When the man lunges, Iantha dives aside with a squeak.
Still half on the ground, she motions her companions to silence.
"Guys, quietly now. We can figure out who and what later. I heard footsteps to the north.
"Agreed, Iantha. Let's deal with danger before we start discussing things."
Carefully, Iantha takes a few steps forward, weapons drawn, to see if she can spot where the noise is coming from.
Iantha motions back to Miranda. "I hear footsteps from the west now, can you check? Maybe we can box it in."
Twopenny nods to Iantha and gives her a thumbs up, apparently thinking she was talking to him, and moves carefully to the west.when he reaches the corner, he readies an attack in case one of the little creatures comes close.
Figuring it will a be a good test to see if this man is really their ally, Iantha gives him the thumbs up back, then steps around the corner to see if one of the creatures is there, or to drive it towards the man.
Smith nods and silently follows Iantha, staff at the ready.
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Iantha and Smith can see heavy foot traffic going in all directions in the area, including to two rooms to the west from where they currently are. Scattered all around are random piles of junk and garbage, likely the stolen horde of the creatures you are here to... evict. The area isn't much better or worse lit than you've seen so far, but the area to the north seems particularly dark. You are able to make out the general shape, but not much else.
Iantha whispers to Smith, "Stay here and block the exit. If that weird thing flees you can block it."
Carefully Iantha takes a few more paces, checking left and right for a sign of the blue creature.
Smith nods and holds his ground, staff at the ready.
Miranda follows after Iantha cautiously only if she gives an all-clear sign.
Spotting nothing, Iantha motions to smith. "Can you come up and take my place? Miranda can then take your place so we block all these tunnels. Maybe we can drive whatever it is into a corner."
Iantha moves up a bit.
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As Iantha steps towards the next room, you feel resistance to one of your steps, as a spike swings from the northern wall and misses you only barely due to your height. You do not see anything, but you do all get the sense you're being watched, and you can hear light clanging to the west.
Several different passageways converge on a narrow ledge
overlooking a rubble-filled cavern. The far wall is made of a
smooth, dark gray metal. A single circular door, tightly closed,
sits on the metal wall just above the upper level of the rubble.
With a squeek, Iantha ducks. Sometimes a small size is a blessing.
Motioning back to smith and Miranda, "I hear something from the east."
"Be cautious, my small friend. Your size may not always be a defense against such traps..." Miranda follows along only when Iantha motions her forward.
Whispering back to Miranda, "I'll be more carefull, I think its de activated now. If you stand here, you can block the escape route for whatever it is. I'll go check."
Checking out the terrain, Iantha takes a step forward and waits for Miranda to block the way out before progressing into the junk room.
Smith patiently holds his ground for now.
Not seeing anything, Iantha creeps forward, trying to see what is in the small room.
"Smith, come over, I see them! Help me drive them out."
Iantha points at the back of the room.
Smith moves up and looks at where Iantha is pointing.
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As soon as Smith steps past Iantha, the figures move out from behind the column, almost as if trying to sneak towards you in plain sight
[spoiler=GM Rolls]
CUE BATTLE MUSIC!
Initiative - Bold may act
Iantha
Green
Miranda
Twopenny
Blue
Smith
Red
Blue
Having been spotted, the need for stealth is over, and Iantha shouts back, "Miranda, Twopenny! Those things are over here!"
.
Sort paws are not so fast. Iantha moves into the rubble, and readies to hit the first creature that comes into range of her morning star.
On her turn, Miranda will cast light on her bracelet and move toward Iantha.
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Hearing the ratfolk yell, all 3 enemies snap up straight, caught off guard that they were somehow noticed. The dark skinned foe steps forward into the rubble, getting clocked in the face with a morning star as he moves forward. As soon as he gets close, he draws a small blade and swings at Iantha, narrowly missing as he follows it up with yet another failed assault by bite.
Miranda comes rushing into the room, illuminating the whole area. The creatures seem to cringe at the sudden increase in vibility.
Initiative - Bold may act
Iantha
Green
Miranda
[b]Twopenny
Blue
Smith
Red
Blue
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The creature in the back of the room rushes through the rubble, heading towards Iantha, coming in close enough to easily defend against . It draws a small blade similar to the last, and takes a swing at the rat, followed by a bite.
The blade manages to pierce her skin, but little more than a paper cut, and the bite doesn't even so little.
Initiative - Bold may act
Iantha
Green
Miranda
Twopenny
Blue
Smith
Red
Smith extends his staff and fires a magic missile at the red rat before closing on it with his staff.
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The critter narrowly dodges Iantha's blow, while Smith's target seems to take the hit... wobbling slightly... and then collapses to the ground.
Around this time, the party (with the exception of Twopenny) begin to feel an odd sensation in your chests. As if you're beginning to breath the air a little differently.
Initiative - Bold may act
Iantha
Green
Miranda
Twopenny
Blue
Smith
Red
"Get. Away. From. Me!"
Iantha swings her morningstar at Blue.
Miranda, not wishing to expend any of her precious spell slots, simply casts daze on the creature.
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The creature nearest Iantha hardly noticed it was targeted from afar, and quickly brushes it off as it continues to attack Iantha. It manages to pierce her skin with a quick slash of its blade, barely causing any real harm,but she seems entirely unharmed by the bite.
Initiative - Bold may act
Iantha
Green
Miranda
Twopenny
Blue
Smith
Red
Smith, takes the long way around and stays out of the pit.
before coming down hard with his staff.
"Back corridor no longer contains hostiles."
Blue is still harassing Iantha.
"Get of me you nasty thing!"
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Smith and Iantha simultaneously take down the final two creatures as they crumple into bloody heaps on the floor. Looking around, they seem to have been the last of their kind here, and it's unlikely any others would return soon after these were all killed. They didn't seem to be carrying anything beyond their tiny-sized short swords. There's piles of metal scrap all around the room, and the tiny area to the southeast appears completely empty. On the east wall is a large set of metal double doors.
"What were those things?"
Iantha examines one of the creatures.
Smith speaks "I wonder why they had so much trouble with these creatures."
Smith will then examine the door.
"I did not recognize them. There are so many types of creatures on this planet..."
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Iantha recognize these things as Jinkin Gremlins. While not the most combat-savvy creatures, they have the ability to instantly blink from one location to another, and are fond of stealing whatever they can. It's likely most of the metal scraps were stolen from adventurers and townspeople over time, but it is odd that there were so few of them. There's probably a larger group of them living somewhere nearby, as this doesn't seem to be a living area. Considering the dark area you are in, they don't seem to have expected you see them.
The door looks almost like it's part of a different structure, not the cave itself. It look nearly identical to the metal eastern wall of the main cavern where you met with the humanoids who tasked you with killing the gremlins. The door is extremely sturdy, and seems tougher than your group would be able to break open.
Iantha pokes one of the creatures with a toe. "These are Jinkin Gremlins. I doubt they live here. There must be more of them somewhere else. Perhaps inside whatever it is behind those doors?"
Iantha takes a moment to search trough the scraps on the floor.
"Jinkins, you say? Strange they'd be here, don't you think?"
Miranda inspects the door for any type of opening mechanism.
Iantha keeps searching while answering Miranda. "Well, if I recall correctly, Jinkins are real quickthieves. They steal whatever they can get their hands on. I bet most of what we see here is their 'loot'. Its just weird that there were so few of them here. That's why I suspect there must be more of them deeper inside."
Smith replies "Door looks like the same material as the bigger creatures, I think the other side may be the back of their complex. Shall we return to them with proof of our success?"