Rawiya is concerned about Badhru, and goes over to take his hand and sit beside him.
"Rest my friend. This disease is debilitating and the storm hasn't helped you.
He isn't responding!
Frightened for her friend and sad at his discomfort, she sits quietly beside him, remembering his kindness at the Sage's party, and the strength she was unconsciously counting on. She's paying no attention to Shu-kri, Sorkesh and Theshen.
"We may not be alone in here. The camels are spooked by something back there," Shu-Kri says softly.
Rawiya looks up at the sound of Shu-kri's voice, pitched to carry even with its low volume.
Puzzled, she stand up and finds her bow and quiver, and walks over next to Shu-kri.
"What is wrong with the camels?" she asks as she looks toward the animals.
"Hmm, you're right."
Asmani pushes away from the wall and moves to investigate the tunnel, turning her head from side to side as she approaches. At some point both knives appear in her hands. She pads forward, as silently as she can, aided no doubt by the shrieking winds outside.
Theshen seems oddly at ease in the gloom of the cave.
He is also concerned about Bathru and examines him again.
Noticing the camels are spooked, and the conversation of Shu-Kri, Rawiya and Asmani, he picks up his quarterstaff and cautiously begins to move towards the back of the cave.
Sorkesh lights one of his torches and stands between Asmani and Theshen and looks down the opening:
Nenet stands up and keeps her position by Badhru’s side. ”You go on ahead. I’ll stay behind to protect our sick friend. And our belongings.”
The tunnel is almost as narrow as the cave entrance and winds deeper into earth. After a minute walking, the group enters a chamber about as big as the entrance. It’s walls are covered with multicoloured lichen whose glow almost vanishes against the half-orc’s torch. There is little time to appreciate the intricate beauty of the room, as the reason for the camels’s fear is evident: an eight-foot long scorpion has made its lair here. As soon as Sorkesh steps in, the creature lunges forward with a series of clicks and hisses.
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1. Sorkesh
2. Rawiya
3. Asmani
4. Giant Scorpion
5. Shu-kri
6. Theshen
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Sorkesh, Rawiya and Asmani are quick in noticing the threat and manage to react before the giant scorpion moves.
Rawiya nocks an arrow into her bow, moving forward
"Here, let me get a shot at 'em"
(range 110 ft)
Seeing the giant scorpion, Sorkesh just says "That's nasty!"
He then casts a spell on his crossbow: « կախարդական զենքը » . .
Shu-Kri takes out her longspear and braces behind Rawiya, ready to strike before the scorpion gets her.
Should the scorpion still stand before Theshen can react, he will invoke a blessing of Isis into this dark place to steady his allies.
Asmani lets out a curse that's part horror, part amazement, and then circles out wide, hoping to flank if the scorpion charges past her, adrenaline dumping into her veins as she eyes the monstrosity and its stinger. She unshoulders her short bow, nocks an arrow, but her fear makes her fingers clumsy and she looses a terrible first shot into the darkness.
Using his opportunity to prepare himself for battle, Sorkesh intones a few words that seem to make his crossbow glow blue for a second. Meanwhile, Rawiya and Asmani move inside the room, each firing an arrow at the scorpion. Both arrows are deflected by the monster’s thick carapace.
It rushes to the direction of the las attack and tries to impale Asmani with its sting, easily dogged by the Osirian.
Shu-kri rushes to Rawiya’s side whilst Theshen pleads for Isis’s blessing. Every one of his companion’s feels a gentle touch propelling them towards great feats.
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1. Sorkesh
2. Rawiya
3. Asmani
4. Giant scorpion
5. Shu-kri
6. Theshen
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Theshen drops his quarterstaff and pulls out a morningstar. Rarely used from the looks it, but his grip on it is a trained one. With buckler already affixed to his left arm, he advances into the fray.
Asmani drops her bow as she ducks under the sudden thrust of the stinger, cursing as it whistles right over her head. Trapped against the wall, a forest of shifting chitinous legs blocking her in, she draws her twin blades and steps a little farther south to place the scorpion between her and Sorkesh.
Still, with all the shadows and dust, she can barely pick a target to lash out at.
"
اعمى على الصحرا"It's a great day for fire...."
Rawiya's voice echos through the cave
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Sorkesh takes a step back and fires a bolt at the scorpion, piercing its carapace deeply enough to lightly wound the monster.
