Marcelline sighs and follows along, trying to keep an eye out for larger tunnels or tunnels that might be more-occupied, waiting to follow them as far inward towards the center of the hive complex as fast as they could urge the party.
Prazil continues to bellow challenges and threats as he hustles through the muddy, root-choked tunnels, heedless of whether his allies are near him or not.
Rushing forward with Katerina and Marcelline in close pursuit, Prazil arrives at a reed curtain that blocks the tunnel. He can hear more croaks from ahead.
Prazil swings his greatsword in a crosswise cut, chopping through the curtain before charging through in pursuit of the croaks he hears beyond.
Charging through the curtain, Prazil sees a handful of boggards fleeing out the back of the cave, while four others stand guard, ready to meet his charge with tridents raised. Each also carries a hand ax.
Four massive frogs -- bigger than Prazil himself -- also wait in the cave, muscles tensed to leap.
Agnar:
Katerina:
Kereek:
Marcelline:
Prazil:
Antagonists:
"Kereek, it sounds as if Prazil has found something to smite. Let's join them. Fang, heel."
Agnar and his wolf slopped down the tunnel after the others.
Kereek nods and jogs after the others!
Prazil steps in just clear of the door and starts hewing and mightily as he can. "Prazil am for stopping all of you! You am making trouble for Hartsland no more! You am for seeing who am strongest!"
[spoiler=Status]
--Prazil--
HP: 89/89
Resist Fire 5
AC: 30 (16 T / 27 FF)
CMD: 31
F/R/W: +9/+9/+8 (+2 vs arcane or divine)
Cavalier's Challenge uses remaining: 3/3
Tactician uses remaining: 2/2
Knight's Pennon uses remaining: 1/1
+1 arrows remaining: 19/20
-Ongoing Effects-
Colossus Hunter: +1/+1 vs Large/Huge
Marcelline stays back, a bored look on her face and her weapon across her shoulders. She has no interest in bloodying her grandfather's sword on unthreatening frog-people, so she waits to see how Prazil handles them. He seems frenzied enough to take them on.
Katerina moves in against the frogs, an almost workman-like attitude on her face. She whirls through the enemy quickly.
for
for
for
for
Katerina: 24
Prazil: 22
Kereek: 18
Marcelline: 16
Agnar: 11
Antagonists: 2
Marcelline watches as Katerina and Prazil wade into the cavern, swords flashing -- the swordswoman quickly dispatches one of the giant frogs, her blade going through its eye, as Prazil pushes past her and chops into one of the boggards.
Holding its ground, it jabs back with its tridnent, twice drawing blood and just barely missing with its axe as it hits the surprised kobold's armor. Its tongue lashes out and wraps around Prazil, holding him tight. A second one closes in, seemingly unhampered by the cave muck, and chops into the kobold with his axe, drawing more blood.
The other two retreat slightly, clipping their axes to bandoliers. One pulls out a blowgun, as its croaks send the giant frogs rushing in to attack. The other croaks more loudly before retreating, and you again feel your nerves jangled.
Elsewhere, Agnar and Kereek move to resume their companions.
B4: 14, 1 pt. of bleed
Prazil grunts as a few strikes make it past his armor, but he shakes it off and let's his sword do most of the talking. "You think that am enough to stop Prazil?! HA! Prazil am for showing you!"
--Prazil--
HP: 63/89
Resist Fire 5
AC: 28 (14 T / 25 FF)
CMD: 31
F/R/W: +9/+9/+8 (+2 vs arcane or divine)
Cavalier's Challenge uses remaining: 3/3
Tactician uses remaining: 2/2
Knight's Pennon uses remaining: 1/1
+1 arrows remaining: 19/20
-Ongoing Effects-
Colossus Hunter: +1/+1 vs Large/Huge
shaken: -2 to hit/saves/etc
Kereek runs!
Marcelline is un-rattled by the croaks of the large frog-creatures, and she literally sighs and rolls her eyes. She waves a hand dismissively in the direction of the two frog-men that took a step back, absently murmuring an arcane phrase as she does so. A bright burst of light evokes a fine glowing powder that covers the frog-men.
