"Eek, they're going up the walls!" Relas cries as he advances forward to try and swipe at the closest wretch...
________
Rikkan pulls another bomb and throws it at the closest unattended climbing enemy.
RTA
Fire damage
Rav curses. "Stupid undead things." as he ducks under and back 5ft to avoid the falling creature from the wall.
He brings the rifle up and shoots !
One of the wretches, the one that had been caught in Palomia's grease, turns and runs back along the passageway that it had emerged from... whilst the creature in the pit succumbs to the friends' attacks. Now, barely ten seconds after they had first emerged, only two of beasts are still fighting - and their attacks, as they continue to scrabble after Ravboom, are woeful...
"Keep fall back, get bottled in cave." Rav says, tumbling backward 5ft and then firing at the one in front of him again.
Drancis nearly stumbles back into the goblin and maneuvers behind Rav, sending another aetheric blast at the wretch who was next to him before he retreated.
"Don't worry Palo, even if he is, we'll take them down too," Relas responds confidently as he falls back in front of Palo and adopts a defensive position.
________
"Told dumb Yack Offy should give Boom Booms. Rav will use bigger boom boom next time. Maybe two or three jars... or keg. Big boom boom..."
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Rikkan pulls yet another bomb and throws it at the closest unattended climbing enemy.
RTA
Fire damage
Miss direction
As one of the creatures falls to Drancis and Ravboom's attacks, the last one... still hungry and still raging scuttles along the walls and bites at Ravboom once more...
Drancis follows up his aetheric blast with another one...
Although, perhaps a bit late, Relas remembers that he could probably just fly up and attack the remaining wretch, he decides to maintain his position on the ground. Surely the others would bring it down in short order?
Darn, I keep forgetting I have wings! Gotta shape up, Relas!
________
"Oh no, we doomed. Palo hit with crossbow!"
Rav tumbles past the creature, getting behind it.
Taking a chance, he just fires his last shell at the creature, now flanking it.
Twice the wretched beast is struck by attacks from the friends... yet, clinging to the walls of the cavern, the bloodied beast continues to attack...
Rikkan pulls yet another bomb and throws it at the closest climbing enemy.
RTA
Fire damage
Miss direction
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Meanwhile, back at the tavern...
"..Pour your brother one more round!
Pick each other off the ground!
Let another chorus soooound!
*CLINK CLINK*
Pour your brother another round!"
Zoreck concludes leading the old Taldan drinking song that he's taught to the other bar patrons. They applaud and shout encouragement.
The off-worlder drains his sixth tankard. He then stands, clapping his tengu friend on the shoulder. "Cayden's balls! That was fun! Well, off to drain the ol' lizard. What goes in must come out, right?"
He then staggers out the door to find the latrine.
Rikkan's bomb strikes its target and explodes in a mercury flash... yet bloodied, and peppered with shrapnel, the beast fights on...
Drancis sees the goblin is in bad shape, cursing he just moved out of his range. That fool! I could heal him right now!
Gathering his power again he looses another aetheric blast at the lone Wretch...
Rav groans as it goes down. "Rav no like those things, needed more Boom Booms. Rav not supposed to be front line fighter, supposed to be sniper. Shoot from distance."
Rav groans as it goes down...
Rav backs up 5ft, and fires.
Rikkan wanted to finish the creature, so he pulls yet another bomb and throws it at the remaining enemy.
RTA
Fire damage
Miss direction
...and finally, in the flash of flame and billows of smoke, the last of the wretched creatures falls into the pit and is still.
Following the tunnel through to where the wretched creatures came from, the whole group find themselves in a chamber bathed with orange light. The apparent source of illumination emanates from an area further south, while the fetid smell results from two carrion corpses piled along a ledge overlooking an oval chamber 10 feet below... the creature that had fled the fight minutes earlier lies dead here - having apparently succumbed to its wounds...
Two spherical areas also expand to the northwest and southeast completely overrun by layers of vibrant green moss.
But it is the far end of the chamber that draws the most attention for here, a stark contrast to the rough hewn mine, sits a large - some six feet in diameter, cracked, tear-shaped gem resting on an elegantly crafted pedestal and radiating with a fierce orange light. Similar colored shards surround the pedestal, their glow much softer, but wavering in a heat-like haze.
For Rikkan and Drancis, the similarities between this structure and the Red Gate controlled by Mr Sarlu back on Argosa are too strong to ignore...
Rav scouts ahead, and then reports back. "Other thing died, found mossy cave and big giant red glowing gem, with lots of other gems around it. Looks magical and expensive, might make lots of money, but look dangerous remove. Maybe take some smaller shards instead?" Rav's eyes glow with greed.
Drancis' eyes glitter with amusement as Rav returns with the scouting report, "Yes, worth checking out further," he nods as he gathers his powers carefully and touches the goblin's arm...
"Now that you are feeling better, lets check this out." he adds. When he sees what Rav is talking about his jaw drops in amazement, "Another gate," He breathes in astonishment, "Damaged, yet it could be...repaired. Baron Yacob MUST know of this!" He glances back at the others, "We can speak of this later, but for now I think it will be safe to take one of the smaller crystals...for us to examine, NOT to sell!" reaching out with his mind to grab one of the unattended crystals.
