"Durielle, if you still have the ability to do so, Donovan could use your help."
Clousuk gives one of the disembodied troll heads a nice solid kick before it is lit ablaze.
"Aha! Clousuk says Clousuk, knew scaleless subordinates could do it!" he claims triumphantly, sheathing his rapier.
Khargol breathes in and out slowly, surveying the carnage of the trolls around them. "Well...far be it from me to be a braggart, but a fight like this deserves a trophy, I should think." the half-orc muses aloud, going to one troll and forcibly removing one of its fangs.
"Seems you were right again, Sugua, though I can't help but believe the scales were balanced by their initial distance from us...not to mention that they all apparently had two left feet. If they'd started any closer or had managed to stand up in that slick more quickly it'd have been a very different fight. Clousuk, you have my personal thanks. You can be sure that high praises will be given to Chief Sootscale about your role in this skirmish. Might I suggest you also take a troll fang back to your tribe with you? It will surely be a worthy gift for your leader." he says, smiling to the kobold.
"Shall we on to the mites' den? We should not let our victory here raise our confidence overmuch. I doubt we will have the luxury of such a well-laid plan often."
"Yes, Clousuk not let scaleless die before job done, hm?" he hums, basking in the glory. His face seems to brighten even more at Khargol's suggestion. "Ah, trophy be good, yes... so long as trophy no grow into new troll." He would wait before the dead giants are sufficiently roasted before wrenching out a tooth for himself.
"Clousuk says Clousuk, check battlefield first, yes? Ugly green trolls picked through bodies. Something useful, perhaps."
As Archie replaces himself atop Gonzo, "What did you find my friend? Mhmm, wonderful!" He claps his hands and turns to the group, "Fortunately, there shan't be anymore disturbances for several miles, that is, except for a mere grizzly down yonder, " He points south, " a few miles that-a-way. We should be able to continue until nightfall safely."
Donovan mops some sweat from his brow and says, "Fortune favored us. We should keep an eye out lest more such creatures are about."
Sugua shrugged, " You learn alot of tricks when your main way of living requires to fight and kill! I knew we had distance and put that to work! Like I said, Range is KING! AHAHA! Hrmm I expected we might lose a few but it turned out Gorum likes his servants to continue fighting. I've seen what happens when you break against something you arent confident of, the slow ones get picked off. The ones who thing of the idea cant run as far as they thought and eventually beg for you to come back then get killed. Doesn't matter now though, You all did good just like the Outpost!.. For the most part. I did get a little scratch though. Hey Durielle-Elf, Can ya patch me up a bit? Im sure the mites aren't going to be much of a problem but better safe than sorry. "
Sugua slung a troll head over his shoulder, as if he intended to do something else with it. " Y'know the saying, every battle is different! Never know when your going to die, so if you have to, Die fighting! "
Durielle stows her bow and approaches Sugua as he goes about the grisly work of burning troll fat.
"Do your injuries require attention, Sugua Bran't?" she asks him quietly.
Sugua sheathes his Greatsword picking up the Naginata and re-sheathing it as well. He then placed his hand to his chin and thought on it for a second. " Yeah, just yours though. I mean Both you and Donovan can do that whole healing thing but you've both used some magic. I know the priest's can help more people.. and I'm the only one hurt. So unless something bad happens I shouldn't need it again. Keep me up, I keep things off you. "
Vladimir gathers up his bow and spear as he prepares to continue on.
"Onward to the mites is it?"
"Onward, indeed." Khargol responds, cleaning the troll blood from the tip of his spear before he harnesses the weapon up again in favor of his longsword and shield.
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"It's quite dark in here." Gonzo whispers as he pulls out a torch, snapping it aflame, "Anyone need a light? Or shall we keep it to one torchbearer?"
"Clousuk says Clousuk, Clousuk scout ahead, yes?" the kobold says quietly, squinting through the darkness. "Very sneaky."
"Thank you, Gonzo." Vladimir says while attaching a sunrod to his belt, though not activating it as of yet.
Durielle nods at Sugua's reply and summons the power given to her to adjust the flow of time even if only slightly.