More annoyed than frightened by the incessant croaking Katerina continues her bloody work.
for
for
for
for
for
Katerina: 24
Prazil: 22
Kereek: 18
Marcelline: 16
Agnar: 11
Antagonists: 2
Katerina cuts down two more of the giant frogs as Prazil hacks into the nearest boggard in a bloodthirsty rage, though it remains on its feet.
As Agnar, Fang and Kereek arrive behind her, Marcelline casts a spell -- bright dust covering the two farther frog-men.
The remaining giant frog chomps on Prazil, but the kobold's armor proves more than up to the task, and even seems to repel its sticky tongue. The two nearest boggards pause a moment, giving time for their companion to fire a blowdart at Katerina, and then step forward, stabbing with their tridents at the would-be Aldori swordlord even as they slice at the kobold with their axes. The two are barely able to avoid the rapid blows, while the last boggard pulls out his own blowgun, the dart bouncing off Prazil's armor.
B4: 54, 3 pts. of bleed
Agnar walked up behind Marcy and drew a quick, complex pattern in the air behind her.
Kereek moves into the room and sends a scorching ray spell at the boggards who aren't in combat.
for fire damage!
for fire damage!
for fire damage!
"Hmm." says Marcelline, hefting her sword. She steps up to the fore aside Katerina and swings mightily at one of the boggards, giving him a critical eye for weak spots first.
"PRAZIL AM STRONGER THAN EVEN ARMAG!" Shouting and bellowing, the rust-scaled kobold continues to hew his way through the froggy crowd.
--Prazil--
HP: 63/89
Resist Fire 5
AC: 28 (14 T / 25 FF) (includes -2 from tongue)
CMD: 31
F/R/W: +9/+9/+8 (+2 vs arcane or divine)
Cavalier's Challenge uses remaining: 3/3
Tactician uses remaining: 2/2
Knight's Pennon uses remaining: 1/1
+1 arrows remaining: 19/20
-Ongoing Effects-
Colossus Hunter: +1/+1 vs Large/Huge
shaken: -2 to hit/saves/etc
Katerina: 24
Prazil: 22
Kereek: 18
Marcelline: 16
Agnar: 11
Antagonists: 2
Katerina's blade rips into the nearest boggard but -- though badly wounded -- it keeps its feet. But only for a moment, as Marcelline closes in and hits it a final time, ending its life in a surprised croak.
Prazil's blade hammers into the other nearby boggard, causing it to bleed even more fiercely, though it also remains on its feet, returning blows with the rest of its might
Kereek and Agnar move into the cave too, spells flying, as the remaining boggards close in, jabbing at Marcelline -- whose spell-enhanced armor turns the blow aside -- and Prazil, who takes another trident blow.
B1: 51
B2:
B4: 95, 3 pts. of bleed
Kereek shakes his head and sends three more rays of fire into the remaining boggards.
for fire damage!
for fire damage!
for fire damage!
Prazil, utterly heedless of his mounting wounds, continues to hew and chop at his surrounding foes. His greatsword gleams with each arcing swing as he shouts, "Armag am stronger than all of you!"
--Prazil--
HP: 36/89
Resist Fire 5
AC: 28 (14 T / 25 FF) (includes -2 from tongue)
CMD: 31
F/R/W: +9/+9/+8 (+2 vs arcane or divine)
Cavalier's Challenge uses remaining: 3/3
Tactician uses remaining: 2/2
Knight's Pennon uses remaining: 1/1
+1 arrows remaining: 19/20
-Ongoing Effects-
Colossus Hunter: +1/+1 vs Large/Huge
shaken: -2 to hit/saves/etc
Marcelline leaps in between Prazil (who was acting quite suspicious) and one of the boggard warriors. Tucking into a partial ball, she lands on one hand, rolls behind a second warrior and throws the momentum into a swing at the warrior in between her and Prazil.
Kat continues to carve a bloody swath through the foolish boggards.
for
for
for
Agnar told Fang to "stay" and then moved into the room, drawing skybolt
Katerina: 24
Prazil: 22
Kereek: 18
Marcelline: 16
Agnar: 11
Antagonists: 2
Prazil and Katerina dispatch the two nearest boggards, with Marcelline slashing the final remaining one as she moves behind it. Kereek blasts it too, but it's not enough to put the thing down before it's able to hack and slash at the half-elf, seeming to anticipate her moves .