"Nother gate? Doesn't look like gate on prison." Rav says, frowning. "How enter? Walk into crystal? Sound hard on nose." He examines the gate. "Is safe to get up close to? Rav might be able repair, been working with crystals lately." He shows off the crystal they got from the broken gate he'd been playing with at night.
...Meanwhile, behind the tavern...
Zoreck staggers into the sunlight, blinking his eyes rapidly at the sun and the slightly-spinning ground.
"Caydensh cup! That ale...sthronger 'n it tashted..."
He weaves his way to the outhouse, and succeeds on opening the door on his third attempt. He enters, stumbling on the doorframe...
...and manages not to fall into the cesspit.
”Drancis and I have seen a similar gem gate before. If this is undiscovered, yes, we need to fill the Baron in about it! But if you want to tinker with it, Rav, go ahead, but like he said, no selling this please!”
Rav approaches the device carefully, his lenses clicking in and out of place, showing him different spectra.
Approaching the strange structure at the far end of the cave, Ravboom feels a sharp pain in his cranium... almost piercing, the sensation becomes close to crippling as he gets closer...
...there is a similar feeling as Drancis pulls a fragment of crystal towards himself - a crushing sensation from within his own head.
There is worse still, Ravboom sees it best with his lenses - the radiation spewing from the terrifically cracked gem - the radiation that must surely have been the cause of Baron Yacob's workers' illness - and an energy that will, in time, surely irreparably harm the goblin and his companions.
posed by the malfunctioning Tear, it is almost certain that the radiation is also responsible for the prodigious growth of the barony’s unique moss.
Drancis hurriedly returns the strange crystal back from whence it came. "By the Gods, I had never felt anything so...STRONG before," he responds shakily, "I see no way to repair this gate unless we do something about that radiation first!"
Know. Nature
”The radiation from the cracked tear is dangerous as all get out, but I think that is doing wonders for the moss here! Kind of a mixed blessing for these parts...”
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"Betting that moss grown by eldritch energy be bad eat in long run. Probably grow lumps and extra head. Like that dumb gobby had dream about." Rav says, backing away from the stone. "Need something shield from radiation before try repair."
Rav snaps his fingers. "Need lead sheets, and leaded glass lenses look through. Make suit of armor with lead sheets on outside. Then can get close enough to repair."
Drancis pauses as Rav offers his advice, an impressed look on his face. "I do believe you are right Rav. A sufficient amount of lead surrounding the gate would allow us to...hopefully repair it. I have grown skilled in manipulating small objects so I could do it without getting close...but if we repair the gate, then the main source of revenue for the Barony will dry up!" He shakes his head doubtfully, "To be honest, I don't know how he will react should we say we want to tinker with the Gate."
"Ask how many three headed, six limbed, one brained grandchildren he want. This stuff not like water, it not evaporate. Keep building up in rocks, eventually seep into drinking water, then into stones in town. Soon everyone be dead or freak."
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"Shouldn't we go, um, talk to the Baron about what we've found before we start tinkering with the gate?" Relas offers hesitantly. "I mean, Rav's got a point about this stuff being harmful in the long run but in the shorter run if we jack with the gate then the town's gonna need to find a new way to uh, operate and stuff. He might want to give some input and all."
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Meanwhile, back at the tavern...
After relieving himself, Zoreck manages to open the outhouse door, and takes a few steps back toward the tavern. He stumbles on a loose rock, waves his arms frantically, then falls forward onto his face.
"Oof! Mmm... the ground is so comfy... maybe I'll take a little nap..."
The warrior then passes out in the sunlight.
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”Yeah, this bears reporting. I think the Baron might want to be made aware of this before we do anything rash. I’m sure this group would never 2ant to do anything like that,” Rikkan grins at the thought.
Regardless of whether the group could fashion something that would protect them from the poison pouring from the crystal, the complexity and intricacies of the shattered tear are far beyond the knowledge base of anyone here... and so, with no prospect of mysteries being resolved, the group trudge back - under the cover of darkness - to Trebelbet.
Strange stars and new constellations hang in the sky as the group make their way back to Baron Yacob's small settlement... and this time the gate is swung open before they arrive, "Your friend... he's over near the Corral... seems he can't take his Mossbeard".
"No problem. Rav take care of." The goblin goes over to the unconscious gunslinger, and jerks him up on his shoulders like a sack of grain. "Where tattoo artist in town? Down by shops, or over by artists?" He asks the town guard, his face plastered in a very goblin grin.
The look of concern on Drancis' face as he hears about his friend's condition is soon replaced by a look of disgust as he mulls in his mind how long he should let the man stew in his own filth.
"Of all the stupid, hare-brained ideas...getting drunk in a strange place where we are being hunted...should let you sleep it off under the stars!"
Finally a decision made he waves off the chunks of vomit and filth at the barbarian's feet, before cradling the man in a softly glowing bubble of aether, picking him up (none too gently) with his mind and motioning for the others to follow behind him.
"Let's get Sleeping Beauty here to bed...and as far as I am concerned, he can sleep in his clothes." He mutters ungraciously.
Rav frowns as something tries to pull the man out of his grip. "Hey, Rav say Rav take care of it." The goblin says crossly, looking around, and finally setting his eyes on Drancis. "Think need find tattoo artist in town. Best way handle."
”Sorry, Rav but this should be his one warning. If he gets drunk and passes out again, then I’m all in for helping you lug him to get some artistic designs added to his look. He’s good in a fight. Making one of our only friends here mad is probably a bad call...”