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Shifting a few feet away, Crios quickly activates his wand of shield in preparation for the oncoming threat.
He will frequently walk with his wand of shield in one hand, and his staff in his other in order to start a fight with shield up. His AC with Mage Armor(cast from his other wand) is 18, and 22 with Shield spell.
The six Pathfinders ready themselves as the noise grows louder and louder. Then, suddenly...
A gargantuan form bursts out from a tunnel wall behind you. It barrels towards you, a massive worm with its mouth wide open. Something's not quite right however: the rock it erupted from is perfectly solid behind it and the worm itself seems partially translucent, even spectral.
But debates over what it actually is can wait - as its charging straight towards you!
While the massive anguished spirit of the dead worm barrels towards you with great speed, most of the party manages to duck, dive, or sprint out of the way into a side tunnel.
Most. Blanmieux however stumbles just for an instant as he turns to flee, and in that instant the ghostly maw swallows him whole! Swallowed in the spirit’s gullet as it continues to race forwards through the tunnels, Blanmieux’s skin begins to burn from intense heat as the rest of the party races after him in pursuit.
Having carried the barbarian swiftly through the tunnels, the ghostly worm soon, dives down back into the earth, leaving its scorched ‘food’ deposited into a new cavernous crossroads. As he stands, an unsteady rumbling shakes the tunnel walls, causing light debris to shower down from the ceiling. A pained cry echoes all around, the moaning screech of an immense alien creature that writhes in a tunnel ahead. It’s plated hide glowing a bright red that seems to scorch to rocky walls around it, this worm-like creature is massive, but seems greatly injured. Scars gashes and piercing wounds cover its hide, but as it thrashes about you see that its most grievous injury is being caused by a large sheet of adamantine that still skewers it, impaling it in place.
The (understandably) agitated creature’s bulk and movements seem to block the exit tunnel entirely. For the moment though, it does not seem to have noticed the barbarian's presence, or the quick approach of five more adventurers.
“The crater has been claimed, but our divinations indicate that Ayrzul is not happy about this! We’re experiencing unexpected surges in gravity everywhere, especially near the crater and vault!” Sorrina Westyr declares, madly strapping herself down as everything as everything rattles and shakes around her. “Hold on!”
Meanwhile behind her, Drendle Dreng is holding up a bottle, as he weaves back and forth in the convulsing landscape. “I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky tumbling down... WOOOOOO HOOOOO!”
Observing the creature cautiously, the Professor does not suspect that the creature is sapient, but the way it struggles to free itself certainly shows some spark of low intelligence. As he looks at the situation, the old man feels himself getting heavier as gravity seems to be pressing down on him. The rest of you feel it too, causing the worm to give out a new roar as it sinks further onto the adamantine shard.
Blanmieux suspects that he could try to simply yank out the adamantine with a massive show of strength , or find a way to pull it out somewhat more gracefully . Of course getting that close to the worm would be scalding hot. And right now the worm seems agitated enough that its thrashing prevents you from getting close enough...
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The Professor assesses the metal, runs some calculations and proposes his best estimate for its swift removal.
"Ah yes, Blanmieux, a little extra nudging on the end, try flexing it like a gigantic lever!"
He quickly adds, "and if you get a little singed, don't worry, good ol' Mahm will patch you up in no time! And the Society has hazard pay, doesn't it?"
The Professor looks about to several heads shaking no.
"Oh, no? Well, drats. We'll tell stories of your bravery, Blanny. Can I call you Blanny?"
Looking from a distance, Keriassa is unsure of if the spike can be easily dislodged.
Jade for her part tries to calm the creature so the rest of you can approach, but her 'auras' are less immediately compelling to the creature than the pain from its injuries.
Apparantly, twas the Aasimar’s gargles and arm twirls that soothed the beast as – with Keriassa and Kivuli giving advice from afar as to which motions magma worms would see as claming versus which are a signal of challenge – the beast’s writhing slows into the occasional spasm. Crios even manages to get close enough to tap the skewered creature with his wand. It still remains heavily injured, but some of it’s scars glow a dimmer red as they begin to modestly heal.
With the risk of an errant worm swing lessened for the moment, Blanmieux and Crios move in to attempt to yank out the piece of metal pinning the magma worm in place. The worm’s body is baking at this distance, and as they yank on the adamantine their fingers sear from the super-heated shard.
