Bromen reaches out, touches the wall and moves north along the left hand wall. He gets to a point just outside the fog cloud, and although he sees nothing in the slight red illumination, he faintly heard footfalls moving away from him till he no longer can hear them.
Kreig tries to have the pretty young dwarven girl answer, but there is no response from her so he hides Fiendfinder, and thinks a moment about any legends about this, but can not come up with anything. As he listens, he also hears footfalls moving away from the original sound of the dwarf female, till he can no longer hear them.
Josef does not hear anything, as he strains to listen and see in this cloud.
Therena lets the group know that she could cast a spell that might get rid of the fog.
Rikar instructs Latys to find the unknown scent, however the cat casts around sniffing, but her sensitive nose only picks up scents of the group, and the background scent of sulfur that while heavy enough to the humanoids, is almost overwhelming to her.
The fog cloud seems as dense as it has been since it appeared about 5 minutes ago.
Hearing Bromen's quiet comment, Rikar pats Latys on the flank and says, "Find Bromen's scent." He then says to those still near him, "Let's move through this fog to where the others are. Seems our visitor has vanished."
As Latys begins to lead them through the fog, Rikar calls out quietly but clearly, "We're coming your way, Bromen and Josef. Don't want to surprise you."
Misha steps back toward Rikar, Therena, and Krieg, nodding. She lays on hand on Rikar's elbow, and holds out her hand to one of the others, intent on following in a chain so as not to lose or stumble upon anyone.
if it were me, Ida put a few nasties in this here fog. Best way ta trap a fool, is ta fool 'em into thinkin' a fog is all ya gotta worry 'bout... He steps forward, replacing the clasp on his reverse draw scabbard and fishing one of his ropes from his shoulder. "Best lemme go first, gang. If it were me, Ida dropped a trap fer ya..." Hebrews out a 5 ft length and hands it to Rikar. "If she's feelin' froggy, send up whiskers with me. But I'd prefer to go alone...I can side smaller end yep the brunt o' somethin if it goes off."
He'll move off once folks are ready, going nice and slow as he feels along the wall and tests the ground ahead gingerly.
"I'll give it two short pulls to call the coast clear. I'll holler if ya gotta get down..." He grins. "And if ya see me runnin', keep up."
》Trap Dodger (within 1st ft - GM Rolls)
》Uncanny Dodge / Evasion
》 ...spelunking
》 (Trap Sense)
》 (Trap Sense)
Misha speaks through her spell. "Maybe Latys should go with you, Krieg. The point is to keep us from getting lost. We didn't hear her casting more spells, and while that doesn't necessarily mean she didn't do anything, the hall wasn't full of traps ten minutes ago. Do you want my folding pole for extra security?"
"I'll take it..." Kreig accepts the folding pole, shifting his bow to his shoulder and drawing Fiendfinder. He looks to Rikar and pauses to see if Latys will be coming.
Not sure what we're dealin' with here...if it were me, I could set up a trap that fast...a spellslinger could do it even faster. He keeps his concernss to himself, knowing full well that he had a healthy dose of paranoia coursing through his dwarvish veins. But that was the first lesson he learned when he'd arrived in Kaer Maga; paranoia makes you look the fool, but you're a live fool.
With Kreig and Latys leading the way, and the others trailing behind, you all head around the corner. First you bump into Josef, who joins the line of folks moving and after moving slowly to the north, you all come out of the fog, which is still there, and you see Bromen who comes up and joins you.
Looking to the north, you can all see, Kreig and Bromen perhaps a little further that the tunnel splits off to the left and to the right. There seems to be more of the reddish fire light coming from the left side of the branch.
"Rikar, can Latys scent the woman who cast the fog spell?"
For her own part, Misha kneels down to see if there's any signs of passage on the stone floor--she reasons in a volcanic area there should be a reasonable amount of ash and pebbles that it might be possible to find tracks of a sort.
Rikar asks Latys to track any fresh scents in the hall that don’t belong to the party. As she does so, he focuses his senses, looking for any indication that the dwarf is still nearby. He then follows Misha’s example and studies the floor and walls for any signs of the dwarf woman’s passage.