Soon after, Rawiya’s song beings to lift everyone’s spirits, which is of little use for Asmani as both her attacks fail to hurt the scorpion.
The beast, furious with the pain inflicted by the bolt, lashes out at its closest target, the Osirian rogue. In its rage it grabs Asmani with both pincers and throws her to the ground, unconscious and bleeding from a wide gash on her torso.
Shu-kri rushes in her friend’s rescue, stabbing the scorpion with uncanny precision.
Theshen follows her, drawing his morningstar.
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1. Sorkesh
2. Rawiya
3. Asmani
4. Giant scorpion
5. Shu-kri
6. Theshen
Rawiya continues singing as she moves to get a better view of the scorpion and fires her longbow
Crit=24 dmg to scorpion
Theshen cries out as Asmani is struck, only seeing it as he has already closed with the scorpion.
And now he must risk all.
Expecting the scorpion to strike at him, he plans to sprint away and circle the beast. If he has judged it correctly, he will have time enough to touch Asmani and restore vigour to her. Otherwise, he can stand over her and aid the others to flank.
Cursing at the Scorpion for hitting Asmani, Sorkesh drops his torch and fires his now enchanted crossbow at it:
Shu-Kri thinks about what she might know about the creature while thrusting her spear.
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Sorkesh takes a step to the side, loads his crossbow and fires again, but the bolt goes wide and breaks against the ceiling, causing some of the glowing lichen to fall to the ground.
Rawiya, the song putting her a trance-like state of pure focus, fires an arrow that pierces deep into the scorpion’s mouth parts.
It thrashes in rage and stomps towards the bard, its exoskeleton shrugging off both Shu-kri and Theshen’s attacks. It raises its tail and strikes Rawiya’s shoulder with its stinger, closely missing her lungs.
Shu-kri learns from her previous thrust and this time the long spear strikes true, mortally wounding the monster.
Theshen’s focus narrows to a single thing: Asmani. He carelessly jumps to her side, almost not noticing the burning sting of the scorpion on his side.
He lays his hands on her, and the rogue seems to breathe a bit easier.
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1. Sorkesh
2. Rawiya
3. Asmani
4. Giant scorpion
5. Shu-kri
6. Theshen
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Rawiya keeps singing, in spite of the nasty shoulder wound
She moves back away from the scorpion, and painfully pulls back her bow again
Sorkesh tries shooting at the scorpion again:
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Sorkesh and Rawiya continue shooting at the raging scorpion, but both fail to pierce the monster’s armour.
Fighting for its life, the monster moves closer to Shu-kri, wishing to neutralise the painful stabs from the Bekyar’s spear. It grievously wounds her by grabbing the woman by the waist with both pincers, whilst its stinger strikes Sorkesh in the stomach. The half-orc falls, severely weakened.
In the scorpion’s grasp, Shu-kri screams as she pushes her spear with both hands against its cephalothorax. The attack hits and impales the creature, the sounds cracked carapace and slurping humours are the only thing that remains once Shu-kri’s scream fades out. She drops to the ground, liberated from the scorpion’s clutch.
Theshen ignores the poison burning through his veins and keeps his hands over Asmani’s wound. When he removes them, the gash on her belly is closed. The rogue wakes up with heavy cough and pain from the accelerated healing.
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Rawiyah surveys the blood and gore.
"We all need healing, but it appears only Shu-kri and I are mobile. Theshen, do you need help? You look pale and shaken. I think we need some assistance from Nenet. I'll fetch her."
After waiting a moment for responses, Rawiyah walks carefully back to the outer cave to tell Nenet why she was singing.
Rawiya rushes to the previous chamber and finds a worried Nenet. A quick explanation afterwards, the apprentice goes to her camel, takes a few healing potions and gives them to Rawiya. ”I do not have many, but use these in those most wounded.”
When she comes back, Rawiya sees that Theshen has already given first aid to Sorkesh and Shu-kri.
The healer himself seems greatly weakened and pale, but not as sick as before.
Whilst recovering their breath, the group sees that the cave seems to wind continue down into the stone. The further it goes, the more lichen there seem to be on walls, ceiling and ground.
When Sorkesh comes around, he picks up his torch and sees if there's any way of helping Asmani recover:
But it's apparent his healing skills are sadly lacking.
"Is there anything we can do to bring her around?
"Or should we take her to the first cave where the others are?"