But with a trio of voices yelling advice about how best to pull and leverage the spike (some comments more helpful than others), the magus and barbarian succeed at dislodging the item. It is not fully loosened from the magma worm’s hide, but it seems to have been shifted enough as the creature gives a large roar that shakes the tunnel walls and threatens to damage your ears. It whirls and dives directly into the tunnel wall next to it, burrowing away through solid rock at impressive speed given its size.
The six of you stare at the new path – still glowing from the searing heat of the boring worm – for only a few moments before a quarter of other Pathfinders approach you from the rear. The ‘leader’, an out-of breath elf in a wide-brimmed hat and covered in soot, catches her breath as she calls out.
”Well! Heard some screeching and thought another group might’ve gotten on the wrong foot with that worm! Never expected one of us’d get the best of it though!” She looks excitedly past you to the now clear tunnel the worm had been blocking.
The elf takes another deep breath and starts jogging ahead of you. ”Well come on! Apparently they’ve found some kind of Vault up ahead. And whatever’s guarding it’s putting up quite the fight to stop us getting a peek! We thought we’d have to go the long way round, but this tunnel here should help them get reinforcements in a jiffy!”
As her and her band head onwards, off in the distance, you think you can hear the faint clash of steel and irregular blasts and yells. ..
It is only when you try to move as fast as you can through the asteroid's tunnels that the sheer scale of Aucturn's Tear becomes apparent. Even as you exit the labyrinthine paths near the sunny-side, the few burrowed trails that remain still curve twist in the dark. You lose sight of the elf and her three friends as they rush by, but the sound of combat and yelling grows slowly louder as you hustle for what feels like an eternity.
Eventually, your journey takes you into a strangely 'worked' chamber that stands in contrast to the roughly carved tunnels you have now been running through for a half-hour. Vaulted arcs of stone create a bizarre network of geometric recesses, like a petrified beehive but orders of magnitude larger. Each indent in the stone creates it own nook, one of which contains an altar smeared with blood and ochre.
As you enter the room, the stanch of blood and bile assaults your nostrils. Several corpses lie strewn around the cavern's floor, most bearing tattered clothing emblazoned with the symbol of a notched shark's fin. With your approach, two of the bodies start to stir and stand...only to be struck by a red fire that erupts around them. When it subsides, both figures seem unsinged by the flame but disoriented, with their gait significantly slower. The one to the east is a skeletal body whose eyes dance with an evil blue light as it raises a sword, while the southern corpse's withered flesh leads up to a mouth hanging open in a silent scream.
Initiative
Jade
Crios
Kivuli
Keriassa
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Crios casts a quick spell, holding the charge in his hand as he rushes forward while the creatures are still gaining their footing.
Keeping clear of the archer's sight lines, he strikes out once with his staff to deliver the charge. Hoping to catch the enemy unprepared for defense, he augments his power at end of the blow at the expense of accuracy...
Darting forwards, Kivuli ruhses to attack what appears to be a huecava - undead created from the bodies of heretical clerics. Their withered hides can only be fully pierced by magic or silver weapons, so the wayang lashes out with his estoc. Quite well as it turns out, as the huecava crumples before its diseased claws can lash out in response.
Crios takes the other, still standing undead on, but while it does appear to be mostly bone its exact nature is a mystery. But whatever it is, the assault from the quarterstaff seems to do the trick as it crackles and cracks from the electricity and force of the blow.
Initiative
Jade
Keriassa
Still unsure of the full nature of their foe, Jade and Keriassa each follow Crios’ lead and notch a pair of blunt-headed arrows. Mirroring each other once again, each archer’s first shot goes wide, but adjusting for the conditions both second shots hit to knock to bony warrior back where it crumples against the wall. There also appears to be a small pile of paper and vials piled carelessly in one of the open recesses, slightly covered by a discarded cloak.
As the fell magic animating the bodies and bones slips away, an eerie calm descends over the chamber. Exmaing the fallen bodeis (those that rose and fought you and those that stayed dead-dead), you see that all the bodies’ faces are trapped in an expression of anguish, and each has that same notched shark-fin symbol somewhwere on their torn armor and clothes.
As you collect yourself, two dwarfs emerge from one of the exit tunnels. Both see you start and hold up a wayfinder with one hand as they approach, their other hands close to their mouths as they cough terribly.
”Careful up ahead **cough**! Sor’ thinks she’s **cough** found whatever’s callin’, but the slag’n Fossil King’s men’re **cough** holding fast. Half an army ahead, and the rock itself’s gone foul! **cough****cough**” Getting a closer look, both dwarves look quite pale, and strange rashes and odd burns cover parts of their skin.
