Before sleeping, Caelus nods to Oynar, waving his hand, and the eidolon disperses into a brief-lived golden mist.
After resting, the summoner calls Oynar again, rises, and looks around the makeshift camp.
"Oynar and I will accompany you, " he says to Naravash and Red Stick. " He sees well in darkness, and can move quickly. "
While everybody is getting ready to rest, Sarthonn volunteers. "I will take the first watch, " he says as he takes a position outside the structure. Then he asks "Who wants the second watch?"
After being relieved, Sarthonn has a bit to eat and maintains his equipment.
After rest has been had and food eaten, Razul cleans his pots obsessively and packs them away. "Let us go. I wish to see sky again."
Morgrym prods Aravashniel, Anevia, and Horgus. We're intendin' to move out soon, so best that we get ye on yer feet and figure out who will be helping whom. I'm stayin' back here with ye so I can make sure yer injuries don't reopen.
Reegar dons his pack and stands at the ready.
"Let's be about it, then." Caelus says to the explorers. "Shall I send Oynar ahead, or do we wish a more stealthy appraoch?"
"I have no problem with sending your companion ahead of us, " says Sarthonn. "We can rely on strength in numbers to protect us from small threats."
"Considering Kenabres was flooded with demons before the earth swallowed us up, I think we should be as cautious as we can be in trying to find our way out of here. There's no telling if any demons got dropped down here with us. I can be fairly quiet and can take point." Pulling a shortbow from his shoulder, Naravash slips to the front of the group and into the inky dark beyond, his tail twitching rhtymically behind him as he fades into the blackness of the cavern.
"Considering Kenabres was flooded with demons before the earth swallowed us up, I think we should be as cautious as we can be in trying to find our way out of here. There's no telling if any demons got dropped down here with us. I can be fairly quiet and can take point."
"Good hunting, then, Naravash. Oynar, with me. We will follow in a minute or so."
Razul looks curious as well as to the tiefling's tale and his demonic looks.
Red Stick shakes his head. "Listen to Anevia, now's not the time for class war and the like. If we don't find a way out of here, then the two of you can ask Pharasma who's the better man yourselves. I hear she's a fair judge of these things.... Damn fair."
He takes leave of the group and carefully scouts the way ahead with Naravash, shortbow at the ready.
Sarthonn listens to the 3 survivors bicker. "Well, Anevia Tirablade, Aravashnial, and Horgus Gwerm, it is nice to meet you. I am Sarthonn Elenviel, Spear of the Crusade."
Then the half elf continues, "I think our companion here is right. The people on the surface have enough to worry about as it is, and they may not even realize we are gone. Now that everybody looks fit to travel, we should put our differences aside and work on getting back to the surface. We need to rescue ourselves and not expect that somebody will do it for us."
Anevia is right. I'm sensing a bit of history between ye two, but we must work together until we get back above ground. I'll be around to make sure ye don't get injured further.
Naravash hisses back to the group, "Hold it!" He raises his bow and backs up slowly to the group, never taking his eyes from the spider.
"There's a large spider crouched up ahead. Be on your guard."
"Let me try to communicate with it. I have some empathy with these things." Slowly and steadily, Razul will move toward the spider, pausing about thirty feet away from it.
Razul slowly backs away from the spider, drawing his cold-iron scimitar as he does. He hisses in a low voice toward the others. "It is dead, but something moves within it. Make ready for danger!"
Sarthonn speaks and moves slowly to not alert the spider, or whatever killed the spider.
Firmly grasping his shield and unsheathing his longsword, he moves to the front of the group. "Stay behind me and keep your wits about you, " he says to the rest of the group. Sarthonn takes a defensive position while everybody else prepares themselves.
"It's probably got some giant maggot or something inside. Everybody just take a wide berth around the thing, don't get close enough for it to smell you, and it might do just fine to stay right there."
Red Stick keeps his bow at the ready and stands between the spider and the rest of the group, at least 30 feet away from the arachnid.
Naravash shakes his head in disagreement as Red Stick suggests avoidance, "I'd rather deal with any potential threats now than leave them behind us. It wouldn't do to leave whatever it is there only to have it charge up from the rear later and attack our wounded. I say we deal with it now."
Barring any complaints or arguments, Naravash turns back to the writhing remains and snaps off a shot into the spider's husk.
