Caelin struggled mightily against the vines, hoping to break free and move away.
Wriggling free, Caelin remained on his back and brought his sword to bear as best he could.
With Caelin in grave danger, Meycho steps back, activates his justice and destruction judgments, raises his bow and fires twice at the deadly plant.
The assassin vine recoils as both arrows fly true, and sags into a pile, releasing Caelin.
Goodluck stretches out a hand towards the same plant Taecuss just injured and utters words of magic. From his open palm, a ray of bright light shoots forth and strikes the assassin vine, causing it to twist in agony.
At the same time, Jervaise stands his ground, greatsword raised.
Unable to reach any of their intended prey, both surviving vines shamble forwards. The one closest to Jervaise slides down the side of the ledge while the other one takes the position of its fallen companion, threatening the prone Caelin with long tendrils.
Caelin tried to put his feet under him and leap deftly out of reach of the grasping vines.
Caelin stumbles to his feet, but before he can even regain his balance, he is treated to yet another deadly embrace.
- Assassins in the weeds -
Round 2
Initiative
Meycho - 25
Goodluck - 22
Taecuss - 21
Jervaise - 11
Assassin vines - 7
Caelin - 4
Meycho quickly changes to the vine grappling his comrade, firing off two arrows in rapid succession.
Meycho shoots another vine down and rapidly shifts his aim to the last remaining plant. Caelin, badly injured by now, is back on his feet and able to move freely.
Taecuss hits the other plant, but his marksmanship pales beside Meycho's and the plant still stands.
Goodluck hits the vine with a holy smite!
The remaining vine is pierced by several arrows before Goodluck's holy magic causes it to writhe and whiter. Then Jervaise steps forward and swings his greatsword.
Even with the merciful enhancement on the blade, the swing easily cuts completely through the vine, killing it.
Caelin kicked off the last clinging bits of vine and gingerly examined his new wounds.
"Stupid shiny objects, laying around and...shining" he mumbled angrily to himself. "This better have been worth it."
The bleeding elf climbed back up the ledge to examine the objects he'd spotted earlier. He also wanted to see if the hole above the ledge led anywhere.
Still aching from the loving embrace of the vines, Caelin once again searches the ledge.
Among the bones lie 78 gp, 210 sp, 384 cp, a grey bag, a silver figurine of a raven, and a scroll.
Peering up the shaft, he is not able to perceive anything but roots and darkness.
Climbing down off the ledge, Caelin spreads the loot out on the floor by his comrades.
"Friends, do any of these things look to be useful in our quest?"
All three objects radiate magic. Give me some rolls to identify.
Neither Caelin or Taecuss are able to figure out the nature of the bag or the silver raven, but they determine that the scroll contains a fireball spell (CL 7th).
Gripping once again his illuminated bow, Caelin begins searching for other means of leaving the caverns.
So far, they had found the trap door in the ceiling of the first chamber, and the root-clogged darkness of the shaft above the ledge.
Gripping once again his illuminated bow, Caelin begins searching for other means of leaving the caverns.
So far, they had found the trap door in the ceiling of the first chamber, and the root-clogged darkness of the shaft above the ledge.
Meycho covers Taecuss with his bow, in case anything should suddenly attack.
Meycho is able to dertermine that the two items are a grey bag of tricks and a figurine of wondrous power, silver raven.
This figurine can turn into a metallic raven that can be sent off to deliver a note or other small item. The raven can only be active for a limited period of time, however, before reverting to its statue-form again.
And this bag allows the wielder to produce animals by reaching into it. Nifty trick, but whether it is effective in combat is another question.
Turning to Caelin, Meycho notices his deep wounds. Forgive me, I had completely forgotten your wounds.
After the third surge of healing, the wand crumbles, its magic spent. Meycho looks a little worried at the dust at his feet and says in a low voice, Let us hope, we won't need much more healing on this quest...
Caelin shared Meycho's worry, but it was outweighed by his gratitude. He placed a hand on the halfling's shoulder in thanks.
He turned to watch Taecuss as the bard examined the doors.
Taecuss does not hear anything at either door.
The southeast door is locked and barred from the other side.
The doors are heavy and creak a bit as Taecuss pushes them open, but the swing inward without much effort.
Barbed cells line the walls of the room within, and a smoking pit of hot coals and ash lies in the center.
Most of the cells are occupied by huddled figures. Most of them seem to be human woodsmen, but in the largest enclosure in the southwest corner, a slender female elf lies bound and gagged. Her face is bruised, but she seems otherwise awake and alert.
Caelin took a path outside each of the cells in an attempt to discern both the conditions of the captives and to make sure that none was a crafty fey imposter.
The elf was clad in a form-fitting black leather catsuit, the top of it leaving off to expose an odd-shaped mark on her left breast. It strongly resembled a circle of slightly-raised skin of a slightly darker pigmentation, out of which jutted three lines, dagger-like, in a radial pattern. Shoulder-length ash-blond hair and pale skin made her seem almost washed-out, though it contrasted well with her bodysuit.
As Caelin approaches, her deep blue eyes widen and she squirms, trying to speak through the gag in her mouth. "Mfffth! Mfff!"
Caelin eyed the leather-suited elf warily. He half expected the woman to transform into an assassin-vine wielding spriggan.
"Meycho, can you sense any evil in this one?"
The room has a total of twelve cells and a set of double doors in the east wall.
Besides the elf, half of the cells are occupied by frightened-looking humans, six in total.
Upon hearing you talk, one of the woodsmen in the cell next to the tied-up elf stirs from his near catatonic state.
"You come from our world! Please, help us. These creatures attacked our lumber camp and brought us here. They are torturing us, looking for information on the area around Bellis and beyond. If you leave us here, we are all dead for sure..." he begs in a coarse voice.
Meycho focuses for about a minute, scanning the crowd for any strong signs of order, chaos, good or evil, his face a mask of concentration, mixed with fatigue and the grime of adventuring.
The elf, however, has a strong aura of both good and chaos, indicating either a very strong personality or a divine spellcaster. At the same time, your elven upbringing easily allows you to recognize the mark on her chest as the symbol of Calistria.