The screeching builds to a crescendo, and then, something snaps. The stone circle gives way and falls out of view. A few seconds later, there is a massive crash from far down below.
A moment passes. A sound begins emerging from the shaft; like the skittering of thousands of tiny somethings making their way up towards the adventurers.
The sound instantly fills Tanith's thoughts with a memory of the many-legged horrors he saw a moment ago.
"You think it's more spiders?" the big man asks nervously.
Cuetzpalli looks frightened, and moves back to the stairs. "I don't like the sound of that!" He readies himself to defend the spell casting dwarf and alchemist woman.
Farrukh takes up a defensive stance with his sword and shield out, ready to strike at whatever comes near him.
Robin draws his bow in a flash. "Get behind us, Bermy." The hunter moves forward, aiming from behind Cuetzpalli's shoulder.
Erip shivers and lays his hand on Carina, again with a miniature cloak. "This doesn't sound like something Tanith and Farrukh can defeat on their own. Let's go." He pulls off his backpack and moves next to Tanith, where he takes out the oil flask and sets it on the sarcophagus.
"I may be wrong, but Farrukh, you might want to get that torch out again . . ."
Carina keeps quiet for the most part, her eyes darting along the walls. The amulet on the figure catches her eye.
"That looks like a lower-ranking glyph. Whoever was buried here was less important than the person depicted on the statue we saw earlier."
As the warriors fiddle with the lanterns & machinery, she winces as she hears one platform give out. The sound of things scuttling causes her to pale.
"Oh dear..." Carina produces another explosive vial.
"You may be right, Erip..."
Farrukh takes out his torch and lights it.
"Hold this for a moment Erip."
He also takes out a big flask of oil from his backpack.
"Think we could burn whatever it is with this?" he asks.
A living geyser of beetles erupts from the shaft. The beetles land on the floor of the chamber and start skittering straight towards Farrukh, leaving a trail of yellow slime in their wake. The slime is slowly eating through the stone it touches.
From behind them emerges another creature--a horrible aberration with six sharp, spiderlike legs sprouting from a central body that is little more than a disgusting eye. It makes its way towards Tanith, Carina and Erip.
Image of the spiderlike creature.
The aberration scurries swiftly to stand between Tanith and the sarcophagus. The beetles make their way towards Farrukh.
"I think this is a good occasion for a tactical reverse advancement."
"Maybe we can dump the oil at the tunnel entrance and light it if they follow us?"
"Nobody? Well alright then."
Farrukh screams a challenge at the spider creature and moves towards it.
Carina recoils in surprise at the sight of the weird spidereye creature.
"Tanith! Erip! Get clear!" She yells before shaking the explosive vial in her hand and throwing it at the... thing. She waits for them to move first before she shakes & throws.
With that, she promptly starts running back towards Cuetzpalli & Robin.
Erip looks at his tiny flask, then at Farrukh's. "Yeah, that'll do."
Erip pulls a piece of butter out of his pouch and throws it to the floor in front of the spider monster, not even really trying to dodge its attacks. If he succeeds, a thin film of grey-yellow oil appears under its feet. He then runs back to the group.
Robin blinks a little, then laughs. "Bugs!" He glances at Bermintrude quickly. "And you were scared!"
Lowering his bow slightly, the hunter mutters into Cuetzpalli's ear. "Enjoy yourself, old bean."
Tanith recoils as the spindly-legged horror approaches. Knowing he’d be leaving Erip for dead, the big man resists the urge to retreat. Instead he falls back a step and hacks at the thing. ”Die monster!”
Erip looks at his tiny flask, then at Farrukh's. "Yeah, that'll do."
Erip pulls a piece of butter out of his pouch and throws it to the floor in front of the spider monster, not even really trying to dodge its attacks. If he succeeds, a thin film of grey-yellow oil appears under its feet. He then runs back to the group.
The creature slashes the dwarf as he tries to cast, knocking him unconscious and wasting the spell.
Carina is unable to throw her bomb without hitting the bleeding dwarf.
Tanith hacks into the creature, and it gives a high-pitched squeal.
Carina sees Erip go down after Tanith slashes at the monster. Her explosive vial still in her hand, she pitches it instead at the swarm of beetles Farrukh ran from.
She remains close, ready to try and stabilize Erip.
The bomb smashes into the swarm. Thousands of beetles are burned to a crisp, but the smaller swarm keeps moving.
Cuetzpalli runs forward. Spiny follows, overcoming his revulsion towards the spider creature only thanks to his expert training.
His unease throws him off-balance, however.
Farrukh reluctantly moves to assist, readying himself to attack the aberration.
The spider creature's one eye blinks. It skitters towards Tanith and starts clawing at everything within reach.
