Malen scanned the area as the Shoanti conveyed that they were indeed in Cindermaw's hunting grounds, a bit nervous at the implication. Sighing as the others start to discuss how to deal with a situation made even more complicated by the Boneslayers' words, he added his input. "Pharasma has graced me with several wards against flame for this fight. I would suggest, if we are to do this as instructed, we should do battle with the beast until it swallows the chosen one, and then we retreat once the lucky party cuts their way out. The Lady of Graves can assist in keeping us in the land of the living until that happens. I hope."
Bashiel agrees with Malen. "Everyone keep a close combat weapon, a knife or something, on you to get yourself free if needed. Whoever gets swallowed will probably need to endure being crushed as well."
He eyes the landscape as if the worm might pop out at any moment. "I can't imagine getting swallowed will be too difficult. I'm more worried about how we get away, or drive it away, without killing it." He turns to the boneslayers, asking "How have your kinsmen escaped Cindermaw before? Clearly there's a way if you have not yet killed the beast."
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The lead boneslayer replies to Zamanda, “Only one of you needs to get swallowed and survive.”
And to Bashiel, “Our legends speak of one called Skurak. He lept into the beast’s belly with only a dagger and cut his way out. It would take far more than a human-sized cut to its side to slay the beast.”
The Boneslayers stay back at the edge of Cindermaw’s territory as you venture further in. The area has long sightlines, so even from a distance they should be able to observe your struggle.
Shortly after you venture into Cindermaw’s territory, you spot the massive beast in the distance as it emerges from the ground before diving back under only a moment later. The beast resurfaces and dives several more times from a distance. It almost seems to be toying with you. The worm emerges again and dives. This time the ground grows silent. Its frequent surfacings cease and quiet reigns.
Then the worm erupts directly in front of you, bursting forth from the ground, its skin glowing with fire.
The gargantuan worm immediately draws forth fire from its gaping maw and breaths on all of you.
(fail)
Zamanda, as quick as she is, isn't able to avoid any of the fiery breath. As a usually-smart non-melee fighter she can't believe she let herself get caught in this situation... bunching up against a fire-wielding opponent? That is pretty much on the top of the "Things to Avoid" list for survival.
First thing to do is correct that. Zamanda leaps and weaves directly away from the beastly thing, trying to avoid proximity to any of her other companions.
When she is out of its range, she turns and fires a shot.
(point-blank)
(gravity bow, acid, cold, point-blank)
Malen does a poor job of avoiding the flames, but with Pharasma's protection only feels the intense heat licking at his skin. Dagger in hand, he attempted to follow Zamanda's lead, stepping away from his companions but a lot less nimbly.
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Not bothering to draw his weapons, Kalem charged forward, his hands having extended into claws. ”So someone needs to be swallowed? Fine then. Let’s see if it chokes!” Thinking about it, the option was simple. Someone had to do this, and he had the strength and the claws to potentially succeed. Moreso, his magic could protect him from the stomach acid, somewhat. That, and if he failed, he didn’t have anyone waiting for him. He had no family, and his only real friends were with him. Everyone else had people who would miss them if they died. They had lives to lead when this was all over. If someone had to take the risk, it might as well be him.
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Bashiel flings himself into the sky, his ring of evasion parting the flames before they even reach Malen's protective spell. He flies forward and up to make himself a juicy target in place of one of the slightly more vulnerable casters.
If he can get up close to it, he gives it a stab with his rapier to get its attention.
Ilsa punishes the creature with her deadly gaze. Daring to cast a spell with her magical defenses up, she casts bestow curse and attempts to touch its gargantuan hide.
Ilsa’s gamble pays off and Cindermaw only manages to destroy one of her images, giving her the chance to use her spell. The worm succumbs to her curse.
Bashiel flings himself into the sky, his ring of evasion parting the flames before they even reach Malen's protective spell. He flies forward and up to make himself a juicy target in place of one of the slightly more vulnerable casters. If he can get up close to it, he gives it a stab with his rapier to get its attention. His rapier easily hits the beast, but it bounces off harmlessly.
Zamanda , as quick as she is, isn't able to avoid any of the fiery breath. As a usually-smart non-melee fighter she can't believe she let herself get caught in this situation... bunching up against a fire-wielding opponent? That is pretty much on the top of the "Things to Avoid" list for survival.
First thing to do is correct that. Zamanda leaps and weaves directly away from the beastly thing, trying to avoid proximity to any of her other companions. The beast looks ready to strike Zamanda, if it hadn’t already tried to do so to Ilsa.
When she is out of its range, she turns and fires a shot. The arrow bounces harmlessly off its rock-hard hide.