Both Misha and RIkar clearly see tracks heading north, and approaching the "T" intersection, the tracks, and Latys nose tells you that the dwarf woman headed into the western (left) tunnel that is considerably more lit with a reddish glow and is warmer.
Misha says via the message spell, to help avoid being overheard, "Even if there's anything else here, I would say she is the greatest threat. She needs to be followed, and if you're the 'spellbane,' Bromen, you need to lead the charge against a spellcaster.
"I can cast invisibility up to a few more times if someone wants the best chance possible of tracking her. In the meantime... we're a large enough group, if you want to go ahead and follow her but you're really worried about what might be in the other direction, I can wait here and watch the other tunnel. I may not be a scout like Rikar or trapper like Kreig, but I'm a seasoned spelunker and I can hear what's coming just fine."
"Let's get a move on, then. Just keep in mind, if we get in a tussle, best ta separate as much as we can...don't wanna get caught in a fog again..." He considers Misha's suggestion and nods. "Let's have me n' Bromen head up first, we can talk at ya with this here spell ov yours...then have Rikar n' Latys up next...then you Josef n' Therena holds this end in case o' surprises. This way we don't bunch up."
Kreig looks around for agreement. If all are on board, he'll gesture to Bromen that it's time to go. "Gimme 10 ticks on a gnomish clock, then follow, eh?"
He opts to hold onto Fiendfinder as he moves up.
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》 (+2 vs Traps)
"Fine, but if you're dealing with a spellcaster, you need the wizard and the priestess with you"--she nods at Josef and Therena--"I know you and Rikar are used to having all the fun while the rest of us wait for you, but I think in this case that may be a better idea.
Of course it should be up to each one of you where you want to go or stay."
As his companions discuss how to proceed, Rikar waits quietly. Usually makes sense to have me and Latys in front, but Misha’s got a point, this is different game we’re after. Latys continues to sniff the air, her proud whiskers twitching as she does so.
Therena is fine staying with Josef near the back.
"I prepared a silence spell today," Therena whispers on the spell. "Krieg, if she pops out again, I'll cast it on you, and you and Bromen can keep her busy. Just stay within sight of me if you can."
Bromen briefly looks down the eastern passage and sees nothing. Then you all form up with Rikar and Latys in an unusual position of last in the marching order, and Therena up near the front. As you proceed down the western path passage, you see a cave that has a large lava pit, crossed by a great natural stone bridge. The entire area is strewn with clean animal bones, as if whatever killed them removed the last ounce of meat.
Moving towards the bridge, you see the dwarven girl on the other side sitting on a rock, and she calls out to the group, "ah, two young and handsome dwarves. Are you coming to replace my two lovers that you killed?" and she starts to sob. "I am so lonely down here, and Groot and Gerk were my only company. I miss them terribly already."
Kreig nods and slips his short sword away opting for the bow instead, keeping his stance casual. He watches the lady dwarf carefully but eyes the ground around her as well. Illusions n' such...gotta be... ain't no dwarf gonna wanna eat up her guests like that... leastways not a dwarf i wanna know...
Back to Misha using the Message connection... "Any o' ya sense a razzle-dazzle on her? She a devil-girl in disguise?"
To Therena, "I give you this signal..." Kreig reaches up and gives his right ear lobe a tug. "...ya hit me with that there invisoworks, eh?"
》 ...studying the stranger's movements
》 ...what's her angle? Is she baiting us in?
》 ...hiding my intentions when unlimbering the bow
》 ...communicating with Misha and Therena
"Looks like I oughta move up and lend a hand," Rikar says as he steps past Misha and Therena, "'scuse me folks." As he comes even with Josef he says, "Looks like you might get to use that nice new bow of yours, Jo. Care to lay a bet on who hits her first? Or even better, who hits her last..."
He stops moving when he's got a clear shot at the peculiar dwarf, with Latys right behind him, then lines up a shot in case she begins to cast a spell.
"Invisio works?" Therena whispers back. "I have a spell to make you silent, not invisible."
She moves to H29, so she can get a good view.
