Dashki shakes his head in the negative to Zoisa's question.
"The desert takes many lives...Some say those spirits still haunt the sands..."
"Spooky. I wonder if we'll see some ghosts. That'd be fun!"
As she sees the others' futile attempts at hacking through the cactus, she smirks a bit.
"Here, let me try. And stand back, you don't wanna get this on your shoes!"
She mutters a few words and instead of dancing lights, she conjures a kiwi-sized, sour-smelling glob of something foul that she tosses at a nearby cactus, that immediately begins to sizzle.
Pushing further into the patch. Every time a cactus spine stabs her fueling her impatience to get through. Growling to herself as her loose clothing snags "This better be worth it. "
Zoisa blinks as she stares at the cactus, oddly transfixed, like a cat staring at catnip.
"Shhhh!" Zoisa replies. "I'm having a moment!"
Alem is able to make it all the through the cacti patch with only sticking himself once more.
How....unlucky.
However, Seyhannah comes out much worse. Her backpack gets caught on a particularly large cactus and as she wrenches it free she shoves herself against another one. She stumbles forward and her quiver's strap snaps off and falls to the ground. She quickly reaches to grab for it, accidently leaning her posterior into a short stumpy cactus flowering, picking up a few more needles. by the time she reaches the area where Alem is, she has been through quite an ordeal.
How......Unlucky.
Reuleaux's unseen servant immediately begins to move out the larger chunks, careful to not to hurt himself as he picks up the lopped portions filled with needles.
Zoisa, prefering not to fill herself up like a pin cushion chances to gob the cactus with caustic acid. The acid flies through the air and lands against the cacti in her path. Yet, though it sizzles and hisses, you are now facing a cactus that is covered in caustic acid. It seems that while the acid hurts it's outer layering, its not doing much against its roots or integrity to cause it to melt down or fall over.
Both Seyhannah and Alem emerge on a thin strip of open land at the edge of a 15-foot wide ravine. A casual glance down the edge reveals a huge multi-armed, wickedly barbed cactus dominating the ground 10 feet below you, almost directly below where the sad little goat Rombard has been lazily tied to a scrub bush. He's covered with cactus quills and seems extremely frieghtened and skittish.
Zoisa shrugs at the failure of the cactus to melt, and proceeds to follow the others.
In her haste, she sticks herself multiple times.
"Ow, ow, oW, OW! OW!"
As Seyhannahs trip through the cacti worsens, her temperament wears dangerously thin. As she exits she is quite flustered and seems ready to hurt something.
Sey's blood drips onto the dusty ridge from the many scratches, some are severe. It takes a few seconds for her to realize but when she does it seems to break her focus enough to perform the required gestures and utterances for a healing spell.
Once complete she scans the area for Alem who was ahead of her and for any sign of movement around the goat.
"Enough of this," Fawziya grumbles as she begins to realize the futility of hacking her way through the cactus patch, flicking the watery liquid within off her blade. "I'll not have anyone claim that Fawziya is afraid of a prickly cactus." She more or less pushes through the cacti, placing her trust in her armor to protect her from the worst of it.
Zoisa tries to keep with the others pace, slipping here, Accidently stepping on her robes there. Somehow, she even drops her secret supply of Pesh and as she stoops to grab it, bangs her head on a shorter, but just as prickly cactus.
How unlucky....
Seyhannah heals herself, but as she takes to look around for any danger, she can't seem to see anything out in the darkness.
Fawziya brashly moves through the thicket of cacti, aiming for speed rather than elegance. In the midst of the constant barrage of needles she thinks she finds a safe area, only to take a stumble right into another cactus. She manages to get through eventually, though much worse than she went in.
How unlucky....
"Come on, Reauleaux! It's not THAT bad!" Zoisa yells behind her as she continues through the cacti. She'd have to remember this when she started her own pesh plantation. Invest in clothes thick enough to avoid getting prickled, but light enough to beat the heat.
Fawziya is noticably angry when she makes it through the cactus patch, the padding beneath her armor staining red with her blood. Her ire doesn't abate when she sees a single goat tied to a bush. "Really?", she says, the exasperation evident in her voice. "This is what we were here to save?" She sheathes her sword and unshoulders her pack, withdrawing a hemp rope from within. "I'll head down first. Anyone see something we can tie this to?"
Alem rubs his chin as he looks down at the pathetic-looking goat. "Who tied this goat to that bush? This is unnatural."
Zoisa seems trips and stumbles into every single cactus in her path before finally emerging out the other end.
How unlucky....
Even Reuleaux takes to the field of needles, and though his short form means less surface area for the needles to stab at him, it seems in his haste to prove his bravado he takes a fist full of needles and ends up on the other side pricked with holes.
How unlucky....
Please keep track of your current Hp in the tag line or at the top of your posts.
Zoisa can see the goat with her low light vision, and Fawziyah could probably tie the rope around one of the cactuses.
Zoisa's jaw drops at the sight of Rombard the goat, and she immediately kneels down to eye level with the little guy.
"Ma-a-a-a! M-eh-eh-eh-eh! M-a-a-a-a!" she bleats.