The beetles scurry after Farrukh, but promptly forget that when they see two tasty morsels much closer. They crawl over the pair, biting and dripping acid.
Lonsoc scampers up onto Cuetzpalli's broad shoulders when the beetles come.
"Erip!"
Robin turns to Bermintrude, and pats him on the head. "My friend, this is where we may have to part ways."
He sends Bermintrude in to lure away the beetles from the party, rushes up to aim at the larger beast, and raises his bow once more.
Robin lowers his bow slightly and curses. This isn't the estate! Aim to kill, you fool!
"Get them out of there!" Robin calls to the few allies still standing.
Lonsoc the rat shrieks as the beetles crawl over her, straining under them (and the weight of Erip's spellbook) for scant seconds, then slumping.
Robin's arrow sticks right next to the creature's eye. It gives a pained shriek.
Seeing Cuetzpalli down, Spiny goes into a flurry of attacks that no creature could possibly survive.
And yet the creature does.
Carina starts to panic when she sees Cuetzpalli go down and Erip die.
"oh no oh no oh no" Her tail begins to lash madly about.
She pulls out another explosive vial, heaving it to the northeast of the beetle swarm. She can't throw it at the swarm; Cuetzpalli's still under there!
Sorry Cuetzpalli... but I have to do this!
Afterwards, she runs to Robin's side.
The beetles attempt to swerve out of the way, but they aren't quick enough. Some of them seem to even crawl towards the bright light of the bomb.
The majority of them are killed, and the rest dispersed.
Tanith grunts in pain and surprise as the critter’s razor-sharp claw opens a nasty wound on his brawny forearm. He watches helplessly as a carpet of vermin pour over the downed Erip but continues to focus on the deadly spider-creature. ”You’ll pay for that!” he roars.
Where the blessings of Kord fail, the strength of his servant holds true. Tanith's bardiche hacks straight through the creature, splitting Robin's arrow and the monster itself. Pink ichor pours out, staining the ground and blade. The creature's legs curl reflexively as it 'breathes' its last.
The battle is over, though it is a bitter triumph the adventurers feel as they look upon their fallen comrade.
Tanith growls once more for effect but lowers his ichor-stained weapon a moment later. ”Erip? You still with me? Get up!”
The big man crouches down among the charred insect husks to check the dwarf for life.
Carina races over to Cuetzpalli, trying to stabilize him.
She does an admirable job.
She looks over at Tanith, then to Erip's body. "Tanith... he's..."
She can't finish the sentence. Her eyes are watering. Her throat tightens.
Yes. Dead. Dead dead dead dead dead. Like the horse--SHUT UP.
Tanith sees that the bloodied, burned dwarf is not breathing. Erip is dead.
Farrukh, failing to do anything, slumps in defeat.
"Damn it. I'm sorry Erip."
"To me, Bermintrude." Robin mutters, preparing to take the blanket from his horse's pack.
Robin walks over and kneels next to the dwarf. "I'm sorry for your loss." He mutters to Tanith and Farrukh. "But we now face a quandary. Do we push on?"
"No, I don't think we can." Carina says, standing up from the prone Olman. She walks over to Robin, her hunger starting to awaken.
"Look at us. One of us is dead,--" She winces at the word. "--the other is in no condition to continue, and we barely survived ourselves." She starts trembling. "We need to pull out and come up with a plan. We need to heal."
Disappointed in himself for being unable to save the dwarf, Tanith kneels by the wounded olman. He seizes the man’s shoulders and mutters a prayer.
”Mighty Kord, lend us your strength in these dark times. Help us endure.”
Robin nods slowly, and leaves the blanket next to Erip. He stands up again, and walks over to open the sarcophagus. "See if he had anything that can help us. Perhaps he brought some...healing potion of some sort."
Robin moves over to open the sarcophagus. When he tries to move the lid, however, it explodes in a gout of flame. He manages to avoid the worst of the spell.
Inside, Robin sees that the sarcophagus is completely empty save for a small, moldy satchel. The satchel has spilled its contents on the marble floor of the false coffin: Some rotting hard tack and a pair of teardrop-shaped green vials full of clear liquid.
Seeing the olman's wounds knit together, Tanith nods in satisfaction.
He prays again, more desperately than last time.
Carina recoils from the gout of flame that nearly engulfs Robin.
"And the place is very much trapped!" Her tail is lashing so hard at this point it could be used as a whip. "Please... can we at least return to the entrance to rest? I need to prepare more explosives anyway... and who knows whether there are more swarms of those beetles in here?"
Robin nods. "Use that blanket to wrap Erip up." He swipes the two vials. "Tanith, keep at it."