appear to be arguing over something while what looks like a opossum, or maybe just a large rat, roasts over a small campfire. The room is smokey from the fire.
On the far side of the room, he can see three doors spaced along the eastern wall. To the north and almost out of sight from where he is standing, he sees what looks to be a passage leading further north.
Perception: <-- and they are just as oblivious as Tybek apparently.
Braden waits for his summoning to complete, a creature made of the earth itself. Rather than scare Tybek, Braden has the creature glide under the earth swimming through the floor as a fish through water.
Tybek is looking at the bugbears, so he misses the wake of moved earth passing under his feet for a few moments.
Braden whispers: "My friend is attacking the bugbears from the other side. Should distract them and cut off their retreat. Maegge, I think another summoned creature would be overkill, this guy is pretty strong and tough. Tell Ty to charge when the very earth attacks the bugbears."
Braden then continues to move closer.
Small Earth Elemental
CR 1
XP 400
N Small outsider (earth, elemental, extraplanar)
Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Perception +4
DEFENSE
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (–1 Dex, +7 natural, +1 size)
hp 17 (2d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref –1, Will +3
Immune elemental traits
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft., earth glide
Melee slam +6 (1d6+6)
Special Attacks earth mastery
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 8, Con 17, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 11
Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 15
Feats Improved Bull RushB, Power Attack
Skills Appraise +1, Climb +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +1, Knowledge (planes) +1, Perception +4, Stealth +7
Languages Terran
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Earth Glide (Ex)
A burrowing earth elemental can pass through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. If protected against fire damage, it can even glide through lava. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other sign of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing a burrowing earth elemental flings the elemental back 30 feet, stunning the creature for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save.
Earth Mastery (Ex)
An earth elemental gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its foe are touching the ground. If an opponent is airborne or waterborne, the elemental takes a –4 penalty on attack and damage rolls. These modifiers apply to bull rush and overrun maneuvers, whether the elemental is initiating or resisting these kinds of attacks. (These modifiers are not included in the statistics block.)