Taking her wand from her pack, Talia heals Magna and then approaches the kobold. "He spoke the truth, this Sootscale. Zened is a priest at the Temple of Abadar in Restov. There is no way I can think of that the kobold would know his name, unless they've met."
Touching the wand to the kobold, Talia brings him back from the brink.
Approaching the ravine with caution, Talia peers over the edge, looking and listening for any more threats. Taking a pebble, the playwright casts light on it, and drops it down the crevasse, attempting to gauge the distance to the bottom. "Looks to be about 15 or 20 feet across. I'm not sure that we can get across this - especially our heavily armored hammer of Toril. Perhaps we can build a bridge? Or should we go back to the other tunnel?"
Magna hugs Talia.
"Thank you, I felt very bad with the wounds that creature caused me."
She looks at the Kobold.
"You can join us, and help us. If you show yourself as trustworthy, we will talk about your tribe."
She peeks at the chasm. The color goes away fro her cheeks.
"Let's go the other way..."
She changes the group's teamwork feat to "lookout".
Kaalib came to reluctantly having been healed by the red-haired lady. The dwarf had seem to changed her mind a little, or at least her previous words were bluster to improve her bargaining position. Either way, he still owed a debt. A wand no less for healing, likely the weakest kind. He could probably pay back the debt with a few spells of his own, although they would be slightly more potent than a wand could procure. That was the price of convenience. Also, there was the tribe to think about.
He nodded at the dwarf until she turned away, and spoke to the red-haired woman again. "I currently owe you for the rescue and at least three charges on that wand that I could count. I don't like being in debt, so I'll do what I can."
The ravine is covered in the same vines that allowed you to climb down into the mite nest. With care, you could make it...
Talia raises an eyebrow at the kobold, a slight mischevious grin playing on her face. "You could start by telling us your name."
The Sootscale was a strange one, to be sure. As his story held much truth, he was civilized for his kind, and perhaps not so base a creature as they had found in the radish patch. We should not bring that episode up in front of the Sootscale. And he was smart enough to not desire any obligations. Talia had always felt it was better to give a gift than to receive it, for the same reasons.
"Honestly, there is no debt. We help you, you help us by settling the Sootscales down. Consider it more a mutually agreeable arrangement."
Looking closer at the vines, Talia reaches out and grabs one, tugging. We should be able to cross it, using them like we did the ones at the entrance. "Anyone got rope? We can tie it to me and then to someone else, and I'll make my way across. Pull me up if I fall."
Naralesh smiles in satisfaction as his spells disrupt the beast's thrashing strikes.
"We are all still ready to delve deeper within, then?" he asks, scanning the group. "I have spells remaining for another two battles, perhaps, and am uninjured."
Magna has some rope, and prepares to haul Talia.
"Be careful..."
"Maybe we should try to other side..."
"or wait for them here. I don't think it would wise to get caught split up if we can help it." Dregan says notching another arrow.
"The other side may not meet up with this one. Cover me, Dregan, I'm going over. Despite the big bug, these things aren't terribly fear-inspiring."
Attached to Magna via the rope, Talia feels good that the stout warrior will have the strength to pull her up, should the playwright fall. Carefully, she starts making her way across the chasm.
Naralesh waits on this side of the chasm, not wanting to get caught climbing if the mites were to attack.
"My name is Kaalib." He said it confidently. He learned their names in turn and again pledged his help. "I'm willing to fight, these are my enemies also."
"No debt? I'm not so sure about that." He said quietly as they focused their attention toward their common enemy again.
As they prepared to get deeper into the place, Kaalib felt a little uneasy. After the red-haired woman, no, Talia went forward, the kobold prepared to scramble after her. "Don't get too confident. I'm sure these evil imps have something else waiting."
"We have Torag on our side, and don't fear them. Them and anything else that stands before our mission to reclaim this lands will be destroyed."
Magna looks at Kaalib firmly, making sure he understands she is not only talking about the mites.
As soon as Talia's feet touch solid ground - even before she can react - a giant tick drops from the ceiling in the middle of the room and attacks! Oddly, a 'larger' mite is strapped to its back, screeching orders at the top of its lungs and holding on for dear life. Other mites prance about the room, screeching and gnashing their teeth as their chief goes to war!
The tick traps Talia in its mandibles, piercing her sides and lifting her up. She can feel the thing sucking at her torso, draining blood...
At the moment the mits start appearing Dregan releases the arrow he had ready.
"Oh crap, what was what I feared. Hold out fer as long as yew can, I'll make 'em pin cushions." Dregan yells while drawing a second arrow.
Dregan will shoot at the large tick as it has less cover than anything else and he has precise shot so no penalty for shooting into combat.
