Sprawled in the puddle of grease, Kel's attention is directed at her unconscious companion.
All modesty aside, Kel applies her healing hands to the barbarian in a strong grip meant for dragging a heavy body. "Forgive me, Lefrik, time is of the essence." With a heave that potentially could have waked the dead without divine intervention, Kel both heals and attempts to drag her companion clear of the immediate threat.
Anklebiter's final sneeze killed the last troglodyte, and freed Calla up to move to a better position. Firing over the downed Lefrik and short goblin, she had a clear line of attack to the drider perched high on the crumbled wall. Both arrows sank true, one diving into a white elven eye, and the drider tumbled from its perch to lie sprawled on the ground. Its face was buried in the acidic glop covering the ground, and it did not try to reposition.
Bruendor tried to leap the firepit, but the combination of his short legs and the apparatus hanging above the flames kept him from clearing the flames. His boots and legs were burned rather badly from the heat, but he still struck out at the drow. He connected, or so he thought until the image of the drow disappeared.
The drow flinched at Bruendor's unorthodox approach, then took her rapier and tipped over one of the kettles hanging above the dwarf. Bruendor was immediately inundated with fiery liquid, and had only a moment to try and avoid the worst of the spill.
Bruendor takes 2 fire damage and must make a DC15 Reflex save or catch on fire.
Bruendor also takes 8 fire damage and 3 acid damage from the kettle's contents. A DC15 Reflex saves halves the damage.
Have to split initiatives up a bit. If your name is in bold, you're up! Don't forget sickness if you failed your save. The effect lasts for 1 minute.
Initiatives:
drow 18
calla 15
lefrik 12 (dying)
anklebiter 11
bruendor 9
drider 6
kelendra 4
trogs 1
Anklebiter somersaults out of the icky ooze and dismisses the spell of fiery sneezes with an effort of will. "Let's see how you like it!" he growls as he makes arcane gestures in the Drow's direction. "Solum unctum!"
Immediately, a puddle of rancid grease appears underneath the Drow alchemist's feet...
HP 20/43
Fort. +4, Ref. +4, Will +6
AC 18 (FF 16, touch 12)
Spells:
0 - Acid splash, Dancing Lights, Detect magic, Detect poison
1 - Ear-piercing scream, X, X, X, Shield*
2 - Fire sneeze x2, X, X, Protection from arrows*
3 - X, Dispel magic*, Fireball, X
Bruendor howled as the drow upended the alembic's caustic contents, but his light steps managed to keep his boots and cloak from bursting into flames. Jumping from the firepit, he slashed at his foe again,
Right, getting out of this fire is Priority #1. Move me to M17, assuming that's not in AB's grease. I'll attack the alchemist again.
Well, that's a good sign! Not sure how many [I[images[/I] she has, so this might all be for naught.
AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17
Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +9
CMD 14
HP 20/44
Divine retribution (DC 16) 2/6; Judgments 2/2; Bane 4/6; Discern lies 0/6
Arrows: 5/26; cold iron arrows 0/33; bolts 0/20
Spells: 1/5 (first-level); 3/4 (second level)
Effects: Healing judgment (2 pts. fast healing)
A rare, actual grin crosses Calla's face momentarily as she sees the spider-creature fall, and she spins toward the drow, arrows again flying from quiver to bowstring as she fires.
"Kapitulation, haben Sie immer während Vogel!" she grates out as the arrows fly.
"Surrender while you still can!"
Kel reaches out and heals Lefrik again, then scrambles to her feet.
Tumbling and somersaulting out of the grease, Anklebiter goes spinning into the room - and blasts the enemy with his next fiery sneeze!
"My beard feels spiky, He mutters as he's healed by the kindly oracle.
Lefrik rises and moves deeper in, great axe in hand
As Lefrik stood and moved in, Calla launched a pair of arrows at the drow and her copies. The last of the figments disappeared, and the surprised drow stared open-mouthed as Bruendor dodged the worst of the caustic liquid and dove in with his rapier. The blade took the woman in the throat, and as she staggered back, Anklebiter's last sneeze caught her and sent her to the floor. The drow gagged and choked on her own blood for a moment before going still.
"That," Anklebiter declares as he sits down as heavily as a little Goblin can, "was insane. And I know insane from the inside out."
For a few moments, Anklebiter just sits there, breathing heavily. Then he vigorously rubs his scalp and gets back up. A quick cantrip later, he is looking around the room with an intent stare.
