"Zažať!"
A handful of glowing orbs pop into the air over Aris's head, offering light for the rest of the party. She sighs. "I'll need to spend some time every so often maintaining them, but they'll help. In the meantime..." She pauses, concentrating, and a moment later, a beetle trundles up behind her. Most of its body blends into the tunnels, but one part of it flickers with a greenish-yellow light. "It'll follow you around, Ahto. Should we go west? Noise from over there."
Wonky creeps down the sloping tunnel to scout the room ahead.
Three crude, wooden workbenches occupy the center of this room, their tops strewn with various tiny tools, metal and wooden hardware, and blocks of wood.
A pair of ugly blue creatures giggle in the workshop, playing with a miniature catapult apparently made from branches, bone, and sinews. One of them pulls back the arm of the crude device and launches a caltrop across the room, landing it inside the mouth of the other.
Swallowing the thick, iron lump in its throat, the mite that caught the projectile offers a brief cackling dance before its expression of wicked mirth turns into one of malevolence.
Surprise Round
The one creature, having noticed Sprocket, wiggles its knotty fingers, invoking some kind of magic.
A hearty smell, like that of roast rabbit, begins drifting inexplicably from the far side of the room. Sprocket perks up at the sudden, delicious smell.
The other mite reloads a caltrop into his makeshift catapult and launches it at Wonky, but the tiny projectile only clatters against the root-covered roof.
Sprocket, with prompting from his beloved master, resists the allure of the phantom roast chicken, and he focuses on the enemies at hand.
The slavering bulldog rushes forward and chomps down on the mite's spellcasting arm. Strangely, his teeth do not sink as deeply into the little gremlin's arm as would be expected.
Aris doesn't have much opportunity to fight, given her position in the team. She pulls her crossbow off her back and loads it, then gives her beetle the order to move forward and attack. The beetle moves forward into the room.
With Sprocket latched onto its spindly blue arm, the mite's eyes bulge hideously - bulbous and white - as it unleashes some manner of magic on the dog.
As the gremlin magic overtakes him, Sprocket whimpers and shrinks back from his foe.
Wonky's shot strikes the mite in the forehead and sticks there like a stone in mud for a brief moment before simply falling out. The creature seems unbothered by the attack.
The catapult-tinkering mite loads and launches another caltrop at Wonky. The crude iron spike plunks against the gnome's temple and pricks her skin, but it is little more than a nuisance.
Realizing the ineffectiveness of his gizmo, the mite spitefully kicks the catapult, breaking it apart into a pile of branches and bones.
True to his duty, Hexa moves forward to kill those that harmed the Aoi'Si Wonky and her companion. He moved to fight the red mite. During his tight squeeze forward he draws his hand axe and when he reaches the mite, he swings the axe with deadly precision.
Despite meeting some brief resistance from the mite's supernaturally tough skin, the power behind Hexa's swing buries the axe deeply in the creature's body, almost cleaving it in twain.
Sprocket gnashes for the mite before him, but the foul fey magic leaves the dog too jittery to land its bite.
Ahto's dagger whizzes above the mite's bulbous head.
Paval draws his sword and hunches down, keeping a wary eye on the dark passage behind the party. He doesn't trust whatever can make that kind of smell.
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"oslniť!" Aris runs into the room, raising her hands and pulling a bit of wool from a pouch. She points at the remaining mite.
The fire beetle trundles through the fighting, weaving in between legs on its way to the mite. Once it gets there, it dutifully takes a chomp.
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The mite's bulging, milky eyes grow spacey and dull and a hint of drool peaks out from its leering mouth as Aris' magic transfixes its mind.
The beetle's burning bite inflames the mite's previous wound, and with a hissing exhalation, it falls unconscious to the ground.
With the glow from the beetle's smoldering body and the dancing lights, you can see that the far end of the workshop slopes downward before suddenly dropping into a shaft leading at least two dozen feet further down.
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"Hmmm," Wonky ponders, absently rubbing the side of her arm where the caltrop hit her as she regards the unconscious mite. "I have no empathy for this thing; I doubt it would have any for me as well. Still, it might be able to tell us where best to look for Svetlana's ring, but alas, I do not speak its native tongue."