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Talia and her mother's relationship was a cold one, with the young mother having had an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy. Despite this, the elder Khavortorov still was quick to censure her daughter, as the young girl's headstrong nature and lack of planning caused Talia rarely to think of the consequences of her actions. Don't eat that! was a common refrain when Talia was newly able to walk. Don't say that! came later, and many Noes! and Don'ts and Stops! accompanied the young noblewoman as she grew into adulthood. One phrase, more so than any others, in many variations, was uttered in Talia's household over the years.
Talia, slow down! Come back here! You're getting ahead of yourself again!
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As soon as Talia's feet hit the ground, the mandibles come snapping out of the darkness, just beyond the playwright's field of vision. She feels no pain, but Talia knows she's in trouble, watching in surprise as the ground gives way to air as she's lifted off her feet.
Then panic. Keelboatloads of it. Grabbing her spell component pouch, Talia dumps its contents into the creature's eyes, hoping to distract it long enough that she can make an escape.
Kaalib had warned her, but she went right on. No debt? And now he was in a place to help save her life. It would just have to do. He finished scrambling across the makeshift bridge and slid into the tight space beside her. A couple of arrows shoot across the gap, and he knew she was getting more aid, which was good. It wouldn't be long before that big bug snapped her in half.
Kaalib had warned her, but she went right on. No debt? And now he was in a place to help save her life. It would just have to do. He finished scrambling across the makeshift bridge and slid into the tight space beside her. A couple of arrows shoot across the gap, and he knew she was getting more aid, which was good. It wouldn't be long before that big bug snapped her in half.
Magna, scared, tries to pull off Talia away from the enemies.
Naralesh's mind immediately leaps to blame himself for Talia being in danger. Blast! I should have said something to stop her! His face a mask of fear and concern for his companion, he casts forth his magic. "Neverak thulimin! Evitas incantari, terrum animus!"
A squat stalagmite across the cavern suddenly explodes into a flurry of motion, sending rock-dust and debris skittering across the stone floor as the wreckage coalesces into a vaguely humanoid shape. The creature wastes not an instant after being called into existence, charging into the bloated insect and delivering a chitin-crushing blow with its rocky fists.
Naralesh grits his teeth as the energy of the spell leaves him drained and weakened.
Gavriil awaits his turn to cross patiently... until Talia touches down and immediately gets into trouble. Gavriil swears under his breath and immediately starts to hastily climbing across the chasm. "HOLD ON TALIA!"
Gavriil's haste seems to be his undoing though, as the vines slip from his grip. In a panicked moment, he reaches out to grasp them, but fails and falls. At the last moment, he tries to roll with the fall to minimize the pain he was about to endure.
Magna tugs with all her might to no avail, as the tick has too good a grip on Talia. The dirty trick fails as well, the tick shaking its head just enough to avoid being blinded. Meanwhile, the root crossing is too much for Gavriil and Kaalib, both falling down into the crevasse...fortunately it is more wide than deep and the fall is minmal.
One of Dregan's arrows pierces the tick's hard shell, causing it to shudder. Naralesh's elemental pounds away at the insect, cracking the chitin around the thorax.
Grabbles screeches something, and Tickleback skitters up and away along the wall, to end up crashing on the makeshift table. It continues to work at the grappled bard though, and she begins to weaken as it drains her blood.
The mites surge forward, two taking up holding positions at the edge of the ravine, and three attacking the elemental. The three hiss and spit, hacking at the earth being with their little daggers, but do no damage.
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Magna knows she has to do something. Even if it is a bad idea.
She jumps down int the crevice. She know that as she is jumping down, the damage will be less . She also knows that falling in a soft surface helps. Like a Kobold.
She aims for Kaalib.
"Geronimo!"
(First dice is non lethal).
She lands hard. You hear groaning, and metal banging.
She stands up from prone.
"Talia, we are going!"
Grabbing the dagger from her clenched teeth, Talia screams as her blood flows down the creature's mandibles, letting out a high-pitched, terror-filled howl. Swinging around, she brings the dagger down at the creature's face, with all the force her weakened arm can muster.
Gavriil starts to climb back out of the pit just as Magna jumps down. S%#%! S#+$! S!+@! getting crushed by a falling dwarf in heavy armor was not how he ever thought he'd go. He was thinking more along the lines of his heart giving out many years from that point in a bed doing one of his favorite extra-curricular activities while drunk off good wine. He ducks his head and keeps climbing, though, hearing Talia's cries of pain.
Luckily the plunge of the paladin didn't scare him too much as he starts to ascend the other side of the ravine.