Kalem, not bothering to draw his weapons, charged forward, his hands having extended into claws. [n]“So someone needs to be swallowed? Fine then. Let’s see if it chokes!”[/n] Thinking about it, the option was simple. Someone had to do this, and he had the strength and the claws to potentially succeed. Moreso, his magic could protect him from the stomach acid, somewhat. That, and if he failed, he didn’t have anyone waiting for him. He had no family, and his only real friends were with him. Everyone else had people who would miss them if they died. They had lives to lead when this was all over. If someone had to take the risk, it might as well be him.
Malen does a poor job of avoiding the flames, but with Pharasma's protection only feels the intense heat licking at his skin. Dagger in hand, he attempted to follow Zamanda's lead, stepping away from his companions but a lot less nimbly.
Cindermaw turns its maw towards Bashiel and seeks to close its mouth on the paladin. But it can’t seem to do so. Then its tail whips around, revealing a massive stinger. It tries to jab Bashiel with it. This time, it succeeds, crushing the paladin with its sheer size and weight.
Zamanda sees her arrow bounce harmlessly off the creature's hide, and doesn't know if there anything she can do. It was a good shot. She starts singing to inspire the courage of the others.
and then she half-heartedly shoots another arrow, expecting the result to be the same, but hoping she will get lucky somehow.
(point-blank, inspire)
(gravity bow, acid, cold, point-blank, inspire)
(not confirmed)
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Kalem pretended to fall, and ‘struggled’ to rise, making himself into the perfect target to be eaten. As he did so, he began to reassess his life choices...
Bashiel prays to Osiris for protection against this absurd beast.
He does his best to hold position in front of it, weaving cautiously to the side as he looks for some way to get it to swallow him rather than try that stinger again. "We want it to stop toying with us and start swallowing, lets show it we're not to be toyed with!"
He flurries with his rapier.
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Ilsa isn't sure yet if her curse worked, but she is glad the creature only struck one of her images, not herself.
Hoping to make the creature more pliable to her spells, she touches it again, striking it with another curse. The giant worm destroys another one of her images before succumbing to her second curse as well.
Bashiel prays to Osiris for protection against this absurd beast. All his wounds close.
He does his best to hold position in front of it, weaving cautiously to the side as he looks for some way to get it to swallow him rather than try that stinger again. "We want it to stop toying with us and start swallowing, let’s show it we're not to be toyed with!"
Bashiel’s rapier manages to find a narrow crack in the worm’s hide and pierces it. His second and third attacks are ineffective and can’t replicate his first attack’s success.
Zamanda sees her arrow bounce harmlessly off the creature's hide, and doesn't know if there anything she can do. It was a good shot. She starts singing to inspire the courage of the others and then she half-heartedly shoots another arrow, expecting the result to be the same, but hoping she will get lucky somehow.
She finds a narrow opening just as Bashiel did and causes the beast to open its maw wider in pain.
Kalem pretended to fall, and ‘struggled’ to rise, making himself into the perfect target to be eaten. As he did so, he began to reassess his life choices…
Cindermaw turns towards the fallen tiefling. It seems quite intrigued.
Malen takes another step back from the beast and waits to see what it does.
Cindermaw grows still.
”The hell is happening? Hey, if we just kill it does it count?”
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Her allies might not know what is going on, but Ilsa does: her curses are working. She draws from the deepest part of her mental well.
Reaching out with her mind one more time, and hoping it doesn't kill her with most of her images gone, she casts one more spell, hoping to change its temperament toward them.
Malen yelled out nervously at the Darkborn, "We were told it would reflect poorly on us if we slew the beast!" The priest was confused by the creature's relative lack of aggression. Maybe it had just eaten? He certainly didn't know much about gigantic fireworms. He prudently took another step back, away from the main group of his allies.
The worm stops moving and Zamanda wonders if Ilsa has control of it.
Instead of attacking / trying to distract it, and reminded by Malen's shout, she decides to try to soothe its injuries and see if that will help Ilsa's efforts, and also help Kalem in case the worm has only paused in its efforts to kill them all.
She mixes a new melody into her song of Inspiration, maintaining the performance, but adding another aspect, willing healing into Ilsa, Kalem, and Cindermaw.
Bashiel floats off to the side for a moment. Injuring the creature doesn't seem to be helping to encourage it to eat, but Kalem seems to have grabbed its attention with his earlier acting.
Kalem continued acting injured, so that it might take him as prey to be eaten.
Ilsa recognizes that her allies might not know what is going on, but she does: her curses are working. She draws from the deepest part of her mental well.
Reaching out with her mind one more time, and hoping it doesn't kill her with most of her images gone, she casts one more spell, hoping to change its temperament toward them.
