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Monty focuses, trying not let his control drive out the poison.
He just barely manages it... just in time for Dale's bomb to explode! He bounces out of the way.
But sadly, he's just not quite nimble enough as his teeth chatters.
T-t-t-that's cold!
He shivers and shudders, shaking his fur out before he turns to the catipiller that bit him.
Hey, you want some of this?
Unarmed Strike
Snake Style - AC vs first attack in round =
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Dale tosses another bomb, realizing he is starting to run low on supplies! His aim is much better this time, and it crashes against the middle creature's side and immediately starts to freeze its skin, the surrounding wet ground, and the nearby caterpillar as well. But somehow, it manages to completely avoid Brady who was standing right beside the impact point.
Dru, reluctant to deal with the bristles, draws one of the javelins and hurls it, but she is standing far too close! The caterpillar catches her with its mandibles during her backswing, tearing away a huge chunk of skin and flesh . She still manages to get off the throw, but it merely bounces off its thick hide, doing no damage at all. Tad, standing at a much safer distance, fires another bolt of divine flame at one of the others, and again sears a small furrow along its side.
Monty shakes off the poison in his system and continues to duck and weave under the attacks of two of the giant caterpillars. Again he tries to figure out if the caterpillars have a sensitive spot. Unfortunately, his attempt to locate it this time are blocked before they can connect. His followup strike manages to make solid contact, but not anywhere obviously sensitive, and again he just barely manages to pull his hand back before getting jabbed by the bristles.
All the caterpillars are clearly heavily injured from all the attacks, one more so than the others... but still they fight on!
- Round 3 --------
Brady and Faliana to go!
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"Whoa!" Brady catches himself as Faliana pulls him back, giving her a bare nod of the head in thanks as he quickly gets his footing square and keeps dancing around the giant caterpillar, looking for a good opening.
With bombs going off and fire lancing through the air, the battlefield is a sudden chaotic mess, but Brady finds a way to center himself and strikes out with a punch followed by a powerful roundhouse kick to the creature's belly!
Brady's first blow misses, as he tries to avoid the poisoned bristles, but he puts everything he has behind the next one, his fist striking the creature across the side of the head as it come in to bite him again. It emits a strange hissing sound, as it writhes for a moment, then collapses to the forest floor, greenish fluid oozing from its side and mixing with the water constantly flowing down from above.
- Round 3 --------
Faliana to go!
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Wondering if this might be a bad idea to try, Faliana steps incloser to the large bug and tries to land a solid hit, while avoiding the spines entirely.
As she brushes the side of the thing, she gives a small shout. "Dangnabit! Monty, Brady, just how are you not getting prickled by this thing? It's got spines everywhere!"
She then settles into a defensive position, ready to help pull people out of the way of anything dangerous.
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As the first of the caterpillars falls, Faliana has a sudden boost of confidence, and steps in beside Brady to try to finish off another. Though her blow does not prove to be quite as fearsome as the one Brady just threw, it is more than enough to take the last of the fight out of the the second creature. Unfortunately, she is not quite nimble enough to avoid the bristles as she does so, and a bunch of them pierce her hand on the way in. By the time she pulls it free, it is covered in blood, and already she can feel numbness spreading from the wound!
The final remaining caterpillar seems to become further enraged, its mindless senses able to detect the deaths of the others somehow. Again, its mandibles tear at Monty's flesh, the wounds starting to make it hard for him to even lift his right arm ! Still, he manages to avoid the bristles, despite the wounds, and remains on his feet, plenty of fight left in him too!
- Round 3 --------
- Round 3 --------
party is up!
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With a sharp cry of pain Fali tries to get her hand free from the bristles of the beast. As her hand comes free, she gives a look of dismay at the blood seeping down her arm, and tries to gingerly pull a few of the spines free from her hand as it rapidly goes numb. Feeling the sensation spreading, she moves in behind Monty, hoping to provide some support.
She then glances back at Tad, brandishing her completely limp right hand and commenting, "Tad, you didn't happen to prepare anything for poisons, did you? I might need some help." Then with her last usable hand she prepares to help prevent more damage on Monty.
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Brady, breathing hard from the exertion, beaten and bloodied from the creature's own strikes, replies to Fali with wonder. "Dunno? I can't seem to avoid their chompers though!"