Theshen, still pale, raises a hand to Rawiya, and ina strained voice replies:
"My thanks, Rawiya. I am injured and feel weakened, but I can walk. And more importantly, I can heal."
His movements are noticeably more sluggish than usual, but he can indeed walk.
He walks to Asmani, Rawiya, and Shu-Kri, expending much divine power.
Afterwards, he pauses for a time.
"Friends, we should make sure the rest of the cave is safe. But I can call upon little divine grace until morning."
When Rawiya comes back with the potions, she notices a hole along one the walls of this room, close to where the scorpion originally was. It seems to be covered in detritus of all sorts: loose rocks, some sort of mucous liquid, thin white shards and other things unrecognisable from a distance.
On her return, Rawiya peers down the opening to the tunnel.
.
Seeing nothing, she walks over to the debris field and takes a closer look at the shards and liquid
"Might as well look down this tunnel now that the scorpion is dead."
Sorkesh holds his torch up in front of himself and looks down the tunnel:
Asmani comes to with a groan and gratefully receives the healing her companions bestow upon her. She finally climbs to her feet on shaky legs and stares at the dead scorpion with a mixture of fascination and horror, then shakes her head.
"Thank you," is all she says, clearly overwhelmed by her violent brush with death.
She then moves to stand beside Rawiya and peer into the strange hole.
Theshen also makes a point of looking into the hole, his eyes more attuned to darkness.
"Be wary. That thing nearly killed us all."
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Rawiya and Armani approach the hole just as Shu-kri manifests her suspicion. The rogue immediately jumps back as she sees that the white slivers were fragments of a cracked egg. Rawiya has no time to react before a diminutive version of the giant scorpion jumps at her. Luckily, the creature fails to bring any harm to the bard.
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1. Sorkesh
2. Asmani
3. Shu-kri
4. Rawiya
5. Theshen
6. Baby Giant Scorpion
Theshen moves forward to strike with his morningstar.
Hopefully the smaller scorpion will prove less deadly!
Rawiya steps back and fires an arrow at the small scorpion
Perhaps it's her near brush with death, or the general ominous nature of this place, or hell, just plain good luck. Either way, Asmani responds without hesitation, lashing out at the scorpion with both of her curved blades.
Shu-Kri positions herself behind Asmani. "Tsk. Protecting its child."
Sorkesh moves toward the giant scorpion hatchling and casts a spell on it: « թթու բեկորներ » . .
Without batting an eye, Asmani kicks the dog-sized scorpion before it falls back to the ground, causing it to land belly up. She kills the arthropod with two quick and clean stabs on the its soft underside before anyone has even realised they were under attack.
Whoever takes upon themself to rummage through the nest finds several loose coins (100GP), various small brown gemstones (300GP total) and a 6-inch stick of wood so dark it seems to almost eat the light that shines on it. Attempts at detecting magic show the last item emanates an aura of illusion.
Meanwhile, Sorkesh's investigation of the tunnel that descends deeper into the earth is not very fruitful. The glowing lichen grows denser and brighter the further Sorkesh looks, but their light seems engulfed by a thickening darkness.
Relieved at Asmani's clear return to health and swiftness, Theshen moves towards and stares down the tunnel, hoping to see more with his blessed eyes.
The stick is actually a wand of Shadow trap. It has 7 charges.
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
EFFECT
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./level)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
DESCRIPTION
You pin the target’s shadow to its current location, causing the target to become entangled and preventing it from moving farther than 5 feet from its original position, as if its shadow were anchored to the terrain. Each round on its turn, the target can attempt a new saving throw to end the effect as a full-round action. A flying creature can only hover in place or fall while entangled in this manner. This spell automatically fails when cast on a creature that doesn’t throw a shadow, and it ends if the creature is entirely in an area with no illumination.
"What an interesting wand. It seems to be able to trap shadows!"
Rawiya peers more closely at the wand and studies the symbols. "I think I can use it about 7 more times..
"Pinning someone's shadow to hold them in place seems useful in the desert, and maybe even here underground if there is enough light."
Theshen's eyes do not reveal anything new – an increasingly dark corridor populated with all manner of coloured lichens. It seems there is nothing more that can be discovered about this tunnel without actually entering it and seeing where it leads.
Theshen turns back to face the others.
"We face a choice my friends. Explore the tunnel, or hope that nothing emerges from it. I say we explore it."