From where Misha stands, she whispers. I've got the invisibility spell--and the potion. When I offered to cast there were no takers. Sorry. You want me to come up?"
Kreig frowns at the news, not for anything but his own forgetfulness. "Nah' better hold down that end, Legs. Jus' in case this goes bad."
Everyone who looks at the dwarf girl sees a dwarf girl, but Bromen and Kreig are sure that something is not right.
"Ah, the handsomest one is coming to me. We can be mates, and you can help me forget Groot and Gerke" she says, and beckons Bromen to come further.
She also looks towards Kreig, "and you be next sweetie. I can handle many mates."
And she also looks at Rikar and Josef, "and you two handsome boys. Well, when my dwarf mates are done, you can be after them."
She seems to be pointedly ignoring Misha and Therena.
Rikar calls out, "Bromen! I don't think you should get any closer! She doesn't seem all that sincere to me - though she might really think you're the handsomest. I'm thinking this'll be a fight, and we'd do better to fight her on this side of the skinny, slippery bridge over the lava pool, methinks."
More quietly, he says to his companions nearby, "I'm going to put a couple of arrows into her, anyone mind?"
Hearing the group decide to escalate, Misha casts invisibility on herself. If she fears the dwarf CAN see her, she slips around the rocks against which she's leaning to get out of line of sight () and then casts the spell.
"Ain't much out there more disgustin' than a troll humper, darlin'..." Kreig feels the surge of speed from Josef's spell, frowning as he cogitates on his statement, then shakes his head. "Nope, nothin' comes ta mind. That's just revoltin'. So have a peek at these first..."
Kreig draws back his bow and fires off two shots in rapid succession. Then his artful hands grasp his last Tanglefoot arrow and fires it for good measure.
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》 ...Ranged Touch
This arrow is topped with a small bottle containing a small quantity of tanglefoot goo.
Benefit: You fire a tangleshot arrow as a ranged touch attack; the arrow deals no damage when it hits, but the target is splashed with the alchemical adhesive. The reduced amount of the glue means this arrow is less effective than an actual tanglefoot bag (DC 10 Reflex save, DC 12 Strength check to break, 10 points of slashing damage to cut through, DC 10 Concentration check).
Drawback: The weight of a tangleshot arrow reduces its range increment to half normal.
Therena continues to ready her silence spell (for the enemy to start casting a spell) though with none of her allies close enough, she targets a point in space 20 feet from the back wall, so that the troll humper will have to come into their midst to get clear of it.
Sadly, this will put an end to the delightful banter...
+2 Underground
+2 Underground
As you look on, the dwarf girl, suddenly grows and changes into a repulsive, hunchbacked crone that has skin the color of a fresh bruise. Despite her hunch, she looms taller than a human. She grins at everyone, "come and get me boys. I will add your hearts to my collection for Saitara"
Kreig UP
Seeing the limited effect of his arrows, Rikar switches to blunt-headed ones and tries again. As he shoots, he calls out, "You know what, ugly, I think I won't come and get you." More quietly he adds, "Anyone know what this thing is, and how we kill it?"
While the others try to ID the creature, Misha tries to ID the "Saitara" she mentions. Misha presumes from the context its some kind of god.
Deciding she can't stay out of the action, because Misha is Misha, she dashes up with magical speed to Bromen and, still invisible, casts heroism on him. She whispers via her spell, "Don't worry, it's just me."
Annis Hag
Annis covens often seek to recruit additional creatures as guardians and are particularly fond of trolls and ogres for such roles.
They use their ability to assume humanoid form via alter self not to infiltrate societies but to lure victims into a false sense of security before attacking.
Annis Hags claw, bite and rend their victims, usually saving some body part as a souvenir
"Gah, lady, ya just got all sorts o' ugly..." Kreig launches another volley. "Somebody get me a bag I'm gonna sick up all o'er my boots!"
The dwarf shifts to the spell of communication to talk with Misha. "See if we can't get 'er over the bridge...I can leave 'er a nasty surprise..."
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"How do we hurt her?" Rikar asks Josef, having seen his arrows fail to do all that he'd hoped.