Arrenopos, still annoyed from the beetles, moves up to the strange creature and attacks, hoping to perform better this time.
But to no avail as he just can't seem to get into rhythm.
[spoiler=GM]Hmmm, still can't move the pieces for some reason, just 5' step to that open corner adjacent to the mushroom.
[spoiler=GM]Hmmm, still can't move the pieces for some reason, just 5' step to that open corner adjacent to the mushroom.
Skivven looks on as the strange fungus writhes and flails at the group.
"Fascinating! It seems to be resistant to pointed weapons. I should have got some blunt bolts!"
Not having a lot of other options, Skivven takes another shot.
Arrenopos tries to strike, but his blade is knockes aside by a tentacle. Skivven's bolt fails to penetrate the mushroom's hide again.
As the creatures tentacle strikes the beetles carcass and causes it to decay, Valeria somersaults away from it. Coming up on one knee she pulls her pistol and loads a paper cartridge. Taking aim she shoots at the creature.
But in her haste the shot goes wide and ricochets off the cavern wall.
The giant mushroom ignores the wild shots and flailing blades around it. Instead, it targets Harrash, the only one who hurt it.
Harrash is able to use his shield to protect himself from the rain of blows.
All characters can go now.
Arrenopos takes another step to get on the other side of the creature and tries again.
Harrash and his ape together do their best to tear the creature apart, doing their best to avoid its tentacles.
Valeria loads her pistol with powder and bullet and fires at the mushroom, taking care to avoid hitting Harrash or his ape.
Harrash dodges and blocks the tentacles long enough to get in close to the mushroom. He plunges his sword into its stem-like body. His ape rises from a nap and quickly rushes into combat. It tears at the fungal creature's hide and rips off a piece. Valeria sees an opening in the mass of bodies and fires, her pistol echoing through the underground chambers. The bullet penetrates the cap at the top and the monster topples over backwards. It writhes on the ground for a minute and stops moving altogether.
"I hope there aren't others like this," Harrash says, looking at the writhing creature while wiping his hands off on his ape's fur.
"Where did we want to go again?" he asks, disoriented from the battle.
"Does anyone know what it was? I definitely didn't like the look of what it did to that beetle corpse."
"Sadly I have never studied Fungi and other such creatures. Perhaps it was some kind of acidic secretion?"
Skivven goes around and recovers his bolts.
"Earlier I had suggested we explore the upper passage. Mainly to let my feet dry off. There may be more of those fungi that way, though."
Harrash wasn't able to identify it wmduring the fight. If anyone else has knowledge (nature), they can try. Otherwise, which way are you going? River or tunnel?
"I would prefer to walk than swim."
Valeria begins to climb the small ridge but as soon as she puts her foot into one of the holes the earth underneath it immediately collapses sending her sprawling backwards onto her butt."Must have been loosened by those damned beetles." she says to no one in particular.
Standing up somewhat abashedly she brushes herself off and tries again, this time carefully checking each foothold before putting her full weight on it.
The climb up the rockface isn't too difficult and everyone managea to get up without too much difficulty. When you reach the entrance to the cave, you see a cavern filled with stalagmites and stalactites, forming a maw of stony teeth. It takes some effort, but you're able to squeeze through the rocks and navigate the tunnel.
Midway through, Harrash spots a figure laying on the ground. It appears to be the body of a female half orc. She is dressed in only her undergarments and carries nothing of value, not even a weapon. Her skin is coveres in blood and gashes. Some were made before death. Others are the result of beetles and rats feaating upon the corpse.
Knowledge (local) to identify the body. Heal to identify the wounds.
"Oh dear, oh dear! Do you think she was robbed? Who would do that down here?"
"I don't know who that might be, but maybe she came with Khonnir's search party. We should certainly be careful here."
Skivven remembers something that Dolga said, "The caves are home to creatures normally found in the darklands." You know that there are a number of violent humanoids that dwell in the deep places of the world.
Skivven's heal check reveala that she was killed by some kind of small blade. Her premortem wounds are mostly short, deep stabs.
"I know her." Valeria exclaims.
Her name is Parda Garr, a local brawler. While she was growing up, Parda was one of the town's friendliest faces. She was kind to everyone she met, but as she got older, her orc nature began to win out. She fell in with a group of local thugs and nutured a talent for fighting. In the end, she did keep the thugs from acting out their worst intentions and most everyone in Torch consideres her a friend.
When the torch went out, Parda got her thug friends to go below the town and seek out a good fight with whatever it was that put out the town's flame.
"Let's press on. Rescuing the living should be our priority. Though we can come back and think about her burial later on."
