Lym mutters two quick spells -- -- and relates to the others what she knows about wyverns.
"Suggest we stay together and not split up," she whispers. "Maybe start the battle ranged, rather than go close-in where they can sting us. I have prepared one casting of Web. If Praxim sets up with his bow and Aurora readies a less noisy spell, I will hold the Web ready. Wyverns are not known for their intelligence, so sufficient noise should bring them out in force. When they appear, we hit them from a distance; hopefully the Web will tangle one or two up, Aurora's bone-warping spell can get another, and then we proceed to pin them down and hit them from afar until they come close-up. No fireballs; this place is too enclosed and we could get caught in the backwash."
Aurora bites her lip for a moment
'Less' noisy?...
She thinks for a moment then shrugs her shoulders and smiles.
I'm sure your plan is sound, no fear!
Aurora readies herself before turning to Lym.
So uh this noise to draw them out... who's drawn the short straw there?
The gazes of both women track around and land on Thordak.
"Note the red sparkle down there. Might be their treasure heap; pitching a rock on it should draw them out."
Not listening as he's been busy gnawing on a stubborn fingernail, Thordak looks up when things get quiet and notices the stares. "What? Do we have a plan?"
"Yes. We go in. We kill it. We rest. Then we go to the next one. Kill it. Then we rest. After that we'll see how things are going.
As a grin slowly forms, "Well alright! Now we're talkin'!" The dwarf then raises his longaxe and rests it upon his shoulder, "Let's go! The day's not gettin' any younger and there's plenty o' killin' ta do."
All of the chatter on the ledge has its effect, unintended or no. There is a snuffling and snorting from in the cave, along with a scratching of claws on a dirt floor. Just on the edge of the shadows in the cave, a long snake-like head appears. It looks out at you perched among the bones, and bellows its fury. Almost instantly, two more heads appear, adding to their voices to the tumult.
Then first wyvern launches itself into the air, followed by the second, then the third. They easily reach the 40' height of the ceiling with powerful wing beats. The monsters then arch over and dive straight at you! They pass you in a blink, attacking you viciously as they whoosh past.
The first wyvern, the largest, bites at Aurora. He gets nothing but air as one of her images disappears with a soft pop!
The second bites at Thordak, but he ducks under the snapping jaws.
The third wyvern also gets air, missing Lym by a fraction.
Then all three pass out over the ledge and into the air of the river canyon, screeching in anger.
Lym rises into the air and raises her hands against the wyverns, chanting in an urgent tone. At the apex of her spell, webbing flies from her hands to ensnare and entangle!
Praxim lets arrows fly, starting with Thordak's. Unfortunately, probably only the first one hits and does minimal damage to the beast.
(PBS, BGH, RS, DA)
(PBS, BGH, RS, DA)
(PBS, BGH, RS, DA)
(PBS, BGH, RS, DA)
Tomaru will hold action.
"Looks like the party's comin' ta us." Thordak manages to avoid the large bird's bite and takes a swipe at it as it flies by.
Connecting solidly, "Ha! Take that, beastie!"
Though her blood surges with the call of fire and smoke curls in a thousand sinuous tendrils fro her tattoos, Aurora grits her teeth and forces her power a different way as the wyverns climb away and up in to the sky. She barely notices as one of her figments vanishes.
Throwing one hand towards the dragon-kin, Aurora's eyes burn with distaste, she makes a fist and you can hear the bones of the beast break even from thirty feet away, the creature's screeches turning to shrieks.
Praxim lets arrows fly, starting with Thordak's. Unfortunately, probably only the first one hits and does minimal damage to the beast.
"This is not how it was supposed to go. Some help might be nice." Tomaru calls a servant of Desna for aid and Silthanan answers.
Cast Summon Monster V.
He fires at the wyverns. The same one that Praxim targeted.
Thordak nicks a wyvern as it passes by him. The monster lurches into the air, only to be hit by arrows from Praxim and Tomaru. It screeches in pain, but only for a moment as it's bones are ground up by Aurora's spell. It drops from the sky like a rock.
Lym's web catches a second wyvern, tangling its wings in sticky cords. The dragonling struggles, but to no avail. It tumbles downward in a twisting, turning fall, hitting the water 60' below with a shriek and a splash. Then the white water torrent sweeps it away.
The last wyvern beats its powerful wings skyward, trying desperately to put distance between itself and you, self preservation instincts kicking in.
Lym rockets after the final wyvern, Words of Power streaming past as she hisses them into the world. Bolts of power seem to explode of the air around her, streak after the wyvern and thud into its leathery hide.
Silthanas takes aim and fires arrow after arrow. (Its still in the first range increment.)
Tomaru waits until the others have gone and, if the wyvern is still alive, casts Fly on Thordak. "If you hurry, you can catch up to it."
Seeing how Lym's usually simple spell had such a big effect, Aurora smiles.
Now that's a good idea oh wizard friend of mine...
Throwing her splayed fingers forward, tiny orbs of shimmering force form at their tips
The globes of force spiral through the air and smash in to the wyvern like hammers.
Thank you for the lesson Lady Blackhand nods Aurora sincerely
Sometimes even the simplest of magics can be of use it seems, when properly guided!
Missiles of all make slam into the wyvern, and it screeches in pain. Badly wounded, it struggles to keep aloft.
But it is still flying.