"If you would prefer to save that, Sir Vladimir, I can bring forth the light of your sword from within allowing you to have light even as you strike."
"I would appreciate that, Durielle. Thank you."
Durielle touches the steel of Vladimir's blade, and a glow almost as bright as Gonzo's torch suffuses its length.
" HAHA! Thanks, I can feel the blood flowing back into my body. That's the third time now, I don't forget these little things. Truth be told, though you'd hate it, if they had tried to go with the Run away plan? I would have picked you up like before and ran with ya! You don't feel all that heavy and I've had practice. Otherwise... well... " Sugua smile dimmed a bit as he finally retrieved his bow and gave the knowing expression he was sure Durielle would know based on the inflection of his 'well'
Sugua speaks quietly urging the little Kobold on. " Alright scout ahead but come back if you see any enemy. If there is no light that means they dont need it so they will see us a mile away. " Sugua takes his Sword and hovers it over Gonzo's Torch for the moment " We already got two torches.. another won't make a difference.. Lemme borrow that flame for now. "
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Entering the mite den after that rather sound victory at least to take a look at what they would be up against seemed reasonable, Alphonse just kept a close eye on their retreat less they need to fall back quickly. Whispering to Durielle and Gonzo he voices his concerns "We mages seem to be low on power and will be lacking in the ability to back up our allies. We should not venture deeply into this place, lest we get caught with our powers spent. I hope we dont get caught, I plan on watching our back"
"Sounds like a plan, I can get Archie's help with that part." He whispers in response to Alphonse's cautiousness.
He steps out of the cave for a few seconds and returns to the group.
Master says to wait in the trees, watch entrance. Bah, I never get to do what I want...
The party advances to the large sycamore tree and finds a hole in its trunk that leads down into a series of tunnels.
Entering there the party finds a few small mites, which are either easily dispatched or run further into the tunnels.
Following the mites as they run they reach a slightly larger area as the tunnel's ceiling raises.
Clousuk advances down the tunnel a bit ahead of the party, but the tunnel seems devoid of any more Mites that he can see from where he is now.
As Clousuk moves further up the tunnel, has can see a large chasm going through the tunnel, dividing it.
The other side of the tunnel is higher up than the side Clousuk is on, and he cannot see to the other side.
A rope bridge connects the two tunnels across the chasm, but it has been cut apparently as it hangs down now on the far end of the chasm and looks to act as a rope ladder now.
The chasm itself is about 20 feet deep but is merely filled with dirt and a few small rocks.
Clousuk sneers at the gaping chasm and hanging rope bridge. Looking over his shoulder, he sharply clicks his tongue and points a finger back at Sugua.
"Clousuk says Clousuk, come this way," he whispers via message, "No mites around, but path blocked."
Sugua nods bringing his flaming sword to see the situation. He squints as the light makes it harder to concentrate but sure enough there are no mites
"I would assume the mites need to get across her somehow and they certainly don't just jump down from here...is there some other way across?" Khargol asks, looking around in the darkness, taking advantage of his darkvision to try and see things the shadowy light might otherwise conceal.
Durielle sees the flickering light of Sugua's burning blade reveal the chasm before them. She lightly steps across the rocks, stifles a cough at the dust raised by their movements, and peers across the way and down into the chasm. Then she looks at the tunnel they are in walking through as well.
The oracle tries to find another way across. Surely the mites that cut the rope had to go somewhere if it was cut from this side to cause it to hang down on the other. Or did the small fey really leap down to the bottom and climb the rope ladder?
"Clousuk says Clousuk, mites expect us perhaps, yes?" he suggests, looking down the chasm, then back up at the bridge. He raises a claw to scratch his chin. "Down with rope, up with ladder, hm?"
Donovan remains quiet, though he can't help but make noise due to his armor.
Durielle can notice that at the far end of the northern chasm there is an opening where the chasm continues onwards into darkness.
As well as marks in the chasm wall below her that indicate the mites apparently slide down the chasm wall to reach the floor.
Durielle points out the opening at the far end of the chasm.
"That might be another possible route?" she says quietly eyeing the dirt floor below with skepticism.
Sugua shrugs " Deeper in probably, we didnt see another entrance, I doubt they jump small as they are "