As he fell, Kaalib knew that he wouldn't be able to pay his debt here. It was going so well, but then all the battle broke out and he was a bit more distracted than he thought he'd be. There was no way up, that was until the dwarf came down. Thinking that the solid metal warrior would land right on him put him into a little bit of a panic until she landed off to the side. He knew he shouldn't have protectively grabbed his tail out of the way, but he did it unconsiously and it would be hard to recover his dignity after that.
He decided instead to get up and cast a spell. His protective one would help calm his nerves before he attempted an ascent on the other side. It didn't help that he was already fairly injured again, that was just his trouble for fighting among giants.
"What are you all doing? Me and the elf might struggle saving you all at once. Once Talia is safe then you can throw your selves down holes to be saved."
Again his first shot is poor but helps him line up the second one which again hits with a satisfying thud.
Naralesh's elemental continues its assault on the tick.
Across the chasm, despite the agony of the spellcasting, Naralesh rapidly switches to another spell, conjuring another snowball and firing it across the gap into the tick's face. The frigid cold spreads rapidly across the chitinous flesh, causing intense pain.
Dregan's arrow does indeed hit with a thud, causing the giant tick to rear back. Talia manages to scratch the creature, when Naralesh's spell hits it, killing it. It drops Talia with a crash.
The earth elemental manages to smash a mite into the ground with its fist.
One of the mites rushes over to the prone bard, stabbing her in the thigh. The other continues its futile assault on the elemental.
The two mites holding the gorge throw rocks at Drega and Naralesh, one scoring a lucky hit on the wizard!
"Doin' good Talia, yew lot in tha stupid 'ole we aan't savin' yew yet so get yourself out o' there."
With the tick going down Dregan start targeting the mites starting with closest ones.
Dregan seems to have got his eye in with two excellent shots.
Magna starts climbing out of the crevasse.
The kobold follows the dwarf out of the chasm, luckily most of the hand holds she reached for were beyond his ability, and he did manage to lodge his tail in an appropriate place as well. He felt a little more confident with his armor on, but these mites were going down so quickly, he was a bit disappointed that he couldn't show his worth.
Talia lands hard onto the cave floor, gasping as the wind is knocked out of her. Rolling to her side as the tick's mandibles relax its grip, suddenly one of the little buggers is on her, stabbing the playwright in her leg. Scrambling to her feet, Talia brings her dagger down at the mite's head.
The elemental shifts slightly to catch one of the mites between itself and Talia, smashing it into the ground.
The rock smashes into Naralesh's forehead, and the wizard can feel a trickle of blood seep down into the patch covering his missing eye. Gritting his teeth, he draws his bow, now out of spells, and attempts to put down as many of the little creatures as he can. Drained of his energy and distracted, though, his shot barely crosses the chasm.
Magna starts climbing out of the crevasse.
[dice=Climb Check]1d20-1
Dregan quickly kills the two mites that were 'holding' the chasm. The elementals last act smashes the mite that stabbed Talia into a bloody pulp. Talia nearly kills the last mite with her stab, and the wound causes its sudden attack to miss!
The wounded mite now shifts to get a better position, and its little blade cuts the bard's leg From under the the dead tick, the chief, Grabbles, crawls out. Wielding a wicked looking hatchet, he stands up.
Kaalib continues the epic struggle. This cliff is at least twice as high for him as it is for everyone else. Of course, he doesn't have the extra weight either, so that helps. Although, not as much as he'd like. How was he supposed to repay a debt if he could hardly climb a wall?
A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained.
The chief's body appears from under the body of the tick, and its all the opening that the noblewoman needs. Turning, Talia buries her dagger in the chief's shoulder, and leaving it stuck in the creature, pulls her longsword from its sheath. Stepping backwards, she swings again at the boss, but stumbles a bit on the smashed table, sending the sword wide.
"Talia are yew alright? Get back over 'ere if yew can so we can 'elp." Dregan yells looking dubiously at the roots that have been the demise of two smaller lighter companions already.
Dregan drops his bow runs back into the cave drawing his axe. When he gets to hole they came through he chops through the rope collecting the excess to help those stuck in the crevice.
She gets to the top, even carrying all of her armor!
Talia scores a hit on the chief, but the fey's natural resistance stops some of the damage. The rest of you begin to work your way out of the Crack of Doom.
Gavriil climbs double-quick as well, reaching the top along with Magna!
The two mites hiss and spit, slashing and hacking at Talia. But even after they moved to flank her, the bard manages to twist and turn avoiding the wicked little daggers. Just then four more of the mites come rushing into the room! Grabbles screeches something at them, and one joins the fight against Talia, but the rest run forward to block the way into the cave!