The last remaining frog bites furious at Prazil, but can't make a dent in the kobold's armor.
B2: 63
Agnar rapidly looses three point-blank arrows from skybolt at the boggard mauling Marcy.
Prazil continues to chop and swing his way through boggard flesh as he surges forward and one of Agnar's arrows whistle past him.
--Prazil--
HP: 36/89
Resist Fire 5
AC: 30 (16 T / 27 FF)
CMD: 31
F/R/W: +9/+9/+8 (+2 vs arcane or divine)
Cavalier's Challenge uses remaining: 3/3
Tactician uses remaining: 2/2
Knight's Pennon uses remaining: 1/1
+1 arrows remaining: 19/20
-Ongoing Effects-
Colossus Hunter: +1/+1 vs Large/Huge
shaken: -2 to hit/saves/etc
flank: +2 to hit
"Not cool, a##$@&&!" she shouts, slashing at the creature after studying him. Then, her footing sure even in the disgusting swamp, she shifts backwards just a bit, managing to find the few solid places to step.
The last boggard doesn't stand a chance as before Katerina can even react to its continued presence, Prazil, Agnar and Marcy put it down, an arrow to the eye finishing it off.
Marcelline tries to wipe the blood from her sword on her pants before realizing that she already has blood there, and its her blood. She sighs, cleaning herself as best as she can with prestidigitation. "F$~~ing frog warriors. Better than I thought they would be, clearly." She glowers at the party. "I'm blaming you guys for this. We could be at a big party by now. Instead I just got stabbed by a surprisingly proficient frog-man. Can we just find and kill the leader, like... now?"
Prazil chortles at Marcelline's complaint. "Better? Ha! They are weak frogmen with weaker frogs! Come! Let's be off so we can quash this filth beneath our heels!" While his voice is the same, there's a different air to it and sudden absence of simplicity.
Without waiting for aid or even a sign of support, Prazil turns and begins marching toward the deeper portions of the cave system, his sword slung over one shoulder.
As the battle lulls Katerina looks to Agnar, and then motions to Prazil, her eyes asking, "What is he doing?"
She then follows further into the warrens...
Agnar shrugged at Kat, a concerned look on his face.
"Prazil, wait! You're hurt and so is Marcy."
He tried to stop the kobold, laying a healing hand on Marcy as he passed.
"So long as you promise to be quick about it, Agnar. No foe ever escaped Armag before and they won't start now. We've more of these wretches to cut down before the day is done, so hurry!"
Marcelline nods in thanks to the priest and runs to catch up with Pragnar. She had an idea of what was going on, but she wasn't about to say anything.
"Wait, escaped who?"
"Armag. Armag the Twice-born? Vengeance of the Black Sisters? Scourge of the Western Reach? Armag!"
Angar responded calmly and carefully. "There is no where for them to run. We're in their warrens. This will only take a few moments."
He reached out and placed a hand on Prazil's shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine."
Agnar eyed Prazil's demeanor as he further tried to calm the kobold.
"There now, we'll get you all set to rights."
He gave a sidelong grimace to Katerina and then set to reasoning out Prazil's condition.
Possesion, perhaps? he mused.
"Uh huh." she says, "And is Agmar going to get us out of this godsforsaken cave quickly?"
Prazil's posture relaxes somewhat at Agnar's touch and the kobold turns to look at Marcelline. She notices, briefly, that his eyes shift from a crystalline blue luster with a round pupil, like those of a human, back to his typical yellow and reptilian norm.
"What? Don't be silly, Marcy. Armag am for being dead! Twice! But Armag am for being very strong. We should be too! We should be stopping the frog trouble-makers quickly!" The air of eagerness and child-like humility seems to slowly weave itself back into Prazil's speech as the moments pass.
He turns back to Agnar, "Thanks, but Prazil am still pretty badly cut. Can you be for helping that too? You should be for helping Marcy and Kat and Kereek first though." He shoots concerned looks at each of his companions, suddenly realizing he wasn't sure who had been hurt during the fight they'd just finished.
Kereek stares at Prazil. "Prazil am for being more odd than usual."
Despite her completely apathetic attitude, Marcelline still keeps a keen and close eye on what's happening.