Rissi contemplates. "Two thoughts occur to me after some aerial observations. Perhaps we *chhh* may find some underground entrance in the ravine that runs alongside the tower. Second, I looks like one of the far mountains - the other side of the valley - has some manner of cave. Perhaps it is the beginning of a *squeak* larger underground system"
"A dwarf in underground caves slaying giants? Count me in. Whatya say Thunderpuss?"
Thunderpuss opens his large maw, stretches out a paw then settles his head against the forearm while closing his eyes.
Kufieno nods. "You are so smart, Miss Rissi. Let's go check it out!"
You make a wide trip around Jorgenfirst and the giant encampments, working you way around the dangerous cliff face searching for caves, caverns, or some sort of underground entrance.
A musky smell lingers near the entrance to this cave—a thick, almost reptilian stink. Dozens of bones, many immense mammoth or aurochs remains, lie scattered on the ledge overlooking the river fifty feet below.
As you move closer to the caverns, something inside stirs, no doubt having smelled or sensed you. Three armless dark blue dragons roar challenges at you!
Rissi would blush at Kufieno's statement, if she did not lack the physiological capacity for that reflex.
----------------------------------------------------
Upon seeing the trio of dragons, the wizard quickly fills the cavern with webbing from a web spell - not so much to entrap the dragons, but to delay them.
"Lucian, perhaps defensive magic is in order; perhaps *squeak* resistance against their breath?"
Lucian casts blessing of fervor, empowering his allies with divine speed.
Lucian casts resist energy, communal, warding his allies against the bane of these dragons.
Rissi recognizes these as wyverns! They are dragon-kin and thus immune to sleep and paralysis but have no particular alignment to any element. They carry poison though.
Rissi covers the cave in webs to prevent the wyverns' easy movement towards you. Lucian then gives the party a blessing of speed!
Kufieno moves up a little and casts a spell, creating mirror images of himself.
Two of the wyverns push through the webs towards the party but the third gets stuck!
Seal coolly meanders up to the webbed wyvern while twirling his Dorn. As he stops 5' before the edge of the webbing, the dwarf chuckles to himself.
"Why yes, today is my birthday! Look what I have all wrapped up for me."
If Green is hit, cleave to red
After the attacks, Seal whistles for Thunderpuss.
Rissi pulls a wand and launches two magic missiles at the farthest drake.
Light-headed as she is, Evanya was flying around wondering whether wyverns are able to dance with the stars when she suddenly realized that she could help her companions. She grasps her newly-acquired wand and conjures its magic.
Lucian further empowers his companions with a prayer addressed to Desna.
"Lady Luck, guide our arms and hearts so we can dance under the stars tonight!"
Thinking for a moment, Kufieno moves up next to Seal, drawing his longspear along the way, and charges it with a bit of arcane power, then stabs at the red wyvern.
Rissi hits the wyvern stuck in the webs with a set of missiles! Evanya and Lucian give hope and blessings to the party, respectively! Kufieno moves in and stabs the dragon while Seal readies his weapon....
blue: 7 dmg
red: 16 dmg
|
Miana will move up, juking back and forth as she approaches and attacks the wyvern.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Miana moves in and kicks the wyvern! The two wyverns in front step further out of the webs to attack Miana and Kufieno!
The other pushes forward and gets out of the web to come at Seal! Seal promptly hits it on the head to let it know that that was a very silly idea.
blue: 7 dmg
red: 33 dmg
blue: 20 dmg
Kufieno grimaces as he is stung by the wyvern. Stepping back, he stabs with the spear again.
Lucian casts murderous command on the green wyvern, pointing at the blue one. "It conspires against you, kill it! See, my companions hardly wounded it at all."
Kufieno takes down the red wyvern! Lucian turns the green wyvern against its brother!
blue: 27 dmg
green: murderous commanded
Rissi ignites phlogiston on the tails of the wyverns.
Miana gives the wyverns a flurry of punches as Rissi finishes her spell and takes them both down!