He picks his way over the carcass of the fallen caterpillar in front of him, circling around to the other side of the last one.
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Dale fist pumps once, then yet again as two of the overgrown fish baits hit the deck. "I'm gonna save my bombs and try out this shortspear! Umm, incoming?" He shouts above the rain as he steps to the south, draws it off his back and lets it rip!
Dale watches the spear stick into the creature and he puffs out his chest "Not too bad I'd say.. not at all!"
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Fali! Monty shouts in surprise as she withdraws her hurt hand. He turns to the spiny beast and dances around.
I'm gonna tenderize you up like a steak! He says as he swings his punches in.
Unfortunatly, his messed up arm refuses to move, and he's forced to rely on his non-dominate one, and the blow is not as accurate as he'd hope as he dances back.
Snake Style - AC vs first attack in round =
Come on you porcupine wannabe! He shouts at it.
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The blonde warrior, knowing she's much too close to use a throw weapon, switches weapons and tries to hit the beast before it's too late.
That was her plan, anyway.
But she nearly lose her grip on the pick, which goes deep inside an innocent tree standing by... and a little too close from Brady's face for his own confort
Sorry about that, Brady. Won't do it again. Promise.
She might, or might have not, managed not to impale herself on the insect poisonous quills.
Faliana staggers back after felling the caterpillar, as the poison courses through her veins and her hand starts to go numb. By the time she reaches Monty, she has managed to fight off the worst of it, but her grip is still weak. Tad worried that others might not be so fortunate, readies a spell to help should someone else prove unable to resist.
Brady goes the other direction from Faliana, vaulting over the nearby corpse, as he moves to get behind the final beast. That caterpillar is quick though, its entire body bending to the left as it tries to pluck him off the top, as he goes over. But Brady is quick too, and motivated, as he slides off the far side, and rolls low in the mud ... narrowly avoiding the bite as he comes up behind, dirtier... but no more injured than when he started.
Monty takes advantage of the distraction to throw two more quick blows, managing to connect with the first while it is focused on Brady. But his injured shoulder betrays him on the second, and it is all he can do to pull his hand out in time. Luckily for him, and everyone else, wherever that first punch managed to strike, appears to have been a vulnerable spot, as the blood caterpillar suddenly writhes about, as if stunned by the blow!
Dale is more than happy to take advantage, forgoing his quickly dwindling supply of bombs, to instead hurl his spear. He manages to hit right as it rears up, getting a soft spot where it can penetrate! Though as it crashes back down, he loses sight of the spear, and realizes it was his only one.
Dru moves in while it is senseless, joining Monty on that side. As she goes to swing the pick, she is too focused on avoiding the bristles, and ends up catching the trunk of a nearby hardwood tree, embedding the tip. With a heave, she works to pull it free but as she does so, the spike scavanged from the amphipteres cracks along one edge! The weapon still functional, but clearly damaged!
- Round 4 --------
- Round 5 --------
party is up!
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Panting, Monty strikes out with another series of blows, letting forth some rapid fire kicks to spare his aching arm.
Won't you go DOWN already?
Unarmed Strike
Switching to his feet gives him some better leverage, but makes it harder to avoid the spikes....
Snake Style - AC vs first attack in round =
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Dale was clearly hoping the creature would go down after the last barrage of attacks "Drat. DRU! Easy on that masterpiece I made you, its nearly broken!"
He shifts back to the north a bit to get a clear shot, drawing out another bomb and preparing to throw it if the worm looks like its going to make another attack.
Targetting an intersection to only hit it with splash. 6 Frost damage, Reflex DC16 for half.
Not wanting to use more of his limited alchemical resources if he doesn't have to, Dale waits nervously, hoping the others can finish off the obviously badly wounded caterpillar without him... Luckily, he doesn't have long to wait!
Brady takes advantage of the larva's momentarily stunned condition to throw a hard punch to its body. The creature rears up for a moment, giving a strange disconcerting screeching sound, then convulses and collapses right on top of him! He tries to dive out of the way, but there is just too much of it, and he is knocked to the ground, and feels sharp burning pain along his entire lower back, as he is pierced by multiple stiff bristles.
The sudden activity slowly comes to a halt, only the roar of the storm above the canopy overhead, and the sounds of numerous streams of water pouring down from above heard through the trees, drowning out even the Pathfinders' labored breathing.
