"Noro...!" Wyam growled to himself as she stepped past him in direct violation of their established marching order.
Following directly after, he slashes at the creature with his sword.
Status HP 22, AC 21, Naturalist
Wyam's sword slashes deep into the creature's tortured skin and lets out a howl of pain.
Dropping its weapon, the creature lets out a tremendous roar as its forehead contorts and two large black horns force their way out of its skin, jagged and sharp. Raising its claws, it lashes out at Wyam and Noro in a frenzy.
The creature bites deep into Wyam's neck as a claw reaches out and slices over Noro's belly. As its fangs sink in, Wyam feels enormous, burning anger beginning to press on his mind.
But easily throwing it off, he reasserts himself.
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Noro starts to stagger for barely a second as the claws rake through her armor. Noro is accustomed to pain and bleeding. but it doesn't get any less angry.
you want wrath? I'll show you wrath
as Noro attacks the creature with an elbow smash
HP: 24 / 31
AC: 15 (base 16 -2 rage, +1 naturalist performance)
rage used: 1 / 9
A silver missile launches from Spectrum's finger and strikes the creature roundly over the head as Noro does similarly.
Right after launching the unerring bolt, Spectrum launched a small bolt of crackling cold at the creature.
"Keep at it!"
When Spectrum launches his cold bolt, Chaise releases his own small jolt of electricity.
The creature nimbly dodges Chaise's bolt.
Wyam swings again, the confines of the cramped passage affecting his ability to do so.
Wyam connects, and blood pours from the creature's wounds.
Nimbly stepping back, the creature snarls then reaches down into its tattered robes and pulls out a stoppered vial. Bringing it to its drooling mouth, it bites it and swallows it hole, bits of glass sticking into its lips and tongue as it roars again at you.
"Fascinating," Chaise murmurs in the echo of the creature's roar. "It still has enough coherence to recognize its use."
Noro's fist connects, as Chaise and Spectrum both splash their rays against the wall.
The burly swordsman swings his blade at the creature's neck-
and misses utterly.
On its last legs, the creature looks back as if to flee, then seems to come to a decision- and launches another volley of bites and claws at Noro and Wyam.
The creature's fangs sink deep into Wyam as a claw slashes into his chest; another claw peels away Noro's skin as the creature's horns smash into her head. Wyam feels another flare of anger within him.
But he throws it off easily.
"It's almost down, kill it now!"
Chaise winces when the creature attacks, its blows vicious.
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Noro grabs at her side as the creature gore's into her. blood oozing from the wound. for a mere second or two Noro seems in pain but it is soon replaced with anger. she leaps up with a roundhouse kick across the creatures face
HP: 15 / 31
AC: 15 (base 16 -2 rage, +1 naturalist performance)
rage used: 3 / 9
Noro's kick connects hard into the creature's chin, shattering it and driving its head further up than its creator ever designed it to go. It falls backward to the floor in a heap.
Savagely attacked, Wyam could only watch as Noro's "graceful" kick completely did for the thing. Peering at it, he cautiously keeping his sword ready in case... something.
"Anyone know just what this thing is?"
That said, he turned to his and Noro's wounds.
Status hp 16/22, Lay on Hands 1/day remaining
"Sinspawn of Wrath," Chaise explains, digging through the body's corpse for anything that might be of use. "Does anyone have some rope? It's just unconscious and if anyone speaks Aklo, we might be able to get information. Anyway, it's an embodiment of sins made flesh; this one specifically constructed from the bodies and souls of those afflicted with the sin of Wrath."
"It proved much more resistant than I thought, however. Err, Wyam, hold still." He moves over to him and whistles something cheerful as he heals the wound.
Spectrum calmly drives his sword through the creature's chest to ensure that it would not be getting up again.
Looking to where Array was hiding in the small adjacent chamber Spectrum smiled fondly.
"Well done."
Next time you divide up the coins, I get some.
"Very well. You've earned a share."
I want some too! Glimmer said excitedly darting down the hall to take up Array's job in hopes of earning her own treasure.
Chaise finds a Scorpion Whip, two potions- one in blue tinted glass, one in green- and an assortment of ten coins, all melted together so as to be virtually unrecognizable. But they're still gold, worth about five gold pieces in total.
The pseudodragons dart into the adjacent cave and find a few corpses- three goblins and two humans, all decomposed and all horribly tortured, deep blade and whip marks across their backs. Carelessly thrown in the back of the cave are their belongings: a Masterwork scimitar, a potion in clear glass, fifteen gold pieces, three broken dogslicers, a few unique tribal fetishes, two cutlasses, two sets of leather armor and a few canteens, tankards, waterskins and other mundane equipment.
"...Or not," he mutters to himself as the sinspawn dies.
"Hmm. I can understand the humans, but for the goblins to be tortured as well...."
Chaise sets about identifying the items while they speak, mentally cataloging them.
"We'll have to see if anyone can identify the bodies," he says. "Maybe even see if we can get Tsuto or our goblin prisoner to explain them. Are there any other rooms here? Seems an odd place to put a torture chamber, if this is what it was."
"What do you make of the potions, Chaise?"
"They're all for healing," he says, bringing up the glass containing each as he points them out. "A potion of Cure Moderate Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds, and an ointment of Infernal Healing."
Satisfied the Sinspawn wouldn't be getting back up, Wyam none-the-less kept his sword drawn.
"Well, that should be useful - especially since I don't think I'll be able to do much more healing today."
Chaise hands a potion to each of them. "I can still heal, but I'm trying to conserve my energy in case of an emergency."
"With that settled, let's get going," says Wyam, who then sets off down the passage.
Just past the rudimentary torture chamber, there is a turn-off. Through the rough-hewn tunnel walls there appears a room. The original purpose of this chamber is unclear, but large mounds of rubble lie strewn on its fl oor. The wall to the west has been torn down to let you in.
"We should look in there to be sure no one is hiding to ambush us later, but otherwise I think it best to continue on ahead and go over the room more thoroughly on our way out," Wyam opined.
Entering the room, you find it empty though littered with the shattered remnants of pottery. There is a door leading to the north.
Chaise nods to Wyam as he kneels to inspect some of the shattered pottery and the room in general.
Searching carefully everywhere, you find hidden in the muck an old and tarnished gold coin. With your knowledge of history, you recognize it as Thassilonian; it is too scuffed to recognize any further details.
"Hmm. This is a storeroom." Chaise holds up the coin he found. "And this is a Thassilonian coin. It may have been stored here, but I doubt it. This place could be ancient in origin."
He looks around the caves with a more discerning eye.
"There are many stories concerning the Thassilonians and finding another area where they might have been, or might have influenced, is--" Chaise coughs, remembering the situation. "Well, I suppose we can examine these later. Let's continue on."
"May I?" Spectrum asks Chaise. "I have a great interest in Thasselonian artifacts."