Ihon, this creature is a somewhat unusual Quasit. It is a demon, heals quickly, and is capable of turning invisible at will. It is resistant to weapons that aren't cold iron or good and is immune to poison and electricity while having resistance to most other elemental damage.
It can turn invisible as it pleases. Ihon says as he touches Devron's shoulder.
Sazu, still a bit new to this combat thing, freaks out a little and tries not to pull the trigger on his crossbow too quickly.
Sazu shoots a bolt, hoping this one will take damage from his mundane items.
Sazu is able to strike the creature with his crossbow bolt, but it seems to shrug the damage off completely.
Phaedra swings her greatsword at the little flying thingy.
Andre wakes that morning and spends the first several minutes in quiet prayer to Erastil, kneeling on the forest floor.
-------
When the little demon appears, Andre scowls. "Invisible, eh? Not if we can destroy it first!"
When he sees Phaedra swing at the tiny creature and catch it with her blade, he grins. "Thatta girl! It can't be entirely impervious to our blows!" Raising his bow, he takes a shot at the creature.
Phaedra is able to connect with the creature and is able to do a telling blow. The creature is still standing and shows a bit less concern when Andre connects with an arrow but it shrugs off most of the damage.
Devron will move up to the thing and stab at it with his Ranseur. "Urzoth! Kill!" he growls as he moves.
Urzoth charges at it while Devron moves into position, snapping her jaws at the little demon.
Devron misses, but his pet is able to connect, doing minor damage though the quasit shrugs off most of it.
Ihon frowns and points at the creature. Suddenly, a burst of light happens in its face.
Amideo locks his lance into a jousting position and charges the quasit while on horseback.
Amideo is able to fell the tiny creature and it shrieks as it falls.
On the body you find the following:
- A tiny porcelain mask (40gp)
- Milky Quartz (60gp)
- Pyrite (9gp)
- A gorgeous shell (10gp)
- 1 Scroll of Cause Fear (CL1)
- 1 Wand of Remove Fear (CL1)
- 139gp, 120sp
You also find a small key that smells of sulfur.
"Tough buggers." Devron mentions. "I'll have to use the gauntlet next time."
A key. Now we have three, Ihon says as he looks over the items.
"I think we need to look into something a bit more potent than mundane weapons. A small investment for large gains, perhaps."
Sazu clutches his crossbow close, a new bolt loaded, even though the thought of it bouncing harmlessly off an oncoming demon terrified him.
"Hrm," Andre grunts as he looks over the loot with Ihon. "Wonder what all these benighted keys are for, eh?" He glances at the wizard. "D'you want these tools, or shall I hang onto 'em?" he asks, indicating the wand and scroll. "Or Sazu?"
"Hmm, I wonder what exactly all these keys open and how many there are in total?"
As you talk, you hear the shouts and sounds of rather loud fighting coming from further into the marked area. It doesn't seem to be moving closer to you, but it is loud enough to be heard at what you guess is a pretty substantial distance. Clearly whoever is fighting is not attempting to hide it.
"Perhaps a quiet approach to gauge the situation is necessary?"
If no one objects, Sazu will *attempt* to sneak so he can get a better sense of what's going on over yonder fight. The clack of his wooden armor may give him away, but his small form should hopeful minimize any dead giveaways.
Ihon shrugs and follows.
"Sazu! Ihon! Wait!" Andre hisses, then follows them with a curse, stuffing the wand and scroll into his pocket and nocking an arrow to his bowstring. He stays a good 20 feet behind the other two, knowing he's not as sneaky.
Devron will turn to Urzoth and make a click-click noise with his tongue.
Urzoth seems distracted by the noises of battle. When Urzoth does not react, he scowls and snaps his fingers to get his attention before trying again.
He moves pretty quietly, despite his chainmail.
For a giant lizard, Urzoth moves relatively quietly, keeping her master about 10 feet away to her right.
Amideo trots behind the group, well aware that a horse is not the stealthiest creature.
Phaedra moves up with the group to see what is going on.
The group in front approaches and starts to see flashes of fire before anything else. Once you get within visual range, it looks like a group of three cultists, at least one of which is a spellcaster, are fighting with a horned skeleton-looking demon. At the moment they have made no indication that they have seen you.
Andre, as he approaches, squats down. "Of course the beasts fight their own allies," he murmurs. "I don't see any immediate reason to intervene..."
Ihon, the creature is a Babau, a creature much more powerful than the previous demons that you've faced. It has twice the resistance of the lesser demons and is coated with an acidic slime that often damages weapons that strike it. You get the sense that it is more powerful than you are by a fair margin and that fighting it, especially with other creatures around, may not be the best plan.
We cannot fight this thing. This is beyond our means, Ihon whispers, as he looks around.
Andre looks taken aback at Ihon's directness, but takes it as a sign of the gravity of the situation. "Then let us observe and, if the winner seems weak, move in to finish them off. Everyone be prepared to flee if necessary..."
Devron nods, signalling Urzoth to hold.
-Posted with Wayfinder
As you watch, the fight goes on for a few minutes. Two of the humanoids are killed by the demon and the remaining cultist is wounded before it bends a knee. The demon simply grunts and then turns to walk deeper into the marked territory. From observing the fight, the remaining cultist appears to fight with both blade and magic, and was able to wound the demon, though even the three of them were unable to present a serious threat to it.
"Definitley need to get better weapons....possibly coated with magic or something."Sazu mutters, looking at his mundane crossbow.
"I've got just the thing for it. But I think no one else does." Devron comments, showing his cold iron spiked gauntlets.
That will certainly scratch it...until the gauntlet burns off your hand. Ihon states simply, with no hint of sarcasm.
"I never said it was the best weapon." Devron answers. "But you're going to want cold iron or strong magic against those things, right?"
"Yep, I will agree to needing some weapons better suited for our potential foes. For now though, are we going to bother talking to the remaining fellow over there? Maybe ask why he was fighting?"
"We should at least try. If it does not go as planned, then I suppose we must fight. But let us see if we can reason with this cultist, unlikely ass it may be."
"Oh I don't think we can reason with him, but I am curious as to what their side of this story is. At any rate, any additional information we can get would be good."
After it looks like the demon is definitely gone, Phaedra will enter the clearing and approaches the wounded cultist.
"Hello there. We just caught the end of that fight as that monstrous looking creature left. Care to share what that was all about? Are there things like that wandering about the woods here and attacking travelers such as ourselves? And why did it choose to leave you alive?"
The man snarls, struggling to stay on his feet and spitting on the ground in front of you.
Amideo will try to assist Phaedra in her diplomatic endeavours.
Sir Longears