With Cindermaw still motionless from being cursed, Ilsa’s spell goes off without a hitch.
The worm proves stubborn and refuses to bow to Ilsa’s will.
Bashiel floats off to the side for a moment. Injuring the creature doesn't seem to be helping to encourage it to eat, but Kalem seems to have grabbed its attention with his earlier acting.
Zamanda wonders if Ilsa has control of it as the worm stops moving and instead of attacking / trying to distract it, and reminded by Malen's shout, she decides to try to soothe its injuries and see if that will help Ilsa's efforts, and also help Kalem in case the worm has only paused in its efforts to kill them all.
She mixes a new melody into her song of Inspiration, maintaining the performance, but adding another aspect, willing healing into Ilsa, Kalem, and Cindermaw. The worm’s wounds begin to close.
Kalem continued acting injured, so that it might take him as prey to be eaten. His act seems to be working.
Malen yelled out nervously at the Darkborn, "We were told it would reflect poorly on us if we slew the beast!" The priest was confused by the creature's relative lack of aggression. Maybe it had just eaten? He certainly didn't know much about gigantic fireworms. He prudently took another step back, away from the main group of his allies.
Cindermaw remains still.
Zamanda continues her performance (Inspire and Fast Healing 2 still up), but otherwise continues to hang back at 30 feet out and wait to see what happens.
Wary of growing complacent in the presence of the terrific creature, Malen remained on edge, noticing with a quick glance that Ilsa's nose had started to leak blood as she concentrated intensely. Maybe she was calming the beast...what a mental feat! Still, it seemed they were at a standstill, unless Kalem or Bashiel wanted to scale up the thing and crawl into its mouth.
Bashiel continues to flutter largely in place, guard up against any new tail attacks from the giant worm. Ilsa seemed to be having *some* kind of effect, but it wasn't clear if that'd help them finish the trial of being swallowed yet.
Ilsa frowns, not having done anything like this before.
Her nose begins bleeding with the mental exertion, but all her focus remains on bending this creature to her will.
The worm’s resistance falters this time and its disposition towards you seems to change.
Bashiel continues to flutter largely in place, guard up against any new tail attacks from the giant worm. Ilsa seemed to be having *some* kind of effect, but it wasn't clear if that'd help them finish the trial of being swallowed yet.
Zamanda continues her performance, but otherwise continues to hang back and wait to see what happens.
Kalem waits for his chance to be eaten.
Malen wary of growing complacent in the presence of the terrific creature, Malen remained on edge, noticing with a quick glance that Ilsa's nose had started to leak blood as she concentrated intensely. Maybe she was calming the beast...what a mental feat! Still, it seemed they were at a standstill, unless Kalem or Bashiel wanted to scale up the thing and crawl into its mouth.
Cindermaw regains its ability to act and, for the moment, turns its attention towards Ilsa. It wriggles slightly forward and brushes against the mesmerist. It almost seems to be trying to cuddle with her but is having difficulty due to there appearing to be three of her.
Ilsa, how long can you do this? Can we ride it? That might be as impressive as being "reborn" from it, and even better if we could ride it all the way to the Shoanti camp.
She cautiously approaches the beast, aware of the observers, and wanting to make a show of it, she bows to the worm and then pantomimes riding on its back, as though she is asking it for permission. She imagines only Ilsa can actually communicate with it, if that is possible, but since it is for the observers, she tries it anyway.
”Well. I’m done acting like a fool. I agree that charming it is better. I mean, how stupid is this? If a stranger comes to my neighborhood I don’t make them try to fight an entire team of stevedores while drunk and pantless, even if old Guyver did it. How many people do you think died trying to impress these a&~!&&@!s?” He complained, somewhat bitterly.
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Ilsa walks over to the beast and pats it on the side. She seems both triumphant and apprehensive, as though it could turn and eat her whole.
"I'm--not entirely sure how long this will last. Days, at least."
She considers what to do at this point. "I wish I had a way to communicate with it. I think I could get it to do some things, but maybe not anything against its disposition. Maybe at this point we could just have Kalem walk in and cut himself out, then we could heal the beast before we leave. Or, if someone has a way we could talk to it, perhaps it could deliver us to the Shoanti camp, riding like kings!"
”**** the Shoanti. They probably set us on this task just to get us killed. Probably planned to loot our corpses after this thing shat us out, that’s why they were so generous. Those guides would have died against the gargoyles without us, and they could have just declared us friends or whatever then and there. Yeah, let’s just ride this thing back and declare it a victory.”
I doubt they were trying to kill us, or they would have attacked us back when we first came. I think it is just a case of different cultural norms... and we did volunteer to do this especially dangerous one. They didn't force us to prove ourselves this way.