Above you, the two dangling cocoons gyrate slowly, though one of them seems to come to a halt as you watch it.
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Monty holds out his hands to one of the others.
Give me one of those daggers... I'll go cut them down.
Holding the dagger in his tail, he moves quickly up the tree and begins to cut out what he expects to be the remaining members of the trail hounds.
I ain't got much sympathy if it's the two ahead of us....
He mutters as he works 1 handed.
But I'd hate to be wrong... and those Catipiller's did some damage, if we're lucky they might have snuck a potion in with them.
Now that the caterpillars have been stopped, you will see signs of other unfortunate victims coming through here. Under one tree, you find a body... almost completely unrecognizable, most of its flesh ripped off, and blood drained already. Judging by the shreds of clothing still clinging to the body, this was clearly one of the racers, though you're not sure what team they were from. There are also the remains of a second person, that the caterpillars had been actively feeding on when you arrived. Clearly human, and also wearing the red, black, and white racers colors, this man is of mwangi descent, though whether one of the Resistance members, or one of the mwangi solo competitors, you just can't tell anymore.
Above you, Monty is easily able to reach the hanging cocoons, even the slippery branches no match for him in his natural element. Avoiding the sheets of webbing proves the trickier exercise, though merely slows down his progress rather than making it impossible. Once he reaches them though, he immediately realizes that neither cocoon seems large enough to be a human.
The sharp obsidian blade easily cuts through the silky pod, and he opens a big enough hole to recognize that it's a halfling inside, still alive, and struggling weakly against the encasing fibers. The second cocoon also has a halfling, this one also alive, but not moving. Currently both are hanging fifteen feet off the ground, and Monty realizes that cutting any more of the cocoon away might result in one or both of them crashing to the jungle floor below.
Fortuitously, there's plenty of the caterpillar silk around, and with a little time and know-how, you are able to jury-rig some tethers that hold long enough to lower them both down safely.
Once you cut them out, you will find they are both members of the Song'o halflings, one the leader of the Ebansi, Tensa'i... the other one of the other members of that team... Berro maybe?. Tensa'i is unconscious, while the second halfling is weak, but still mobile.
He starts talking almost immediately, though none of you understand what he's saying. Though it isn't hard to tell that he is mostly being effusive, full of gratitude for the timely rescue... though also seems to be trying to get you to move further into the jungle.
As Tad channels, the healing energy is a welcome salve from the injuries suffered at the mandibles and bristles of the blood caterpillars. It also is enough to bring Tensa'i back to consciousness.
Though obviously still weakened by the caterpillar venom, both her and Berro look like they'll recover... given time.
Tensa'i seems a little disoriented as she comes around, looking about fearfully at first, as if not sure what is going on. Berro starts to talking at her almost immediately. You're not sure what he's saying, but it seems to calm her down a little, and get her focused. She eyes you warily as the Berro continues to talk to her. Eventually the tone of their conversation changes slightly, as he starts pointing to the dead caterpillars, and up towards the canopy. Tensa'i nods, her face grim and finally turns to talk to the Pathfinders, her words in heavily accented Polyglot.
"It would seem we... I am in your debt" She says, finally, the words coming slowly as if she has to think to find them.
"The <word you don't recognize> were not supposed to be this far west." She says. She stops at your puzzled expression then converses with Berro for a moment in halfling. "The <strange word again>. I do not know the human word for it." She points to the blood caterpillars. "Those beast there. They are known to the Song'o. For this is our home." She waves at the jungle with a prideful look on her bruised face. "They must have come this far out to prey on the beasts of the flatlands taking shelter from the rains."
She glances up towards the forest canopy, where the storm still rages, sending a constant thrumming through the surrounding trees, and a constant stream of hundreds of rivulets of water cascading down on your heads.
"We were separated from the others in the high rocks, and made our way here, to our forests, to rejoin them. When we heard the sounds of someone in distress, we thought it was them." She frowns, looking towards the caterpillars again. "It was not."
"It is a comfort to know not all of your kind are pirates or thieves." She adds. "But now there is a debt."
She says something to Berro again, who nods immediately, and they pull out a number of small leaf wrapped packages, much like the ones you recovered the day before.
"Deffa made these." She says, handing them to Tad. "Now we give them to you. This one is kangay," she says, pointing to one with a reddish paste in it. "Deffa has fused it with powerful magic, to protect from the elements."