Skivven gets ready to continue down the tunnel.
Harrash and his ape join Skivven in the direction of the tunnel.
There are two ways out of the tunnel. The first is a side path that takes you to another stony riverbank. The shore there is covered in mounds of alimy algae. The second is the end of the river where the water sinks down into crevasses in the bedrock of Black Hill. This area is illuminated in a bright light.
"We were trying to avoid getting wet, weren't we? I would guess that the riverbank is drier, despite the algae," Harrash postulates, eager to move on.
"I agree. And I am curious as to what is causing the light up ahead. And if it is deliberate, it may mean that there is something in that chamber worth illuminating."
"Light means people," Valeria adds and people might know what happened to our lost expedition."
Deciding to head towards the light, you proceed through the stalagmite forest to the end of the tunnel, but just before you reach the end, the light goes out. You are finally able to squeeze through the rocks into the chamber beyond.
It's larger than the other areas you've been in. The river comes from the north side of the cavern, but sinks down into cracks in the stone before it floods the land you're standing on. The drainage makes a gentle bubbling sound and swirling effect on the water's surface. The beach itself is free from most vegetation, save for a bit of algae near the edge of the water. There is also a nest on the far wall, a kind of mossy bed that sits half in and half out of the polluted stream. In that bed, a creature resembling a giant frog eats a small rat. As you enter the cavern, it looks up from its meal and emits a low throaty growl, stepping in front of its catch.
The beast steps up to the crowded party and blasts a beam of light from it's eyes. While Harrash, his ape, and Valeria are able to shield their eyes in time, Adrian, Arrenopos, Ozymandias, and Skivven are blinded by the beams. The frog-like beast charges and attacks Harrash at the front, but its teeth are unable to penetrate his armor.
"Light means people," Valeria adds...
In that bed, a creature resembling a giant frog eats a small rat.
"Eeep! Or it means frogs, apparently!" Skivven says nervously.
"Ah! my eyes!" Skivven shouts as the light flashes, blinding him. Skivven shuffles backwards away from the light while rubbing his eyes.
Skivven retreats back into the tunnel, trying to rub the darkness from his eyes. But the brightness of the frog light was so intense that his eyes burn even in the gloom of the tunnel.
Also, knowledge to identify is arcana.
Skivven tries to think about what sort of creature that could be.
Valeria quickly covers her eyes as the creatures eye beams wash over the party. Then, with instinct taking over, she draws Belle and tries to shoot the creature in one of it's eyes.
Blinded, there is not much Arrenopos can do. So he readies himself and if attacked, will strike back at whatever attacks him.
Skivven knows that there is only one creature that can generate light like this one does. It must be a blindheim. An amphibious dweller of the underground, the blindheim is usually docile, content to feed on small creature and subterranean vegeatation. It is rare for them to lash out so suddenly against creatures larger than itself. Skivven also realizes that it can take up to an hour for the blindness caused by a blindheim's light to wear off.
Valeria draws her trusty pistol and fires past her partners. She hears the blindheim shriek as the bullet pierces flesh.
"Dang-nabbit! I could be blind for up to an hour! At least it's not permanent. Everyone else okay?"
Harrash and his ape surround the creature and together attempt to kill it. Though they manage to miss on almost all of their attacks, the ape finally gives the creature a powerful bite.
Trying to avoid the blinding rays, Harrash swings his longsword, but only cuts the air. His ape manages to get its teeth behind the neck of the blindheim and take a nice chunk of meat out.
The blindheim blasts its eyebeams at Harrash's companion.
The ape clutches at its face as the light catches it directly in the eyes. The blindheim takes advantage of the mobkeymobkey's blindness and pounces upon it.
The frog-like creature sinks it's unfrog-like teeth into the ape and tears at its chest with its claws. The ape begins to slow down from the blood loss.
Also, everyone can go.
Skivven listens carefully, trying to figure out where the creature is and who might be in the way.
"The creature is directly in front of me," Harrash says, hoping he would help everyone else to locate it. With that, he swings once again with his sword at the monster. The ape uses the last of his strength to attack the creature with its claw, but fails to touch it.
Frustrated. Arrenopos attempts to get next to the creature and swing blindly at it.
Attempt to figure out the square it is in and 5' step next to it. Then attack. I know where it was and Harrash was at the start as I was adjacent to him. Let me know if it works...
Harrash and his companion both fail to strike the nimble creature. After swiping, the ape stumbles and falls, exhausted. Blood from its wounds pools around the stone floor. Arrenopos hears the ape hit the ground and steps up to protect it, blindly cutting at the air.