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Shasta maintains the Inspire Courage, saying, "Are you boys up for another round? Time for sloppy seconds!" As she says this, she steps forward 5 feet, draws a weapon from her belt that looks like the mechanical arm of a humanoid construct (for that is what it is), and tries to club the beast nearest her.
Edit: as she hits it, she says, "Bad festrog!"
Marduk boots the festrog in the head, knocking it down long enough that Shasta finishes it off with a crack from a green robotic arm that brains the undead abomination, ending it.
Init Order: Round 2 (bold = up)
Buffs: Inspire Courage +1
Marduk
Shasta
Gob
Zadim
Wyeth
Blue Festrog (charged)
Hakime
Gob's missiles do far more horrific damage, blasting chunks of festrog away. It still stands, hungry for flesh.
Init Order: Round 2 (bold = up)
Buffs: Inspire Courage +1
Marduk
Shasta
Gob
Zadim
Wyeth
Blue Festrog (charged)
Hakime
Wyeth's attempt to trip the festrog fails, but not enough to force him to lose his weapon.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Zadim slices twice, the second one cutting undead flesh away from the foul creature.
Once again, more pus explodes out, but Zadim is more guarded and minimizes contact with the sickening fluid.
On two legs now, the remaining goes all out against him!
Zadim is rended by its claws, but the rest of the party gangs up on the creature and finishes it off.
The battle is now over, only the sounds of screaming and yelling from the shed break the still ambiance.
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Shasta double moves over toward the shed, while keeping an eye out for more predators. "Festrogs are supposed to be created with the release of negative energy, such as from the destruction of a powerful artifact. That might be a clue as to what happened to Sharrowsmith and perhaps why the Kobolds were forced out of their caves."
The miners slowly clamber out of the shed. There are three of them, two human men and a male dwarf. They have an odor of layered sweat and urine and show signs of early starvation and dehydration.
They drag out several picks of exceptional quality and a masterwork heavy shield.
"Thank... thank you!", the dwarf greets the party. All of the men have various scratches and wounds that somehow have not become infected, but still show their weakness.
"What are you doing here?", one of the humans ask. "I thought we were the only ones not captured or eaten by those... things.", looking at the slain festrog.
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Festrogs are supposed to be created with the release of negative energy, such as from the destruction of a powerful artifact.
Marduk looks at Wyeth....
"Jungle and artifacts.....we just lack a few crazy scribes and walls."Turning to the three weakened survivors, he asks:
"Captured you say, by who, or what?
Were it kobolds, or something else?"
"K-k-kobolds.", the other human stutters out, clutching his stomach. "Th-th-they have a settlement in a valley that away... 12-15 miles perhaps."
"I don't speak their tongue.", the dwarf admits, although the stuttering human pipes up. "I know a little Draconic. They mentioned something for "it will be pleased" as they took the other miners."
"If your contacts can get us better protection, we may be interested.", the dwarf speaking for the others. "Just keep this site hush hush, particularly from Deeptreasure, and I'll have you talk to Boss Jenkins back in Fort Bandu."
The Deeptreasure Mining Company is a powerful, if not less scrupulous multinational mining organization. They pay bounties for information on mining sites, and many of those reported eventually become Deeptreasure sites, one way or another.
Responding to Marduk, the stutter replies, "I don't know, but it sounded like more of a sacrifice than 'materials gathering'."
"Aye, if you can patch up our wounds and get us some supplies, we can make the trek back to the Fort and I'll make the arrangements.", the dwarf answers back. "If you can save the others, that'll put a good impression on Jenkins.", the dwarf wistfully looking to the northwest.
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Shasta casts 3 cure light wounds on the miners from her wand.
"How many kobolds were there, do you reckon? Must have been a lot to cause so much death and destruction. They're pretty small and weak one at a time. Was there any other creatures fighting with them?"
She'll also ask before they leave, "We're also looking for a fellow name of Sharrowsmith. Have you met him? Probably traveling alone, archaeologist type."
"They struck at night and caught us off guard. Their shouts echoed in the hills and I couldn't say how many there were. They killed most of us, and captured maybe 8 or 9 others."
"Sharrowsmith...", the dwarf ponders on the second question. "Yeah, I think he was here about a month ago, headed into the valley near the kobolds, although we did warn him about those damned pests."
"No, he had a small caravan with him, was heading to something else over that way. It wasn't part of our claim, so we let him be."
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"Sounds like it's time to make 'it' hit the fan," Wyeth smirks at Marduk. "If history is any indication, 'it' will be a big ape." While speaking he unslings his pack and roots around in it.
"Here, gents. Best medicine I know," he says as he hands them two quarts of ale.
-Posted with Wayfinder
@Hakime: Shasta took care of most of it, your first two Lay on Hands will cover the rest.
The dwarf happily drinks the ale, the others following suit, quenching their thirst.
"Thank ye, kindly.", the dwarf speaking for the others. If no one else has business with them, they make their trek back to Fort Bandu.
The cooler temperature of the night air makes travel far more comfortable, although the dim illumination makes staying on course more difficult.
Shasta guides the party through the valley, the few visible stars of the night sky giving enough for the knowledgeable bard to work with.
The trek is long and treacherous, about 15 miles, but is uneventful. The party reaches the ancient valley nestled in the Bandu Hills is well hidden, being almost to spot from more than a mile away. Ancient megalithic stones - most of which are toppled and partly buried - ring the border of this deep valley. These stones, long since weathered by time and encrusted with vegetation, serve as the only indication that humanoids may have at one time settled this region. The thick forest canopy of the valley below hides any sign of civilization - ancient or otherwise - from outside observers.
The party is at the height of the valley, but now must make way through the dangerous terrain and descend into the depths of the jungle below.
@Wyeth: It looks fairly steep, although perhaps a safer passage could be scouted
The thick canopy is too much for the bat to notice any useful paths.
@Shasta: Yes, the Inspire Competence won't quite work in this situation. If you want to use it, I'll allow you to aid an ally with that by expending a round (basically granting its bonus), but only to one ally at a time since it would be you paying attention and activating your ability at a moment you think is critical.