"Best see whether there's anything worth preserving before we blow this place up," he states.
Although alchemical reagents and weapons abound in this room, the only truly magical items are on the drow's person. Anklebiter finds a pair of cure moderate wounds potions, and another potion as well. The drow female's hand crossbow also radiates magic. In the same pouch as the poisons are a dozen gems of varying quality.
"Here," Anklebiter says as he hands off the handbow to Bruendor. "I think you can use this. Two of these potions are for healing, so, who needs them most? Don't know this last one, yet..."
Bruendor regards the hand crossbow, testing the resistance of the pull. "Not bad, not bad," he says, taking a look at the drow's still form. "I'll be taking this. If you've got any objections, voice 'em now, indy." When none come, he places it on his belt.
"I wouldn't mind one," Bruendor says. "I get into strange positions, so if I get in trouble, I can at least keep Kel from having to rush further into danger."
As soon as the threats are neutralized, Kel turns her attention to healing the party.
Seeing that Bruendor and Calla need a touch more healing, Kel applies the wand to each of them again.
AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +6
CMD 17
HP 45/51
Resources Remaining
Bolts Remaining: 38/40
Spells:
5/7 (1st level)
4/6 (2nd level)
2/4 (3rd level)
Moonlight Bridge: 2/4
Spray of Shooting Stars: 0/2
Interstellar Void: 0/1
Temporary Effects
none
Constant Effects
Lure of Heavens: float 6 inches above ground or liquid
"Thanks," Calla says as Kelendra applies the wand.
"Is that it? Anywhere else to hide?"
She looks around, trying to see if there's anywhere else that drow could be hiding.
Finding nothing , she goes to inspect the spider-taur's body, kicking it once for good measure.
Once that's finished, she'll look over Bruendor's crossbow and the remaining potion to see if she can determine what they are.
The more he stared at the potion vial, the more the goblin was sure that he held a potion of bear's endurance. When Bruendor looked down to retrieve the hand crossbow, he realized immediately that the drow's chain shirt, while not magical, was made entirely of adamantine.
Calla doesn't see any other hiding spots in the open circular room, so she moved back into the caustic mess outside to inspect the fallen drider. On the drider, Calla finds a very nice longbow that looked about her size, some arrows, and a pouch with a few gems and other baubles in it.
Calla grins as she finds the longbow, offering a quick orison to Calistria as she checks it (and anything else) for magic.
Calla finds that the longbow is indeed magic. The sheaf of arrows is not, but that certainly doesn't make them any less useful for all that.
Bruendor lets out a low whistle as he kneels over the fallen drow. "Well, now, look at that," the dwarf says in an almost reverential tone. "A skymetal chain shirt - adamantine, unless I miss my mark. That's coming with us." He unceremoniously removes the shirt from the dead drow, tossing her limp body back to the ground without a second thought.
"My thanks," Lefrik said to their kindly healer.
"Nice," Anklebiter notes as he glances at the new longbow Calla is holding. He drums his fingers on his quarterstaff. "I was going to enchant yours, but it'd be quicker - and cheaper - to add magic to that one, instead. I could make it an Elf-killer, like Bloodbane, or a demonkiller. It'd take me three days, though, and some expensive reagents."
The Goblin shakes his ears.
"But first we need to make sure this place is shut down for good! Anklebiter will look for the right reagents. We can send this place sky-high! And maybe bring some good stuff back for use by the Elves and us."
Calla smiles, pulling back the string of the new weapon.
"Oh, yes, this will do nicely," she says, smiling.
"Let's not blow anything up for the moment, goblin. We may still need this place."
"Heh. Just tell us how far back we need to stand when you're ready, Anklebitter. I've been blasted enough today," the large barbarian is still smoothing his beard out.
"No, no!" Anklebiter says, shaking his ears at Calla. "Elves need this place out of commission for good. If we leave it standing, Drow move in or just take the nasty stuff. Help me cart out what we can use and the rest goes upsie-daisy."
Anklebiter looked around and saw the large drain in the floor. It might be possible to pour most of the reagents down the drain. Alternatively, he knew he could make the big BOOM, and just deal with the aftereffects. There were lots of alchemical reagents around the workshop, and many finished flasks and alchemical bolts for hand crossbows and crossbows. He also spied several reagents that could be used to neutralize the large vats of poisons and alchemical creations, but he knew that would take hours of work. It was a quandary.
