"Auntie Em; Auntie Em! Round 2 continued...
Theophilus stands up. The gentleman dusts himself off. He looks at the Blow Hard with his mean face!
[dice=Reflex DC 26]1d20+10
The winds have died to a manageable pace. After being healed from the brink of death by Mara, the yithian in an aged woman’s body gingerly retreats back to the fungal room. Everyone prepared for its next attack, with Dervak wasting no time to pursue the monstrosity.
It hovers there, you're not sure how but you guess its assessing how you managed to survive. It undulates in the sky directly over Dervak and a focused blast of wind whips around him.
The winds continue to push against the Bloodrager threatening to send him to the ground and buffeting him. It seems the polyp has accumulated some slight bruising on one of its eyes and mouths.
Mara considered how the party could best reach the flying abomination to attack it. She decided that Dervak had the best chamce of making a strike, so she flew back next to Allegra and recited a prayer, "Mommy, we need some orcish battle prowess!'
I would like to phone a friend Round 3
From the comforts of the rocky, dusty ground, Theophilus watches the melee unfold; even though, the Beastie decided not to use any melee options on Dervak...
Cheater! Casting weak spells when you could just melee away at him!
He winks at Dervak.
The Witch decides that more is merrier. He Summons.
EDIT: And because this is NOT PF2e, it will appear next round...Theo looks at his watch, tapping his foot....
A Silver-white hair the color of a lightning strike whips about this poised elf-like archer, his eyes swirling with vibrant colors.
Bradley Cooper appears right behind Dervak in the air. He touches the 1/2 Orc.
It is a near thing, but Dervak pushes through the wind, flies up into the face of the monstrosity, and strikes. He makes sure to position himself outside the River of Wind.
The creature's flickering form is hard to strike, and Dervak misses.
Ci Ci calls upon her power and burns down a column of divine fire on top of the thing.
Mara blessed her friends while Theo frantically taps out his summoning dance. Dervak showed no fear, he had faced other horrors before. Ci Ci tried to rain down fire from Heaven, but it just flickered through the fire, unaffected.
Allegra burns her Hallucinogenic Smoke spell slot to cast Cure Critical Wounds on herself, and spends a fervor to use the lay on hands ability.
The flying polyp slaps Dervak with a protrusion lousy with mouths. It tries to keep ahold of him but he manages to keep its crushing strength at bay.
Mara decided that Allegra needed to get in the fight; she unfurled a scroll and read it, granting the warrior woman the power of flight. "Go help Dervak!"
Ci Ci flies forward and unleashes another blast of gemstone slivers at the thing.
Seeing the polyp try to grab Dervak, Allegra prays to Irori for the strength to evade such dangers and stay mobile. The she flies up, and vital strikes the creature.
Round 4
Theo decides to fly closer to his companions.
Bradley Cooper appears right 20' North of the polyp. He cast Lightning bolt at it!
Dervak slashes at the monster, counting on his luck to hopefully finish it.
Theo didn't have the heart to tell Bradley Cooper that his caster level won't be high enough....
The spray of diamonds from Ci Ci and the Lightning from Bradley Cooper are both harmlessly absorbed by the wind whipping around the flying polyp. With an assist from Mara, Allegra is able to charge the beast and plant her axe in what might be its head. Dervak doesn’t assume it is felled and carves large chunks off of the polyp. With a thunderous crash the polyp falls to the ground, destroying what little remained of Lowl’s camp.
Bradley Cooper will use his Cure Serious Wounds on Dervak.
Theo will use the Wand of Cure Light Wounds on Dervak.
We just have to stop meeting like this. People will talk.
He does tap himself.
He holds it aloft for his next patient.
May I suggest studying the Book in the morning? I can memorize True Seeing, so that we miss nothing.
Mara called on everyone together for healing.
Seeing Theo about to use his wand, she told him, "Let me save you some charges."
She also healed Ci Ci.
"We need to rest and regain our strength. We also need to repair the seals, but I don't know if we can handle another of those horrors in our present state."
"I agree, let us rest. I would like a chance to refresh my prayers before we continue to battle."
"I could probably take on more of those fungal people, or another swarm, but another creature like this would be pushing our luck."
"Thanks, Mara," Ci Ci says, feeling the pain drain away from her battered body.
2/day—lightning bolt (DC 15), cure serious wounds
Bradley Cooper does indeed cast another Cure Serious Wounds.
"Thank you, Mara. Thank you, Theophilus.
I can take first watch."
Mara told her friends, "I'm going to have a soothing mud bath. It's a great way to rejuvenate yourself if anyone wishes to join me."
You create an area of healing mud. Water, earth, sand, and dust thicken into a wet mud. The mud functions as difficult terrain and does not sink if created in water unless weighed down by more than 100 pounds per caster level you have. Each round a creature begins its turn in or on the mud, the mud restores 1 hit point to it; this healing is unaffected by effects that increase a creature’s healing. A creature that rests partially or completely submerged in this mud for 1 full minute is also healed of 1d4 points of ability damage to an ability score of its choice. A creature can be healed of ability damage this way only once per day.
When she finished, she healed herself some more, and then washed off the mud.
"We should move to a spot away from the open well. I'd rather not be attacked by another one of those things before we're rested."
Kaklatath relaxes in the soothing mud.