Looking curiously at the cleric, he shrugs. Bending, "Up, up, and away!" he launches himself up into the air and after the wyvern.
"Someone get the dwarf out of the way," he mutters as he tracks the wyvern's flight.
Four arrows zip by Thordak as he weaves about trying to gain altitude. Two impact the wyvern, killing it. It drops like a stone into the rapids below.
Wyvern skin boots?
Thordak stops in mid-air as the wyvern drops like a rock. "Well this was an absolute waste of me time. WHY DIDN'T YA DO THAT BEFORE I WAS UP HERE?!" he yells in frustration at the elf who happens to appear fairly small at this distance. "Blasted elf," he comments to himself as he looks down and just now notices how high up he is. "What the...?!?!" He immediately flies directly down with his eyes mostly closed. Once he reaches the ground, he breathes a sigh of relief. Walking back over to the others, "Never again, lad," he tells Tomaru, "NEVER again. Dwarves weren't meant ta fly. If we were, we'd been born with wings! Wings I tell ya and I ain't got none! Let's just stick to jumpin' from here ta there, okay? I don't need anymore stress on this ol' dwarf than there already is."
"You want wings? I can probably arrange for some," Lym deadpans as she lands. "Well, then. On to the dragon?"
"Don't be hasty, my sweet. I'll need some time to get this place to memory." Tomaru loots. He's also looking to see if there are any cracks or tunnels that lead off from the cave.
Thordak stops in mid-air as the wyvern drops like a rock. "Well this was an absolute waste of me time. WHY DIDN'T YA DO THAT BEFORE I WAS UP HERE?!" he yells in frustration at the elf who happens to appear fairly small at this distance. "Blasted elf," he comments to himself as he looks down and just now notices how high up he is. "What the...?!?!" He immediately flies directly down with his eyes mostly closed. Once he reaches the ground, he breathes a sigh of relief. Walking back over to the others, "Never again, lad," he tells Tomaru, "NEVER again. Dwarves weren't meant ta fly. If we were, we'd been born with wings! Wings I tell ya and I ain't got none! Let's just stick to jumpin' from here ta there, okay? I don't need anymore stress on this ol' dwarf than there already is."
"Don't be hasty, my sweet. I'll need some time to get this place to memory." Tomaru loots. He's also looking to see if there are any cracks or tunnels that lead off from the cave.
[dice=Perception]1d20+6
A musky smell lingers near the entrance to this cave—a thick, almost reptilian stink. Dozens of bones, many immense mammoth or aurochs remains, lie scattered on the ledge overlooking the river fifty feet below.
The wyverns have a fire opal that fascinates them endlessly—they’ve placed the sparkling gemstone atop a low mound of sand in the center of their cave, where they can watch it as the sun rises and they drift off to sleep. The fire opal is worth only 200 gp, a paltry sum compared to the value of the rest of their treasure that lies heaped, almost forgotten, in the southwest spur cave. Buried under a collection of favorite skulls, horse and elk thighbones, and well-gnawed bits of hide is a chest containing 1,435 gp and 2,987 sp. Behind the chest lies an ancient Staff of Heaven and Earth the wyverns found in a Thassilonian ruin.
When the staff comes to light, Lym lifts it up with a gentleness that borders on reverence, and whistles softly.
"This," she says, "this is amazing. And potentially far more valuable than the gem and the gold in the chest put together. Do you all mind if I take it?"
"Tomaru," Lym says as she tosses the staff to the Cleric. "Catch. I believe you will find this an interesting bit of treasure."
STAFF OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
Price 54,000 gp; Aura moderate transmutation; CL 9th; Weight 5 lbs.
Topped by a swirling cloudy stone and wrapped with black iron filigree, this staff allows use of the following spells:
Gust of wind (1 charge)
Stone shape (1 charge)
Air walk (2 charges)
Control winds (2 charges)
Spike stones (2 charges)
Tomaru catches the staff and shows it to Kellen. "She is so into me."
"There's still that other cave by here or does everyone still feel up to taking on the dragon?"
"Let's clear this area so we can hole up here later, and then put that dragon out of our misery."
Tomaru catches the staff and shows it to Kellen. "She is so into me."
"There's still that other cave by here or does everyone still feel up to taking on the dragon?"
200' above the wyvern lair lies another cave entrance. This cave crawls. Countless bloated, many-legged insects trample one another as they carpet the floor and climb the walls, creating a susurrus of a million clicking bug legs. The deepest part of the cave seems to be unnaturally thick with darkness and fallen webs.
Nobody tosses a dwarf!
"Let's clear this area so we can hole up here later, and then put that dragon out of our misery."
Nodding, "Sounds good ta me, lass." As the walls seem to "move" due to the multitude of bugs, "Blast that's a lot of critters. I say we burn the webs - and the bugs as far as that goes - because even with me dark sight, the thickness of the webs are blockin' me vision."
"Hold on," Lym says. "And stand clear."
If everyone complies, Lym conjures dancing lights, sends them down the tunnel -- and quickly gets clear of the entrance!
Thordak backs away from the entrance and watches to see what happens.
Tomaru stands clear as Lym commands.
Aurora raises an eyebrow and steps back gingerly. Then steps back again so Thordak is between her and the cave mouth.
She smiles at the dwarf
Where I come from, 'Stand clear' is a bit of a clue to run really fast in the opposite direction...
She winks.