... I can understand not wanting to be swallowed though, and I think riding in on this creature should be suitably impressive.
Unfortunately, I don't have any spell that would grant this creature language, or allow us to understand it, if it has its own language.
She glances around at the others to see if anyone else does.
My other question is, how are we going to feed it? I don't want to ride into camp and just have it eat everyone because it is too hungry. We should ask the Shoanti what it normally eats, besides humans.
Bashiel scowls at Kalem "We're the ones asking for their help, and the Shoanti have little to no reason to trust us or aid us. Least we can do is give their traditions and legends a bit of respect. I plan to do so, at least. " He fixes his gaze back on the worm, muttering "Give them a tale to tell..."
'Osiris ward me, because I'm about to do something incredibly foolish. If it doesn't want to eat, I just have to feed it.'
Bashiel dives through the air and flies into the massive worm's open maw.
Kalem shook his head as Bashiel jumped in. ”If he dies I won’t forgive them.”
Malen looked at the others in astonishment as they discussed the possibility of taming, communicating, and riding the beast. Were Ilsa's powers truly that incredible to allow such a thing?
When the question turned to the Shoanti and their customs, the priest shook his head, "I sensed no deception or ill will from the trio we were speaking to. You must remember, we are outsiders who are distrusted by the natives here. Instead of trying to establish a relationship over months or even years, we are trying to smooth things over at a much accelerated pace. Hence the trials that were put before us."
The cleric cocked his head as Bashiel took matters into his own hands and dove into the fiery worm's mouth, his eyes widening in shock for a moment before he grasped his holy symbol and waited for the paladin to work his way back out.
As Zamanda pantomimes riding the massive worm, it seems uncomprehending. As the bard grows near, it shrugs back, staying close to Ilsa.
The worm is caught completely off guard as Bashiel dives into its mouth. Cindermaw reflexively closes its mouth, its muscles contracting and forcing Bashiel deeper into its throat towards its stomach. In doing so, the worm's weight crushes against the paladin.
Bashiel is able to counteract most of the damage, but he's still faced with the crushing weight of the beast and he knows he must be nearing its stomach. Digestion is only a matter of time.
In the distance, you see the four Shoanti Boneslayers still observing you. They've remained at the edge of Cindermaw's territory, but don't appear to have taken their eyes off you throughout your unusual encounter.
'Alright, lets see who digests who.'
Bashiel does his best to halt himself and pierce his way out before he gets to the undoubtedly horrifically painful part. He aims for what looks to be a differently colored part of the interior and starts stabbing away!
But he must have chosen to stab at its internal armor plating, for all the good his rapier is doing!
Zamanda pulls the chatter ring out of her pouch and offers it to Ilsa.
See if this will fit somewhere... around a tooth, tentacle, or stinger, perhaps?
Bashiel stabs his rapier into the worm, cutting into its flesh. He seems to be making progress, but his second and third strikes can't pierce the creature's thick hide. The paladin feels the worm's throat contract once again as it continues the process of sending Bashiel to its stomach.
From outside, you see Cindermaw begin to thrash about. Whatever Bashiel's doing inside seems to be making it very uncomfortable. It seems unlikely that Ilsa's magic will hold much longer.
Bashiel keeps up his assault on the throat lining, hoping that the worm's throat isn't really as well armored as it feels. If so, this is likely to be a pretty short escapade...
Zamanda belatedly realizes that they missed the chance to talk to Cindermaw, and quietly puts her ring away. She then backs off to 30 feet away again and just waits.
Malen's jaw clenched as the beast started to thrash about. Bashiel seemed to be fighting hard, but was surely in a tight spot. Forcing himself to relax and let Pharasma's will be done, the cleric performed a quick breathing exercise he had learned at the temple, calming down as he prepared for the paladin's hopeful exodus from Cindermaw.
Zamanda’s finishing performance heals some of Cindermaw’s wounds, but it seems to do little to placate its rage.
Bashiel stabs again at the worm’s side and his blade deals more damage, but doesn’t go through. Just as it seems he’s destined for Cindermaw’s stomach, the paladin stabs a second time and sees light. Moments later, he’s out of the worm and back near his companions, covered in worm slime.
Cindermaw looks at Ilsa as if it’s been betrayed. Then it turns toward Bashiel with seemingly even more anger. It lunges for the paladin and sinks its teeth into him. It doesn’t let go this time.
”Well done. Now disable the beast Ilsa!” Kalem said, even as he raised his Scythe. His fingers elongated into claws, and the weapon took on a blueish tint as his arcane power flowed into it. The bloodrager ran forward and slammed the weapon into the worm, intent on distracting it enough for it to drop Bashiel.