The other dwarf says dejectedly, ”Me gut says the fight ain’t over, but the skin and blood’s got **cough** a different thought for the time. Kharl and need a pause; get a **cough** breath ‘fore the next fight. But there’s plenty more ahead. Down the east turn’s some sort o’ hub. Rock men and cultists staging things there to move around quick as lightnin’. But straight south, well there **cough** there there’s somethin’ else. Odd portal, seems right in touch with the Earth home direct. Either way, get in there and give ‘em hell!” He doubles over into a coughing fit as his companion quickly helps him retreat to somewhat safer ground. Ahead of you, two large tunnels stand open as the sounds of better ring out…
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The Professor blinks a few times as the bodies drop.
"Where we just attacked?"
Shrugging, he takes a look at the nearest body and shares his observations.
"Looks like some sort of ritual sacrifice. Perhaps to this Shark God whose emblem we see here?"
The Professor pokes the body before he's interrupted by a pair of dwarves.
"Oh dear, my fellows. You appear to have been exposed to severe radiation..."
The image of Sorrina Westyr appears as she helps an enormous water elemental dispatch a band of gargoyles. “We do not stand alone in our efforts, my friends. Our teams discovered a band of rebels fighting back against our adversaries and we have begun to coordinate with them. Some much needed assistance should be arriving shortly.”
"Bah," one of the dwarves says to the Professor. "Torag's spit'll plug the holes for the time. We dinnae **cough** get scorched as bad as some - just need a quick breath of air."
The conversation is briefly broken as the Master of Spell's ginat face looms large in front of you once more. "Rebs?" the dwarf snorts as soon as the Oread stops talking. "Those water folk she means. They tell some of the creatures here didn't take to their task, whatever it was. Tried to fight back and got crushed for the effort. Whatever Westyr says, don't know how much assist they'll be. You be wary: they're noble they wouldnae been here in the first."
"Pipe **cough** down Kharl!" The other forces out, giving his friend a weka smack. "Aid's aid; it's a fool turns away a companion in the thick o' things."
Mvoing down the left passage, the six of you hurry forwards to reinforce the battling Pathfinders ahead. Sound echoes deceptively around
The ceiling of this deep chamber is barely visible in the distance. Stairways designed for giants connect multiple levels, and bright illumination wipes away the shadows, unlike most other areas on the asteroid. A central platform inscribed with arcane runes hangs carefully balanced in the center of this network of enormous pathways paths. The floor of the platform appears to be a never-ending cascade of earth, forever falling into a black void.
Pathfinders all around the large room are engaged in fierce fighting with a multitude of creatures: gargoyles and elementals and even some genies. Earthen defenders move in and out of this central hub constantly, and as you approach, you draw the attention of a squat, three-legged three-armed creature with a single massive mouth. It grinds out a sound and begins moving towards you from atop the platform, as two tiny floating chunks of rock break off to join it.
Initiative
Keriassa
Crios
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The tiny rocky spheres are a pair of Wysps. Birthed from pure elemental matter (earth in this case), these outsiders are servitor creatures. Both Keriassa and Kivuli vaguely remember hearing tales of how they naturally lend aid to other earthen beings, but forget the how of that trait.
Arrows seem to mostly work at least, as the first shot lands square on the wysp. Most of the arrow’s force seems effective, but the fact that the tiny outsider is pure rock seems to have blunted the full impact of the hit.
The larger creature is more easily recognizable: a xorn. Xorns subsist by eating stone dirt and gems, and can glide through the earth just as easily as they walk. Their thick hides make blades less dangerous against them than a good *Thwack* and the earth outsiders are immune to fire, cold, and partially insulated against electricity. Further making the wayang frown is that their three eyes are evenly spread around their frame, making them immune to flanking as they have all-around vision.
As Crios wards himself and steps into a defensive posture, the xorn rumbles down the stairs from the platform and towards the aasimar and tries to take a bite out of him. The bruised wysp also approaches, though does not attack.
for
Initiative
Blanmieux
Jade
Professor
Kivuli
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"Ahh.. resistant to cold and fire you say?"
The Professor frowns at the earthen enemies.
"It's your lucky day then! Well, unlucky I suppose given we Pathfinders are here."
With no fire or cold to employ, the Professor once again employs the physical prowess of his allies, knowing little can stand up to that.