Failing to find a sturdy rock, Fawziya instead settles for a large cactus and sets about tying a rope off and tossing it down into the ravine. "Whatever set this trap, I shall spring," she says to her friends. "Be prepared to fire upon anything foolish enough to seek my blood." She sheathes her weapon and takes hold of the rope, climbing down into the ravine.
Seyhannah sheaths her scimitar and pulls her bow around to restring it. Glancing around trying to keep an eye out for trouble while she repairs the weapon.
Zoisa follows after Fawziya.
Zoisa and Fawziya make their way down the rope, all the while Zoisa is speaking in the tongue of goats.
Hearing you, Rombard perks up. It begins to bay and brah, and though it can understand you it can't really talk back. Instead, you can understand the cues of its voice, the body language in which moves. Sudden erratic movements are clear indicators of emotion now, the wavering brays now communicate into and subject.
From what you see and hear, Rombard communicates to you that he is deathly afraid and the only thing to keep him from bolting is being tide up. The subject of his fear is hiding behind a nearby rock, lying in wait.
"Hold up!" Zoisa says, tugging on Fawziya's skirt.
"Rombard says whatever's scaring him's behind that rock! Be ready so we're not ambushed!"
"Truly?", Fawziya says with a broad grin, reaching for her blade. "Come out then, coward! Face me in combat, and perhaps you may have a chance to fell Fawziya bint Abdul-Wali, Scourge of the Dunes!"
"And protector of cute, little animals!" Zoisa adds.
"Here, this may help!"
She rifles through her secret stash of pesh and selects a nice large chunk, tossing it in her mouth and giving it a few good, solid chews before spitting it out and slapping it onto Fawziya. Before she has a chance to be offended or disgusted, the lump seems to sink into her side and she feels a euphoric rush of energy surging through her muscles.
No one emerges, with all the yelling and threats. If there is someone behind that rock, they are determined to wait.
"Have it your way, coward!", Fawziya shouts, striding forward to engage whatever might be beyond the stone!
Seyhannah raises her newly restrung bow and takes aim toward the rock nocking the arrow ready to release.
Zoisa follows after Fawziya, drawing a small knife and giving the others above a knowing look that suggests Yeah, I know this dinky little dagger's gonna do jack in this fight, but what else can I do?
Fawziya moves forward brashly to attack whatever is behind the stone. What she finds is a humanoid creature that jumps up at her immediately and attempts to break Fawziya's weapon with his own.
Yet, Seyhannah looses the arrow she had at the ready aimed at the Pugwampi before it attacks.
The arrow flies through the air with keen accuracy, and pierces the Pugwumpi through the head, flinging its body in the air. It landed face up, its rusty dagger dropped and the life gone from its eyes.
And with its death, Rombard calms down considerably.
Zoisa blinks in stunned surprise as the battle's over seemingly before it starts.
"NICE SHOT, SEYHANNAH!" Zoisa calls up to the ledge. Then she turns to the already calming goat.
"Ma-eh-eh-eh-eh! Ma-ah-ah-ah-ah."
She gives Rombard a little hug and starts plucking the cactus spines out of poor Rombard's skin.
Alem strains his eyes staring at the creature from atop the cliff. "The decaymorph incarnate! What an ugly animal. Is that is what has caused us all of this strife?"
Seyhannah smiles and nods at Zoisa, appreciative of the gnome's exuberance. Moving then to the rope to climb down for a better look at this odd creature.
Fawziya parries the jackal rat's blow with her blade, unaware of its intentions. She whirls, preparing to lop off the creature's head for its insolence, but stays her blade after Seyhannah's arrow fells it. "Excellent shot!", Fawziya exclaims, holding her blade towards Seyhannah in recognition. "You did not tell me you were a skilled archer! I shall have to remember that for our future forays." She quickly searches the body for anything interesting, though she doesn't expect to find much.
With a little bit of effort, Zoisa takes the worst of the needles out of Rombart who, while still skittish, seems to trust Zoisa enough to let her help him. Minutes later, both Zoisa and Rombard manage to make their way to the rest of the party, still on the other side of the cactus patch from home.
Dashki eyes the dead Pugwumpi.
"As you can see, I was not lying."
Zoisa is currently holding Rombard in a soft hug.
"Thanks for the help and advice Dashki! You think there are more of these things nearby? I don't know if a lone one would be dumb enough to challenge a full hunting party on its own."
"If they are like rats, then there are assuredly more in their warren," Fawziya says to Zoisa, sheathing her blade for the moment. She turns to Dashki and gives him an appreciative nod. "Seems you weren't about the jackal rats. This will go a long way to proving your innocence in the eyes of the Merchant Princess."
Still, a thought resides in the back of her mind - could Dashki have planned this attack with the pugwampis prior to the raid?
Walking up to the party after climbing down, Seyhannah joins in "Questions where raised and answers where found. Why don't we all take our evidence back to the caravan and try to put this unlucky series of events behind us. Though let's try to find a safer way out of this cactus patch please. "
As Seyhannah discusses returning to camp, Fawziya glances around for evidence that there may have been more of the jackal rats here at one point.