As he thought about it, he glanced over Calla's bow, but wasn't able to identify any specific magical properties.
"We can pour it all down the drain," Anklebiter says, pointing out the grate, "or I can make it all go boom... or I can make it all become about as dangerous as water, but that'll take hours. While we're talking, friends, please start loading up on bolts; there's bolts for crossbows and bolts for handbows, so they'll be useful no matter what. Now. Do we take the time for me to make all the stuff neutralize each other, or do we go for the quick fix?"
"They wanted us to neutralize it; exploding it would make sure it stays that way, I suppose. Then let's get back to camp; after that fight, I don't know how much more we have and don't forget that treant's still out there somewhere."
"Okay, okay," Anklebiter says.
Provided no one objects, the Goblin starts to scuttle around the lab, pouring out a vial here and placing a beaker closer to the fire there.
"You all stock up on bolts and reagents while I work, please!" Anklebiter calls, pointing out the things most useful to the party. "Need to time this right so the doesn't go off until we're out of range. Hmm, maybe a little more of this here..."
As soon as the party has loaded up and cleared out, Anklebiter follows after them, trickling a trail of something dark and sticky. He waves the others a little further away, then pours the contents of an ampule on the dark, sticky stuff -- and runs as though he were being chased by mad dogs.
"" the Goblin yodels as he passes the others, legs pumping madly as he tries to get clear of the upcoming explosion. Behind him, the trail of sticky liquid has inexplicably caught fire from having a liquid poured onto it, and the trail of fire is racing back towards the stuff Anklebiter set up around the fire-pit and the big cauldrons...
As Anklebiter works, Calla collects the alchemical hand crossbow bolts, as well as searching for any other evidence of magic she can find in the lab.
Bruendor gathers bolts and arrows, anything that looks useful (and a few things that look valuable), and begins running when Anklebiter gives the word. He grits his teeth as the taller folk quickly outpace him, but he continues racing away from the imminent explosion.
" STUBBY LEGS..."
Kel takes a look at Calla's new bow as Anklebiter sets up the big boom.
Then she runs well ahead of the goblin as he sprints away from the lab.
Lefrik snags one his shortlegged friends, both if need be, to keep them ahead of the explosion, letting loose a "Ha! One for the tavern tales!"
Calla joins her companions in flight, keeping a close eye out for the treant, much less any drow.
Everyone else took positions as lookouts, while nervously glancing back at Anklebiter and his preparations. The goblin giggled to himself occasionally as he tweaked the layout of various chemicals and reagents. As he lit the makeshift fuse, he began to run, causing everyone else to do the same.
Lefrik scooped the goblin up in his arms and took great loping strides, carrying Anklebiter along with him. Everyone dove behind a pile of rubble some hundred feet or so away and waited for the ensuing explosion.
It didn't come.
Seconds passed, then minutes. Finally, as everyone shifted around uncomfortably, they heard it. A hissing sound that grew in pitch and loudness cut through the air. Like the steam whistles at the gas forges, the sound built to an incredible volume.
Then, the world seemed to shatter once more. The top of the dome erupted, spewing masonry, fire, and flaming sludge in all directions. A massive stinking cloud began to fountain out of the laboratory. The heavier than air smoke began to pool, flowing outward from the explosion to blanket the area. As it passed, your eyes began to sting and your breath caught in your throat.
The foul air made it difficult to hold the contents of your stomach in, and made your head spin. Direction was lost in the dense cloud, as vision was reduced to a mere five or ten feet. You had no way of knowing how big the cloud was, but it looked enormous. Several hundred feet in diameter, perhaps.
Bruendor's eyes water, but he pulls his cloak tight around his nose and mouth, weathering the worst of it. "What an incredible smell you've discovered, AB," he quips, and he looks around to see if anyone is pursuing them.
"That's exactly what I was going to say," Calla chokes out.
"Come on, let's get back to the elf camp. This place is likely to be swarming with drow soon."
The stench overwhelms Kelendra as she clutches her stomach and retches.
Anklebiter staggers away from the others to throw up, helplessly clutching his stomach.
"Let's get out of here, please," he whispers once he can talk again. "This was a bad boom."
With visibility so greatly reduced, the odds of anyone spying you from far off are almost nothing, but your odds of accidentally running into a drow patrol are increasingly high. Progress is slow, as the cloud lingers and continues to obscure sight through both reduced visibility and through the tears streaming down your faces.