Peering around the corner, she sees the huge insect. Hmm, what do I know about vermin such as these, particular the monstrously huge kind..
Xipe creeps forward as she ponders a bit and fires an arrow at the thing.
If hit, I should be able to do sneak attack and use my studied target damage bonus as an immediate action.
damage
The creature that wriggles down the hall, Xipe recognizes as a giant whiptail centipede. The can use their tail to trip foes, and they of course have a poisonous bite that makes their prey less nimble on their feet.
Xipe, lets loose an arrow just after Yurian does the same. Both arrows fly towards the very large beast, which easily thud into the flesh of the centipede.
The centipede, quite angered that its meal is putting up such a fight, skitters forward and tries to bite Xipe with its mandibles.
Tracker: round 1-2
Xipe: go round 2
Yurian: go round 2
Me:
Even: go round 1
Round 2
- Success
Xipe shrieks as the mandibles rip into her and the savage poison injects into the gaping puncture wounds. She manages to shrug it off and tough on.
Xipe drops back 5' and unleashes a pair of arrows.
"Poison bite, watch out, and tail that can trip you."
Yurian moves in with his short swords, hoping to find a flanking position.
Even moves in as his comrades in disaster take shots at the strange gigantic centipede over his head and swings his halberd in a defensive manner, missing the giant bug by miles.
AC 20
HP 41/41
LoH 4/4
As Even steps up to slash the centipede, it tries to take a viscous bite out of him. He bites into Even's shoulder, sending venom shooting through his veins.
+ DC 17 fort save or
Even takes a wild swing but comes up empty. Luckily for him, Xipe lands an arrow through the brain. Brain oozes out of the hugs creature as it falls to the ground, lifeless. A few twitches occur, but cease altogether after a brief moment.
"Hrrunngh" Xipe grimaces as she examines her wound. It hurt, but looked ok and probably would not get infected if she cleaned it. She went about cleaning it, gritting her teeth at the pain.
Eventually she makes her way over to Even to see if he needs help with his wound, and then to the giant creature. She looked about for the poison glands to extract them and utilize the poison.
She also carved off some pieces of the chitin and cleaned the gunk off of them, thinking to fashion some sort of fancy armor or the like.
When Xipe checks Even for the viscous shoulder injury, they both find that while he's coated in venom and scratches, but no real injury.
"I'm ok, how about you two?"
He offers a light hand, that wipes away some of his comrades pain.
"Looks like I'm gonna live." She grunts with a snort.
"Let me see about this poison gland now."
Carefully slicing out the gland with her knife she carefully places it in a hollowed out piece of chitin.
"Hmm, smells foul." she chortles to herself "Heeeere, weezard, weezard, weeezard...."
"I'm good."
He looks around this way and that, "Don't suppose this thing would have any reason to keep loot, but maybe it might keep shiny stuff somewhere, or have a nest, or store its prey somewhere to 'mature'. I know there was stuff I killed back on the streets that was too tough to even tear a hunk out of unless you left it for a few days first - I can only imagine with the stuff that must live down here..."
Xipe is easily able to cut out the poison gland of the humongous beast. If given a few minutes, she is able to extract enough poison to make 3 doses of huge centipede poison. Yurian, then goes to track the beast, and it leads him a a circle.
In the strange circle, there is nothing found. Then as Yurian follows the trail, there is something in the room to the east. Under a small grouping of rubble, you find a wand, with a small crystal adorned at the tip of the wand. After a few minutes looking at it, and casting detect magic, it is a wand of cure light wounds, with 17 charges left on it.
Otherwise, you are back at the same spot you were at, the stairs leading down deeper into whatever sinkhole/hellhole you are in.
--------------------
At the end of the stairwell, you come to another natural cave. The ground is super slick. You almost feel as if you were walking on ice.
"We should forge deeper within. This place probably holds some significance. I could use some tending of my wounds however."
"If nothing else, we may wish to move forth with caution, these stone seem... slick. I almost expect that one of us will tumble when we find the latest wizardly surprise waiting just around a corner.
Even begins to move forward cautiously, testing each step before setting down his heavily armored feet, knowing that each step brings him closer to tumbling down.
Even pauses before traveling out onto the slippery floor to tend to Xipe's wounds with the wand they had picked up.
"Is that better?"
She looks down as the gaping wound mends slowly with each pulse of the wand. The pain that she had been blocking out slowly ebbs away, until a small pale scrape is all that remains.
Xipe grunts, "Thanks, I should be fine now."
"Let's explore our new home shall we?" she chuckles raspily.
Even steps out onto the glossy surface.He hears a click from a pressure plate under his foot, a jets of flame erupt from the floor in front on him. The good news is none seem to roast him, the down side, the entire floor before the group is lit on fire as the floor was covered in a flammable substance.
"We can wait until it burns out."
Does it seem like it is self sustaining (ie magical), or is it some oil that will burn out in a few rounds?
"It's not like we're in a hurry to get killed...."
Even sits down on the steps from above, prepared to wait out a half hour or more for the flames to die down.
"Wish we had some flour. I make a mean fire roasted bannock."
After a minute, the flames die out, as the fuel is burned off. The floor no longer looks glossed over, and you continue on your journey to find the sick bastard who delights in other people's misery.
"I vote right, but doesn't matter really. Flip a coin."
"Right is fine with me. Let's not die."
Yurian leads again, moving cautiously and keeping an eye out for the next trap they'll inevitably encounter.
The group heads up the eastern corridor. The natural caves cause eerie shadows to dance on the wall. Your eyes dart from spot to spot, expecting one of the creepy shadows to form to life and attack you. You get to the end of the corridor, with nothing having happened to you.
"Something lurks in the shadows...or the shadows lurk in the shadows."
"Of course there are. One moment, I have an idea. IF they'll give us that...."
Even stares long and hard into the larger cavern ahead.
Even casts a spell to detect even the faintest evil in a creature. Surprisingly, nothing pings as evil. The thought that the wizard has put creatures in that are not hellbent as him...gives everyone cause for concern.
Everyone hears shuffling towards the entrance to where you are currently at.
Initiative
Tracker: round 1
DC Blue: done
DC Green: done
DC Red: done
-----
Xipe: go
Yurian: go
Even: go
The creature is a dark creeper. They are sensitive to bright light (daylight spell and similar effects)
They can deal precision damage if they are flaking or catch enemies unaware. The can cast darkness as a SLA
After a moment of staring into the dark, and a bit of surprise, Even speaks to his comrades in peril.
"Well then! They don't appear to be inherently evil... perhaps they can be reasoned with?"
He then walks cautiously forward, and takes a clearly defensive posture in the doorway.
"Greetings and Salutations. We are doomed wanderers on this Island for a Wizards amusement. Will you converse with us peacefully? Or will you like almost everything else, try and kill us?"
Xipe keeps her bow trained on the area, but not menacingly so. She keeps a hand ready to draw a melee weapon as well.
In undercommon
Not trust. Wizard sent more enemies. Go around!
You hear the figures move off in the other direction from this entrance.