"With permission I will take point again. There could still be traps around. No reason to let our guard down."
Johanna agrees with the plan on searching the caves and takes the lead.
Darian nods to Johanna. ”Don’t go too far ahead,” he says as he finishes up harvesting the beast and stowing away the best portions.
Once the beast and gear are packed away, he picks his sword and shield up once more and follows along about thirty feet behind Johanna.
Lisl turns away as Darian butchers the massive cadaver, and eventually falls into line near Josef again with her shield up as the team prepares for further exploration.
V3. Cave of the Shambler
Rotting leaves and other vegetation fill this small, irregular
cavern. Water drips from slimy vines and roots that hang from the ceiling, collecting into puddles on the uneven floor. Three small openings, little more than wide cracks in the stone, lead to the northwest, southeast, and south.
This small cavern is also occupied, by a Shambling mound.
It doesn't seem to be aware of you at the moment. What are you doing?
Johanna sneaks back to the others letting them know what she found. She readies her blades.
"We hit it hard and fast. Everyone ready?"
Lisl nods wordlessly, signalling her acceptance without adding noise.
Darian nods and says ”Okay, everyone prepare...and attack once I have its attention...”
Darian vanishes and appears at teh side of the Shambling mound, hitting it hard twice.
Everyone else may act now.
Johanna makes it back into position ready for the assault. When Darian springs the attack she charge is as well.
(IC,Charge)
Johaanna charges in striking the creature and prepares to parry and ward off its attacks.
"Josef, if you don't mind..." says Lisl rather sweetly.
"Fenrir, attack!" the Ulfen woman calls out as she moves in and casts her ever familiar ice spell.
(inspire, vs FF AC?)
(inspire, vs FF CMD?)
(inspire, vs Touch AC (FF Touch?), firing into melee)
(inspire)
"No, Lisl, I . . . don't think I mind at all." The tone is not as positive as the uncertain words. Still, Josef nods in thanks as he moves up, wondering how badly THIS is going to hurt.
The Shambling mound doesn't even have to to react before the party rushes in and turns it into compost.
Treasure:
A check while searching the shambler’s remains turns up a wand of lightning bolt (CL 5th, 33 charges).
All that remains of a hapless (and fatally misinformed) wizard who tried to use it against the shambling mound.
What now?
V4. Twisting Tunnel
This narrow tunnel is only about five feet high and slopes gently
to the south. Water drips from numerous cracks in the ceiling to flow down the passage in small rivulets.
Johanna continues advancing slowly forward down the passage. Looking back every few moments making sure to only be 20 or so feet ahead of the group.
Lisl resumes her place in about the second rank, staying close to Josef and letting Johanna keep the lead.
Josef falls into step as well, pleasantly surprised about getting through that uninjured.
"Very clean swings, Josef. I am quite pleased that you finished that monstrosity off so quickly," adds Lisl.
"Nah. I think Freya and Darian did more to the thing than I did. I'm just glad it won't be eating anyone's children."
”Don’t sell yourself short, Josef,” Darian says as he slides past him to take point behind twenty feet behind Johanna, ”It isn’t a competition, since we are all on the same side.”
"I echo your concerns, Master Josef," says Lisl. "It is good that the region will be clear of its depredations. We are fortunate to have multiple skilled swordsmen in our team for just such occasions."
Joanna struggles along the narrow pasage, freezing when she is close to the end that joins the Owlbears lair.
Trap: Water seeping down through the hillside above has weakened the floor of this tunnel and carved out a chasm beneath it. The dark, damp pit has also become home to a colony of green slime.
Any object weighing more than 50 pounds on the marked portion of the map causes the floor to collapse, dropping anyone in those squares 40 feet into the chasm below as well as into the green slime.
It's a natural danger and cannot be disarmed. You can easily see this passage leads back to where you have been already though.
What now?
”Well then, looks like we are down to the other side of the cave...” Darian says as he turns back out of the narrow passage and leads the way to the other chambers.
"The slime was making the air cool. That would be nice to keep beer, whine and food cool and not spoil." She shrugs as the others start to move away. She follows heading out to explore more of the cave structure.
V5. Spider Nest
The narrow tunnel widens here into a natural cavern, the dimensions of which are hard to discern for the thick sheets of webbing that fill the place.
What are you doing now? Currently you are outside the entrance looking in.
Raising his shield up in front of him, Darian takes up a defensive posture before advancing into the chamber. He will move to position himself to allow nothing to be able to pass his flank, but allow his associates to move up to his sides and create a defensive barrier to the casters behind them.
Darian runs headlong into danger again. To no ones surprise four large spiders scuttle forward to attack.
Round 1
Johanna moves forward a bit terrified at the site of such a large spider. She stabs into the best with one of her blades and prepared to parry any attacks that come back her way.
Freya glances back at Isabel and says, "Sometimes your husband is a damned fool." before casting a spell in hopes of blinding the spiders.
Darian pushes his magic out to his allies before stepping up alongside Johanna to give her some back up. ”It’s not foolish to try and make sure any of our people don’t ends up wrapped up in these webs as food for these things! “
Lisl picks up the wand and hands it back to Isabel, then quickly casts a shield of faith on herself prior to moving up to assist Darian.
"If he wants to be this stupid, aren't we supposed to be the ones talking him out of it?" Josef asks in a stage whisper thrown back at the women as he moves forward and lays into the spider on the left.
Joanna & Josef both strike hard, wounding the spiders badly.
.
Blue goes for the noisy one.
Yellow goes for the pessimist.
All misses, the party may now act.
Up in the midst of the fray, Lisl turns and smashes her shield at the spider that tries to bite Josef.
Darian takes a swing at the nearest spider, but is more focused on making sure his magic is bolstering his allies as well as maintaining the line.
"Bad spider. Sit. Play Dead." Josef sounds almost calm as he relaxes into combat routines he knows so well at this point, despite the horrific nature of what the group is fighting. Lisl's putting herself in trouble, better clear her flank before she pays for it . . ..