"Tastes good!" She adds, with a weak smile.
"That," She continues, pointing to the other one and making a face, "Not so good. Powerful stink. Numbs the tongue. But powerful protection."
"It is all we have to give." She says some more words to Berro, who nods again, before she adds, "But these forests are our home... and they can give to. Berro and me. We can show you ways. Ways the others will not find. Get you closer to the end."
She glances back towards the plains with a worried frown. "At least some of the way."
"But now, we should leave this place." She points to the caterpillars again. "There should be more of those than three. There are smells they release in death. The rains keep it low... but the rains will stop soon. Others could be near."
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Brady nods in gratitude at the gifts and offer of aid. "Explore, Report, Cooperate. That's the motto of our organization. It's intended--I believe--as guidance for how we're supposed to treat other Pathfinders, but I find it relevant today. I am happy to accept your guidance." He looks to the others for confirmation.
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Dale rushes over to help Brady deal with the poison, doing a wide range of methods to help slow and then stop the spread of the poison. He slaps away Brady's hands as he starts to get weirded out by Dale's lack of personal space and modesty. "Just stop already, I'm trying to help! Don't get so embarrassed!"
Once that immediate issue is resolved as best he can, Dale retrieves his shortspear and starts looking over the corpses as Monty scales the trees. "Lower them down. Who needs rope with all that silk? Tie up those cocoons, three points! Then use those branches, easy peasy! If we had more time I could make us up some amazing rope with this stuff!"
Once the Halflings have been revived and the conversation starts, Dale FINALLY gets to start asking questions and making comments, to the extreme once they are given out the infusions. He sniffs and touches a small morsel to his tongue trying to figure out their composition and also of course verifying their use. "These are fabulous! Was Deffa back at the mountains? I'm afraid we found a pair of your friends, dead to flying dragonkin. One had a pouch like this with healing salve."
Tensa'i's face falls as Dale mentions the body you found in the mountains. "We were separated in the high rocks." She mutters before asking for a description of the one you found back in the mountains.
"Ramagh." She says to Berro, before adding more in their native tongue. Berro's small face gets equally grim.
"We were to rejoin here, in the Forest. Our home."
At the song'o's urging, you move away from the dead blood caterpillars, ranging further into the jungle, away from the plains.
They are good for their word, the two small locals taking the lead as the urge you to follow even further.
Berro takes the lead, while Tensa'i stays with you. Travel is slow, especially with no blades to cut through the thicker vegetation. But it is not anything you're not familiar with, after your last trip to the Expanse.
Though you do not see Berro return to pass on any information, Tensa'i frequently points at small marks on trees and arrangements of stones, as signs left by him for you to follow, all of which seem to have different meanings that she rarely explains. She has you take small detours, mentioning dangers both familiar and unfamiliar, though you never actually run into any of them.
At one point, she insists you head into a copse of trees, you're not sure even the halfling could fit through, that proves to be a deceptively concealed hunting trail of some sort, and for a brief time, you don't even have to hack past any vines.
A couple of hours later, Berro suddenly materializes from the trees, and Tensa'i calls a quick halt.
"You fit the forest well." She says, eyeing you all speculatively, clearly impressed. "We are half way through. Then is just the wet lands."
Though the sounds of the storm seem to have abated some, the rain still falls, and you, and everything else, is thoroughly soaked.
Just like old times.
After a brief respite you get back to your feet, and continue your progress through the Laughing Jungle. Streams of water still come down from above, and the sounds of the jungle are mostly silent, but the roar of the storm overhead seems to have mostly abated.
Berro again takes the lead, with Tensa'i interpreting the trail the other halfling is leading, as you start out once more.
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Dale moves along, eyes on the ground and up in the trees, doing his best to spot what he thinks would be good bomb components. After a short while he rubs his eyes from the strain of looking and focusing up and down while still trying to keep up with the ever bossy and prodding Halflings.
He is constantly asking questions in Polyglot, especially considering they travel with an alchemist and know these lands so well. "So which one of these berries tends to form the most explosive compounds when mixed with this bat guano... I mean, wizards SWEAR by that s$~+, its gotta work similarly for me right?" He lifts another berry and tastes it before tossing it aside and grabbing up another sappy leaf stem instead.