Hroon's acid burns into the lead maggot melting most of its flesh away.
Sam's shot echoes around the cavern a second time. The bullet ripping into the maggot.
The second maggot moves forward, within range of Valtyra's spear.
Valtyra slashes and cuts deep into the second maggot's flesh, leaving a gaping wound in its side.
Greylocke interposes himself between the living maggot and Haroon and Sam.
Ginger steps forward swinging her ax, it misses, cutting deep into the stone floor sending sharp chips of stone into the air.
Round 2 Go!
Haroon makes a fist, revealing a pit-fighter's battle gauntlet, spiked and plated on his right hand. He probes tentatively at the maggot, hoping to shy it away toward Ginger's axe.
Damn it, just when you need a bow, Oliver thinks as the maggots approach and Sam starts firing. "One you wouldn't by any chance have a bow?" he inquires.
Seeing the female dwarf step in front of him to weather the attack he smiles, such selflessness - stupid but selfless, he contemplate as he steps to her side and swings his sword at the maggot.
Seeing the ridiculously gorgeous woman with the spear and the tough guy with the sword step in to gut the other maggot, Sam holds fire for the moment - best not to accidentally shoot anyone who can help her get out of here. Especially not someone who could easily rend her flesh as well as those vermin.
Valtyra slashs her spear down at the maggot for a second time.
Haroon tries to force the maggot closer to Ginger's ax, unfortunately the maggot just ignores his swings.
Sam waits to see if Oliver or Valtyra can finish off the beast.
Oliver steps forward putting the maggot out of its misery. It dies quietly on the sword.
Valtyra hisses something at it as it dies
Well, that wasn't so bad, Haroon says with a puff of breath and a quick swipe of his hand across his forehead. His dark eyes, nearly the same color as his voluminous cape, survey the wreck of the maggots before them. But these oversized grubs are disturbing, to say the least. Hopefully there aren't more of them hiding about.
The strange young man inspects the maggot-corpses, attempting to identify them.
"That certainly could have gone worse. Now, let's see about getting ourselves out of here. Though I dare say, I worry the Kenabres we'll return to will be very different than the one we left." The elder paladin returns to the wounded, ensuring they are OK after the excitement.
"I agree with Elder Greylocke, if any of the wounded need carrying or support while they walk, I would like to offer my service to them." While Ginger says this she puts her axe away and tries to give the wounded people an encouraging smile hoping to herself that her scar doesn't scare or upset them.
Giant maggots feed for 2 weeks (often moving from one corpse to another) before entering a pupal stage, after which they emerge as giant flies.
"Gee, what could have possibly clued you in on that, old timer?" Sam says to the shield bearer in a sarcastic drawl. "Was it the ground cracking open beneath our feet? The demons swarming the streets and massacring people? Maybe it was when our great dragon protector was freaking beheaded!"
The gunslinger stops and takes a deep breath. "Sorry. Sorry, I'd just prefer it if we not talk about how screwed up everything is right now. I don't want to think about it, or discuss it, or do anything except get out of here. So let's not...talk about that. Okay?"
Feeling emotionally hollow, Sam does something that's somewhat ingrained in her behavior - look for the shiny and probably valuable objects seen before they were all distracted by the maggots.
Ginger lets out a low growl while glaring at the back of Sam's head and says in a low voice that probably only Greylocke would hear "that lad needs to be taught how to respect his elders, or he'll get a mean ol' beating."
Pushing the dead maggot of his blade with his booth Oliver looks for something to clean the blade with. Unfortunately the only thing he finds is a body scarf properly from one of the dead. With a little hesitation he takes the cloth and wipes his blade clean before tossing the scarf. "We were lucky here. Let move on before that changes," he says.
Luckier than you might guess, Oliver. Haroon responds as he dry-washes his hands. A bit more time in that spider carcass and we might have been dealing with giant flies instead of the pupal maggots. I'd imagine they're a bit harder to take on the wing, he adds with a quiet, nervous laugh.
Still, he moves over to Sam, shining light on the area and hoping to locate the shiny objects. Sometimes it's good to talk about these things, he offers in a low voice. But maybe that's a conversation that can wait until we're out from underground.
As far as anyone can tell the spider was the only ting of note left in this chamber. Ahead the cavern splits into two tunnels.
Valtyra steps around the spider's carcass to look into the two tunnels, seeing which of them looks to be more promising. The dwarf woman is right, the lad needs to keep his mouth shut. She is grateful that she is facing the tunnels so that no one can see the irritation she has for the blonde haired boy.
"Anyone want to take a guess as to which of these tunnels may lead out of here?"
Ginger nods Greylocke "understandable,' then hearing Valtyra call out she makes her way over to the pretty lady "Choosing a way out after a tunnel cave in I like to pick the way the seems to have the fresher air flowing toward you. But if you can't find out which that is, I always like to go left."
Mordan smiles at the dwarf. In a returned whisper, he says "Remember, some may have families, friends, and lovers still in the city. It is hard to judge someone truly in the midst of such a crisis." Looking over at Valtyra, he replies "I'm up for letting Iomedae decide. Flip a coin. At least we'll be moving towards something other than this oppressive dark." The elder paladin then looks around for something to use as a crutch for the woman with the broken leg.