Wonky checks Sprocket to make sure his whimpering isn't the result of an injury. Satisfied, she stands back up to puzzled expressions.
"Undercommon," she adds. "They speak Undercommon."
Hexa finishes off his mite without hesitation, sawing through its throat with the hand axe before turning towards the other fallen one. He looked from Wonky to it before saying. "Hexa find dis blue oness fightin' little scaless. Find many dead. Aoi'Si want Hexa to kiel?" He crawls over to the fallen Mite with his handaxe poised to deliver the final blow.
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Ahto considers for a moment. "The behavior of these two seemed similar to what I have heard of goblin behavior. While I find it prudent to interrogate captured foes, I doubt we will get anything useful from it, even if we could speak its tongue. Finish it if you wish," he says to Hexa with an unconcerned shrug.
Hexa's handaxe snaps down on the mite's neck, severing its oversized head from its warty blue body.
High pitched shrieks of pain waft up from the shaft at the far western end of the room.
Between waves of the pained cries, you can also hear bouts of tittering giggles filled with malevolent glee.
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Wonky cocks her head in the same relative position as Sprocket and sneaks over to the shaft for a better look. Her dog follows, still fearful, but more so of not being right by the gnome's side.
Once at the side of the shaft, Wonky peers down, then excitedly and silently motions to her mates, using the universal 'shhh!' sign to ensure their non-detection.
The shaft descends some 30 feet down into darkness, with the voices coming from below.
Growing closer, you can also distinguish a pained voice crying out between shrieks of pain.
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"There are more mites down there, and they are torturing something that speaks your language, Hexa, with sharp sticks!" Wonky whispers hurriedly to the lizardman.
"I will not stand by why some innocent is tortured!" Wonky says fiercely, pulling a reagent from her bandolier, dropping in a tablet, and downing the concoction in a single swallow.
The gnome bends over and whispers to Sprocket.
She then moves to scramble down the shaft, head-first.
Hexa ends the Mite with as much care as one does beheading a fish once gutted. He wipes the Handaxe off on its nasty clothes before listening to Wonky and grunting in surprise. One of his own? He had a hard time believing one of his kind would come this far. Most likely the blue ones had captured a small scale.
He crawls to the hole where Wonky was last, looks down to see if she is clear and that he could descend without getting stuck. He puts the Hand axes handle in his large mouth, biting down on it before descending.
The myriad roots make the shaft very easy to navigate while climbing.
Descending, Wonky and Hexa find that the shaft eventually opens into an oblong cavern whose walls are obscured by pallid tangles of roots, like winding marble pilasters.
Six more mites are clustered around one of the walls. Four small reptilian bodies, easily recognizable as kobolds, are tied into the roots lining the walls.
All of these kobolds possess coal black scales, but three of them hang limp and lifeless where they were imprisoned.
The sole surviving kobold is the source of the anguished howls as the mites entertain themselves by taking turns jabbing him with their sharp sticks.
The mites are so engrossed with their torturous game that they do not notice Wonky and Hexa hanging in the shaft above.
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Wonky pulls a curious-appearing two-foot-long rod from her back and gives Hexa a wink. She then attempts to move stealthily into a position directly above one of the mites bearing a pointy stick. Once Hexa appears prepared, she will attempt a disarm with her gnome pincher so as to allow the lizardman the ability to drop to the ground and wreak havoc.
I hope that this thing works, Wonky absently worries.
Seeing the little scales and their plight Hexa focuses on his link with nature. Calling upon bovine strength to make his muscles swell, so he could hit harder. So that he could kill more Mites and quickly. As his muscles swell, his muzzle takes on a blunted bovine features and he starts growing hair along his spine and tail tip. Hexa then waits until Wonky strikes before dropping to the ground and engaging the mites in combat. Using his claws to lash out while his Handaxe was gripped between his teeth.
Hexa drops to the ground with a heavy thump, moving to engage the Mites before they can react to their presence. Towering over the mites before lashing out fiercely with his claws...
Wonky easily disarms the mite, who has little time to to express surprise before the mighty lizardman looms over him and, despite the tight confines, eviscerates the cruel creature.
The other mites turn sharply, shocked by the intrusion. Their lips curl back to bare their crooked, green teeth in a brewing swell of anger and fear.