Dervak carefully keeps watch, he listens to the wind ever whistling from the now relatively distant well. Around a blind corner it sounds like there is a rumbling susurrus approaching dreadfully close. As Dervak prepares for a fight it suddenly ceases.
Theophilus and White Rabbit take their watch.
You smell something wretched, a mix between a chamber pot left unemptied for a week, a dank musty library, and rusting iron. Creeping just beyond the light of your camp something large lurks.
Mara slept peacefully while something unusual happened.
[Dice=Perception]1d20+16-10
...Earlier
That's a good idea, Dervak!", Mara replied, when her friend suggested blocking off the top of the well.
She prayed and sealed the of the well with a wall of stone. "We'll have to break it when we want to go below, but this should make it difficult for things to come up."
Ci Ci also joins Mara in the mud bath, allowing the last few bruises and abrasions to heal. She then calls upon her power to dry, then flash burn the mud from her skin .
Ci Ci volunteers for either first or last watch, so as to get uninterrupted sleep.
5th Watch
Theophilus seems to be wide-eyed and alert during his watch...
While the White Rabbit is seen wearing a Rambo get up!
A quick sound of a snort comes from the Witch, as the White Rabbit kicks him awake!
There's something big and smelly out there; and, before you ask, no, it is not Dervak after a taco tuesday! This is serious!
Theo--wide blue expressive eyes open--pats the White Rabbit on the head.
Go wake the others.
The White Rabbit hops off to wake...
Theo decides to send for help.
Ci Ci wakes as the White Rabbit shakes her.
”What’s the matter, Little Bunny?” she asks, rising and following it back to Theo’s side.
”Did you see something?” she asks him.
From the darkness there is a sound of huffing coming through too many teeth. A tentacle ending in at least eight eyes escapes the gloom and you hear a husky voice ask in a slobbering accent, "You have books, did you want to trade?"
Theophilus continues to Summon. The Witch is not too certain it is just a wondering Book Trader...
He whispers to CiCi.
So, I am calling a friend to assist us in our fact finding mission here.
”Are you asking to trade books for books, or do you want something else?” Ci Ci asks the thing cautiously.
The creature comes fully into the light, a three-legged freak that is mostly mouth. Three tentacles sprout from its main mass, two of which are barbed, the third holds its eyes. A floating scarlet and blue orb circles above its body and around its eye-tentacle. The stench of it is overpowering, a mix between a chamber pot left unemptied for a week, a dank musty library, and rusting iron. You have no idea how you could have possibly missed it before.
"I am Hoshbagh. I have other things to trade for books. Lots of things." The way that it undulates its tentacles is both unnerving and suggests that it's not certain about you.
”Pleased to meet you, Hosbagh,” Ci Ci says. ”We aren’t traveling with much that would qualify as enjoyable reading. Are you only interested in acquiring books?”
It lifts its mouth slightly in the air, you think its sniffing, "I can acquire other things. What're ya sellin?"
It approaches Ci Ci closer and then catches sight of the flying polyp, "Smells delicious." Hoshbagh starts to eat it.
Mara stirred, and sat up, blinking.
"Uh, Hello there, I'm Mara. Books, you say? I think we may have some books. Are you looking for a particular subject?"
Oh gods that stinks...
The smell alone wakes Dervak up. It brings back memories of his years living in gutters, but worse.
He starts digging into the unnaturally cold Bag of Holding and bringing forth various tomes from Lowls' collection.
Dervak watches as the otyugh begins eating the flying polyp.
"Do you want to eat the books, or read them? Either way, I think we can make a deal. What do you have to offer in exchange? We can always use diamond dust, and maybe there are other things you have found that we might want."
Theo (and his new friend--Jerry) sit down as the others begin chatting with this fellow.
The Hound Archon (Jerry) decides that more illumination is needed for thier card game.
Jerry does take a long look at the viitor.
The White Rabbit is seen still in his Rambo outfit. He appears a bit distrustful....
Hoshbagh between mouthfuls it wonders out loud, "How else do you read books but to eat them? All books taste good." As you talk to Hoshbagh you slowly get the impression that it is actually a she. She does not detect as evil.
She starts to list the treasures she's uncovered:
Armor: invulnerable parade armor, defiant (aberration) breastplate, celestial shield
Weapons: speed whip, shocking burst composite longbow (+4 str), disruption bane warhammer
Potions and Scrolls: Potion of heroism, potion of remove curse (CL 14), scroll of banishment, scroll of earthquake, scoll of elemental bocy IV, scroll of ethereal jaunt, scroll of greater restoration, scroll of mind blank, scroll of sunburst.
Rings, Rods, Staves, and Wands: Lawful staff, lesser empower metamagic rod, ring of evasion, rod of escape, wand of cure serious wounds (12 charges), wand of death knell (10 charges)
Wondrous Items: lyre of building, scabbard of keen edges, tremor boots, vest of the cockroach, and "Madman" a grim fetish made of twisted strands of twine, resembling a seeded human with a haunting smile and hollow eyes. It is a ganji doll but Hoshbagh doesn't know where she got it or who its attuned to.
Theo's blue eyes actually leave the card game (the White Rabbit uses the distraction to slip Jerry an Ace) long enough to take notice of the Wand of cure serious wounds (12)....
"Which of our books do you think would make a fair trade for that Ring of Evasion?"