The wyverns had a fire opal that seemed to have fascinated them endlessly—they’ve placed the sparkling gemstone atop a low mound of sand in the center of their cave. The fire opal is worth only 200 gp, a paltry sum compared to the value of the rest of their treasure that lies heaped, almost forgotten, in the southwest spur cave. Buried under a collection of favorite skulls, horse and elk thighbones, and well-gnawed bits of hide is a chest containing 1,435 gp and 2,987 sp. Behind the chest lies an ancient staff of heaven and earth.
"Anyone still wounded? I'll soothe your wounds if so." offers Lucian.
"Rissi, that staff is a beauty, you should take it! I mean, isn't getting a staff like a very important moment in a wizard's life? We should celebrate!"
"Indeed" She looks the thing over for some time. "This particular staff *shhhh* looks to be the tool of a druid - but I can call upon some of its magic." She hefts the staff, even though it is, of course, ridiculously oversized for her tiny frame.
Sadly, there are no tunnels or caverns leading towards the fortress here.
Kufieno nods in thanks to Miana, as he body fights off the poison. Kicking at some gnawed bones, he says. "That was a nice warmup, ready to check another cave?"
Higher up you find another cave: this cave crawls. Countless bloated, many-legged insects trample one another as they carpet the floor and climb the walls, creating a susurrus of a million clicking bug legs. The deepest part of the cave seems to be unnaturally thick with darkness and fallen webs.
Rissi shudders under her heavy cloak; she points her newly found staff and summons a gust of wind to hopefully blow some of the lesser creatures out of their path.
"I would have preferred a rats nest to this *squeak* filth."
Rissi blows the lesser bugs away, as well as many of the webs. This, however, has the effect of attracting the attention of several creatures in the back of the cavern: animated husks from enormous spiders come around the bend. They seem filled with thousands of living spiders that fall from the bodies like drops of blood!
The spider-like creatures scuttle forward and shoot webs at the party!
"A deathweb! Be mindful of the swarms of spiders inside."
Rissi of course read about these creatures during her short and rarely spoken gothic phase, where she dyed her hind quarters a shocking white simply to spite her mother. Ah, the rebelliousness of youth....
Riss launches another fireball to help quell the infestation threat.
Lucian nods at Rissi and extends his severely-burnt hands in front of him, casting a wall made of sheer flames on the deathwebs.
Rissi and Lucian lay down the heat and burn away much of the undead spider beasts!
red: 51 dmg
blue: 51 dmg
green: 51 dmg
Kufieno curse as he is entangle in the web. Flexing he tries to break free.
Lucian's wall burns away the undead spiders!
Although it doesn't seem those beasts collected treasure deliberately, over the years many foolish adventurers must have stumbled into their clutches. As a result, the cave is cluttered with old webs, withered skins, and old bones, along with a dozen longswords (one of them a Large +1 longsword), a +2 halberd, three Large warhammers, a set of full plate armor, and a druid's staff with a spellstaff spell still in effect on it (the staff contains a rusting grasp at CL 12th).
The tunnel beyond leads to a winding route into a maze-like system of narrow tunnels....
"Well, we seem to have found a *shhhh* possible way in. Shall we proceed?"
The maze of tunnels, with a bit of time and navigational skills, prove to lead towards Jorgenfist. A narrow crack no more than four feet wide leads on and you can see light ahead....
"Perhaps a bit of *squeak* magical defense is in order, if we intend to venture into the heart of the enemy."
"Don't worry Lucian, I'll go and check it out first. Since you all are a little tall for this passage, it's only fitting you should a girl go in first!" she giggles heartily before venturing inside the passage, using the rocks as hiding places along the way in the hope of remaining unnoticed.
Evanya slips to the end of the passage and can see a red-skinned female kobold warrior wearing a black breastplate and holding a glowing spear. She sits polishing the wood of her spear, clearing guarding this room and the passage leading in to it.