The captive kobold perks up upon seeing Hexa's arrival and shouts with joyous relief.
The other mite left beside Hexa (and beneath Wonky) thrusts at the lizardman with his sharp stick, but the poor excuse for an improvised spear simply splinters against Hexa's scales.
After briefly staring at the broken stump of wood in its warty hands, the mite throws it down and draws his jagged flint knife.
The mite straight ahead from Hexa drops his stick, draws a jagged little knife, but then - rather than moving towards the scaly foe dominating the cramped chamber - its eyes open wide and bulge hideously, milky white without their pupils.
Hexa feels foul, fey magic creeping beneath his scales, sapping his strength and making the tight, earthy walls feel like they're closing in.
Another mite also draws its knife and skitters around the big lizard.
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Relying on her climb move, Wonky remains hanging high up off the side of the wall, using her gnome pincher to good effect on the red mite.
Additionally, Wonky attempts to grok the obvious spell recently cast upon Hexa.
”Five more mites down here!” Wonky sings out, her voice indicating little self-concern.
Wonky's attack grazes the mite below, but it seems unperturbed.
Two more mites draw their knives, sharply elbow their fellow in the tiny ribs as they pass, and then crowd around Hexa to try and fell the lizard.
Hexa was infuriated by his sudden trembling, these blue mites were nothing to be feared but his knees knocked like some newly egged hatchling! His bovine enhanced mite made him want to gore the little beasts but the tunnels confines felt too close now and the mites flanking him made the feeling worse. Cowing him momentarily until the sound of the others knocking dirt down the shaft above him made him consider the war party. If the war party couldn't move forward. Then blue ones would never be cut down...
It was then the little scales words reached his muddled mind and inspired him. Indeed he was Sharptoothed! He would bring death to the Mites and make them regret surrounding him so foolishly. He bit into his handaxe handled as he brandished his claws with deadly proficiency, slashing out at the mites that surrounded him...
Aris peers down the shaft, watching Sams and Ahto climb down to aid the battle below. She quickly pores through the arcane knowledge in her mind, wondering which of her spells would be best suited here.
Hexa turns the fear back upon the mites, as his lashing claws disembowel two more of the foul critters.
Sams shows surprising grace when climbing. He makes good time and, when he is shoulder-to-shoulder with Wonky, he drops the remaining distance, safely landing among two of the remaining mites.
Paval keeps his sword and eye trained on the passage back the way the party came, in case these tricksters attempt come from behind.
Ahto quickly climbs down behind him, while Sprocket stands back at the top, woofing down as everyone leaves him.
Aris, secretly hesitant to squeeze through another narrow, dirt-caked passage, settles on helping from above with a magic missile.
She invokes and carefully aims the bolt of magic force, guiding it past her climbing allies to strike one of the mites visible below - leaving it gasping for breath and struggling to stand.
The remaining mites grow panicked and begin to flee, focusing on escaping with their lives.
Two of them scuttle away towards the yawning chasm at the far end of the room, while the mite that had kept its distance is already clambering across a set of knotted roots forming a crossing across the gap.
On the far end of this chamber, a deep and ominous chasm splits the passage. The chasm is a few yards wide, and twice as deep, but thick ropes of tangled roots fill the entire area.
The passage continues on the far side of the chasm, and between the two ledges, numerous loops have been tied into the roots to serve as hand and footholds.
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Wonky pulls an extract from her bandolier and acknowledges Sams and Ahto's descent. She drinks it, places her hand in her coin pouch briefly, and then puts away her gnome-pincher while shifting five feet further along the vine-covered wall, displaying her preternatural ability to scale walls.
"Hello, fellow adventurers!" Wonky says brightly to Sams and Ahto. "The bad guys went that way." She jerks her tousled green locks towards the chasm at the north end of the chamber.
Thanks to her Monkey Fish extract, Wonky demonstrates the uncanny ability to climb down the roots all while stowing her pincher, downing her extract, and drawing a handful of coins to enhance.
The fire beetle is slowly trundling down the roots, too, and its glow is funneled upward and downward like a bullseye lantern.
"Crack-jawed" Ahto Ulrych
Wonky Prong, Jr
Cuchulainn
Esmeralda Le Fi
GM Dinketry
Kalima Raustald