Turning to the wounded, the immidiate threat over, Mordan asks "We appear to be in this together, and we may need to rely upon each other to overcome this ordeal. I am Mordan Greylocke, Paladin of Iomedae. What may we call you?"
Left sounds fine to me, Haroon adds with a smile for Ginger. I'm not much of a spelunker, so I'll happily follow someone who knows more about it than I do.
Both tunnels appear equally viable. The ground however slopes downward in each.
Valtyra looks down both tunnels to see if there is anything that may harm the people who are down there with her.
They both look the same to me, both paths look to wide and have rocks and debris along them. Since the lady dwarf suggest left and no one seems to object. I think we should get moving down this tunnel and hope to get out of here soon.
Valtyra walks a few feet into the left tunnel and waits for the others to follow with the wounded. She has her long spear in her hand at the ready should anything appear to attack.
Haroon follows Valtyra, staying near the middle of the pack with his sunrod held aloft to provide as much light as possible for those who need it while keeping a hand free should any spellcasting be called for.
Mordan follows shortly after, assisiting the wounded as he can. He keeps his shield on and strapped, just in case he needs to step in front of the wounded ones.
Turning his back to the whole display of destruction Oliver follows the rest. "One way is properly better than the other, but I don't know which one," he says. Keeping shield and sword ready as he walks he contemplates their situation.
Ginger gives a slight snort "Just rocks and debris, oh the mysteries and hidden treasure a tunnel could hide." A slight glint comes to her eyes even though the sad times that have they have fallen on them, she loves exploring new tunnels. Taking out her axe again Ginger goes to the front of the group, smiles up to the pretty Valtyra,"I'm Ginger by the way." Once the party is all together she heads down the left tunnel always looking around to make sure no monsters jump from the deep shadows.
Valtyra walks besides Ginger to make sure to keep the injured safe. "Pleasure to meet you Ginger, I'm Valtyra Beltain."
Anevia, Aravashnial, and Hargus also introduce themselves. Aravashnial tries to take charge asking about to try and determine the more experienced members of the group. He claims to be a powerful conjurer and experienced crusader, Anevia is a retired adventurer who is married to a member of the Eagle Watch. Hargus is a noble from Kenebras and a powerful trader of goods. He's made several large contributions to the war effort.
The grand cavern narrows as it splits into the separate passages. It soon widens again to reveal another smaller cavern that appears to have once served as a campsite or temporary lair. A torn bed roll lies next to the cold remains of a fire. A pile of bones, broken equipment, and rubble lies just past the campsite. Beyond the camp the cave appears to stretch on farther out of sight.
Oliver listens with interest as the others talk. When the wounded introduce themselves a small smile quickly flashes over his lips. He says nothing having already introduced himself.
When the light of Haroon's sunrod illuminates the camp site Oliver is puzzled a bit. Who would live down here? he wonders. Out loud he asks: "What is this?"
"I'm Sam. I used to be a squire, and that's all I have to say on the matter right now," The gunslinger tells the others.
Looking around the abandoned camp, Sam pokes around the equipment for anything useful. "What, you think that it's impossible anybody would have ever ventured down here?" They ask Oliver. "Probably got eaten, though. Maybe by that dead spider."
When Aravashnial claims to be a conjurer, the young man hastens over to aid the blinded elf. I have some skill in the Art as well, sir. My father, Merten Falstaff has assisted many crusaders over the years. Perhaps you've heard of him? He was quite skilled in divinations, although I fear he is lost beyond the wardstones. Here, let me help you over that rock.
When he spies the campsite, Haroon quickly scans it for magical auras.
In response to Oliver he adds, Looks like what used to be someone's home. Are those bones human?
Ginger looks down and examines the broken equipment with a grunt "dwarven stuff is better, lasts longer." With that she stands up straight again and goes to stand a little outside the group, only a feet or so and scans the area for creatures of the dark.
Mordan nods as the wounded introduce themselves. "You will have to forgive me, I'm not from here. Mearly visiting for a time, so I don't recognize your names or families. Regardless, our best bet is to work together to pull through this. The others seem well versed in the area, and some appear to be familiar with the perils and dangers of underground. Be wary, and stay close to me. I'm not as young as I once was, but I can still keep harm from befalling my charges."
Treasure: A thorough search of the room turns up a torn bedroll, three candle stubs (each can burn for 30 minutes), a bent fishhook, 10 feet of badly frayed hemp rope, and a copper brooch depicting a bat perched on a mushroom both of the bat's eyes are tiny amethysts.
In addition you also find six silver scales about the size of a man's hand. As you touch the first you feel a sudden rush of sadness tinged with resolute determination. Followed swiftly with the understanding that these scales were infused with the power of the dragon's departing soul.
Terendelev's scale
Aura: Strong (varies); CL19th
Slot: none; Minor Artifact Weight --
Description
Each of Terendelev's scales grants a different power to the person who carries them. The powers granted do not function at all if more than one scale is carried. The powers of the six scales are listed below-any non-evil creature that handles a scale immediately understands its use.