Sarthonn agrees with Naravash and says "With no rearguard, I think Naravash is right. We can't be too careful right now." Then, he thinks to himself That is a great observation. I wonder where he got his training in war.
Razul shakes his head. "I agree, though disturbing the cycle of nature is never without consequences." He sighs and charges the nearest maggot. dealing damage!
Red Stick groans. "Charging in? We just woke them up, they're practically blind from a distance, and you charge in? I'm better with a falchion than a shortbow, but let's use the distance to our advantage."
He sighs and fires upon the maggot Razul has not engaged.
Attack: for damage
Well this should be interestin'
Morgrym pulls out his warhammer and keeps an eye out for anything else that may try to attack.
"Oynar! Help Razul!" Caelus orders. The eidolon runs a long curve around the maggots, attacking from the other side...
...but its jaws snap closed on empty air.
Meanwhile, Caelus steps to the side and, with a few strange harsh words and a snapping, throwing motion, hurls a small blob of acid at the second maggot.
.
Naravash's face twists into a frown as the maggots surge forth from the spider's remains. He shifts slightly to his left as he focuses on one of the writhing creatures. The bow creaks in his hands as he slowly draws an arrow, the missile suddenly whistling through the air as the tiefling sees an opening and tries to seize it.
HP: 12/12
AC: 18 (14 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +2/+6/+1
Resist: cold (5), electricity (5), fire (5)
darkness: [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Sarthonn charges toward the maggot that is not yet occupied with a close-ranged opponent.
"Pour on fire! We can hold them away from the wounded," he says loudly as he runs forward, swinging his longsword.
With an annoyed glance at Caelus, Oynar courteously pads a few feet away from the group, then shakes himself vigorously, spraying slime and maggot bits all around.
He trots back to Caelus and sits, tilting his head. His voice, sounding like three different voices speaking simultaneously, is low as he asks, "This was the glorious crusade you wanted me to join? Maggots?"
Caelus valiantly stifles his grin, and merely shrugs in reply.
Naravash cringes as gore fountains out of the slain maggots, coating all those nearby. "I see what you mean about consequences for breaking nature's cycle, Razul." His eyes then widen suddenly as he realizes the shiny wolfcat can talk. His glance bouncing between Caelus and Oynar a few times, he offers a simple but awkward nod before slipping forward into the dark once more.
Razul wipes gore from his face, careful to avoid getting it near his mouth. "Indeed. We should move on before these attract other scavengers."
After the maggots stop moving, Sarthonn looks around the area to see if there is anything else unusual or a potential threat.
Sarthonn looks for a piece of cloth or some other debris to clean the blade of his longsword. He then lets out a chuckle, "You know, I always thought that maggots were gross on the outside. Now, I know better; the inside is much worse."
After that, he switches tone quickly, eyeing the talking creature warily. "That skirmish was well fought, all. If we need to battle other things, I hope they all go that well."
Having stayed back to fire and remaining clean as a result, he allows himself a chuckle. "Everyone doing all right? Come on, I'm glad they weren't a serious threat. But yes, we still need to be cautious down here."
His chuckling grin drops as Onyar talks, but he simply shakes his head and moves on.
Heh, that was interestin'. Luckily no one requires me help just yet.
As Oynar speaks Morgrym rubs his beard thoughtfully, Hmm, ain't never seen that afore. Granted I ain't never seen somethin' that looks like you afore either. Tell me Oynar, is Caelus a master, friend, or somethin' else?
The eidolon paces a brief circle before looking back at Morgrym, it's head rotated to tilt to the left a little.
"Yes, yes, and yes," his strange voices reply.
Sarthonn takes the candle stubs and the brooch, then tells the rest of the group "If anybody needs a bedroll, this one will be better than sleeping on the ground if we are still here come nightfall."
Shouldering his pack, Sarthonn continues, "I'm ready to continue. Let's hope we can make some progress toward getting back to the city."
Red Stick shakes his head. "With any luck, we won't need bedrolls down here. Let's keep moving."
Caelus turns and nods to Horgus. "Indeed. An Eidolon. Oynar and I are bound together. The old Sarkorins would call me a Summoner."
Sarthonn prompts the group, "Scouts, how does it look out there?"
Naravash nods wordlessly with Red Stick's sentiments and continues to prod ahead of the group into the dark caverns and tunnels beyond.
Red Stick strolls back into the darkness with Naravash, bow at the ready.