Cloudwalking: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast levitate. A pillar of roiling clouds rises below the levitating object or creature, growing and shrinking with the target's altitude. This pillar is 5 feet in diameter (regardless of the target's size) and provides concealment (20% miss chance) to any creature or object wholly contained within.
Disguise: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast alter self. While disguised, the target gains a +4 bonus on all Bluff checks made against evil creatures.
Resistance: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast resist elements-but only against electricity or cold.
Sacred Weaponry: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast align weapon, but only to make a weapon lawful or good. Unlike a normal align weapon spell, this effect can be cast on an unarmed strike or natural weapon.
Glittering: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast Glitterdust, however creatures that fail their save are not blinded, but suffer a 20% miss chance on all attacks for 19 rounds.
Sparking: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast Deadeye's Arrow, the arrow may be used as an attack dealing 1d6+5 electricity damage or as a beacon (see spell text)
Destruction
The Storm King Khorramzadeh can destroy each of Terendelev's scales merely by eating it.
Shaking his head at Sam's question Oliver says: "What could they possibly hope to find down here?" Thinking about the second part he adds: "It is properly something else, I don't think spiders would have left their bones here." At Haroon's remark Oliver contemplates aloud: "I would guess no one up to any good would live down here."
To no one in particular he says: "Should we press one and let the dead be dead?"
Sam stares at the scales, fingering each of them and trying not to be freaked out by the sudden knowledge of what they do surging into them. "Dragon scales...I'm 100% sure these are going to be useful," They states, looking back at the others. "Looks like Terri's still protecting others even gone. Do dragons have ghosts, though? I'd rather not meet a ghost dragon."
"Everyone who can fight at the moment, take a scale. They'll be useful," Sam says, tossing them randomly to people.
Sam keeps the Glittering scale for themselves - as well as sweeping every else useful from the camp into their bag, including the brooch. "You can trade if you'd rather have something else. Just figured we might as well be expedient about it. Better to get out of here fast as we can, instead of dithering about who gets what."
Haroon gasps and squints at the scale, taken aback by the immediate inrush of knowledge that handling it creates. Amazing! The dragon could do that in its death throes. I truly have much left to learn.
He trades with the others if they request it, but agrees that pressing on is for the best. As the group leave the campsite, he offers Those looked like animal bones to me. Probably someone's dinner, so the question remains, whose dinner was it?
"Haroon, would you mind trading scales with me?"
Valtyra holds her scale out to Haroon the feeling of it leaving her in wonder.
"I'm not sure I want to find out whose dinner it was."
Continuing on, you reach another fork in the tunnel. One leading off returning towards the fist cave you were in. The other wanders farther west.
Certainly Valtyra. Haroon hands over the scale with a smile, and accepts Valtyra's. Sam, something about that one you have speaks to me. Would you mind trading as well?
"...you haven't touched it," Sam points out, frowning at the guy before shrugging and tossing the scale to them. "Whatever. Just don't lose it, right?" They ask, looking to the west. Probably better if Ginger took lead here.
Ginger looks down at the scale that was tossed to her, she brigs it close so she can inspect every groove and angle."Hmm interesting thing we found here, I would like to keep mine if that is ok with everyone." I can't believe that dragon is still keeping us safe, while thinking to herself she slips the scale into her pack then heads to the front of this interesting group and starts to head to the end of the cavern seeing what more surprises will pop out in front of them.
A stone ledge juts out at a right angle on the south wall of this cavern, fourteen feet off the ground. The leather strap of a backpack hangs from the edge of the ledge the pack looking full and heavy, while above, a narrow fissure yawns up into the dark.
Valtyra looks around before noticing the backpack hanging from the ledge above them. "I'll get the backpack down for us."
Valtyra uses the scale she was given to levitate herself up to the backpack to remove it from the ledge.
"I wonder what is in it?" Valtyra then opens the backpack to look through the contents.
Valtyra as you reach the top of the ledge and retrieve the backpack you hear the sound of skittering bugs above you.
Order:
Creature 1
Oliver
Haroon
Creature 3
Sam
Elder Greylocke
Creature 2
Valtyra
Ginger
Valtyra moves down with the pack in her hand.
"I heard something that sounds like a bunch of large insects moving around up there."
Valtyra drops the pack at her feet and draws her long spear off her back.
"Hopefully not more maggots," is the only thing Mordan says as he places himself in front of the wounded, his shield interposed between them and the sound.
Haroon slides his sunrod into Obregon's claws and whispers to the raven.
For it's part, the bird flies upward in a widening gyre, doing its best to ascend slowly enough that the light of the magical torch illuminates whatever lurks above before it can get close enough to do him harm.
Hearing Val's warning Ginger goes and places herself next to Elder Greylocke protecting the wounded. "Bah more bugs, I think my axe is hunger since it didn't get any maggot last time." Ginger looks to Greylocke and gives him a nod "ready good sir?"