"Was my cooking really that bad?" Leo whispers as they march on wondering what's got into the rest of the group.
Snaggletooth manuveurs past his comrades and strikes the Ettercap before he can react, knocking him senseless.
E1 barely has time to breath before the full force of an enraged kobold hits him on the back of the head and he keels over.
Snaggletooth can now clearly hear the singing and see two more creepers poised beside doors and another ettercap. In his excitement, he hardly notices the blood dripping from a savage cut in his arm inflicted by the creeper he casually brushed past in his efforts to down the ettercap.
C5 v Snaggletooth (AC) (1d20 11=30, 1d4 4=8, 1d6=1).
The familiar hiss of punctured creeper fills the air as Caine jabs methodically past the cloak to the lurker within.
The door beside Snaggletooth opens and another ettercap appears. All three surround the kobold, clicking happily at the prospect of prey.
E1 spits a tangle of webbing at Snaggletooth, immobilising him and allowing the two incoming ettercaps to attack at will.
In its eagerness to kill, E2's greataxe thuds into the floor, comfortably missing. E3 has better fortune to some extent. The blow is massive, but somehow Snaggletooth manages to evade the worst of the damage.
Web tangle v Snaggletooth (Ref) (1d20 7=18).
E3 v Snaggletooth (AC) (1d20 9=28, 1d12 5=7).
Cronin flies up the stairs, his loathing of creepers overcoming his normal good sense. The creeper lashes out as the shifter passes by, stabbing into him. With feral rage, Cronin rakes at the creeper by the door with his spiked gauntlet, but misses.
C5 OA on Cronin (1d20 11=30, 1d4 5=8).
Behind E3 a familiar and most unwelcome voice is heard.
"Looks to me like we've all found some new allies. Ain't that grand."
Devlin stands smirking and confident, holding his trademark halberd and looking as charismatic and dirty as ever. "Where's mouthy gal? Kind of missed her ways."
Mirth weaves her way up the stairs, sliding past the Commander and the swordmage, sceptre ready in one hand, her charred staff in the other.
Reaching into the cracks between morning and night, she summons a handful of hungry shadowstuff, hurling it ahead of her as she moves.
Easing her way to the crowded top of the stairs, Mirth, like her companions before her, takes an opportunistic attack from the vigilant and gleeful C5.
C5 v Mirth (AC). (1d20 11=25, 1d4 5=7).
Chilling shadows erupt out of the ground, hungrily grasping at the ettercaps and Snaggletooth. Snaggletooth is unable to overcome his fear and suffers appalling mental pain as the shadows reach into the dark recesses of his mind.
The creepers by the doors of the prison cells open the locks and C3 moves towards Snaggletooth, with venom in its pale eyes. C4 ignores the clutching shadows and adds to the foes surrounding the kobold.
Devlin looks mildly impressed. "Got yourself some fancy working there folks. Good to see you all again. Pity it won't be for long, but you know, sometimes that's how it rolls."
He spares a glance at Brujo. "It's my old hunting partner with the paranoia. Know what? I was out to get you that time. You guessed right."
Creepers 3 and 4 try to take advantage of their position to stab Snaggletooth.
C3 misses utterly, but C4's blow is all too telling.
C5 decides that Mirth is the softest target available and stabs at her again.
From within the prisons, voices can be heard, chittering in draconic.
Draconic
"The doors are open. We can go."
"It'll be a trap."
"Might not be."
The moons elf slams his blade into the creeper before gazing at Devlin
"Good to see you too. Say why don't you and I have a personal chat. Just let me deal with this and I'll be right up there"
Leo hearing the cries of battle and sounds of his comrades being hurt rushes to their aid stepping forth into the chamber a foe strikes at his side bringing his attention firmly upon his unfortunate foe as Leo's sword glitters with silvery light as he responds to the creepers surprise attack.
The moons elf slams his blade into the creeper before gazing at Devlin
"Good to see you too. Say why don't you and I have a personal chat. Just let me deal with this and I'll be right up there"
Brujo's flaming blade certainly wounds the creeper, but you notice that it seems somewhat harder to hit than the specimens you met earlier.
Creepers 1 and 2 emerge from hiding to join the battle.
"Not that way you moron." snaps Devlin to no avail as C1 rushes at Snaggletooth. The creeper misses and Devlin shrugs. "See, sometimes I wonder why I bother," he adds to the world at large.
C1 discovers how true this is as its movements slow and the psychic damage takes hold.
C2 sneaks up behind Cronin and slices at the cleric. Warned by some sixth sense, the shifter ducks aside and the blade hits nothing.
Fairwind shouts, "What the hell is goin' on up there?"
rev
if he can before the kobolds' turn, Snaggletooth will yell out in Draconic:(Brothers, Freedom is at hand, death to the creepers!! I am Snaggletooth of Bleak's Band! I bring mighty warriors to crush creepers forever! Rise up and fight with us! Anybody who doesn't fight will be locked up forever and left to rot!! Oh, and there are some weapons in the northern room for the taking! I will hold this group off!) Total bravado, but it should be the right mix of encouragement and threat to motivate the kobolds. If they stick their heads out, they will see one kobold surrounded by creepers and ettercaps and the heroes coming from the west. I am not saying it is a sure thing, but some should possibly fight and some should definitely run.
Leo springs wildly up the stairs forcing his way through his comrades to see what is going on. He takes a wound from craftily positioned C5 en route and is greeted by the sight of Snaggletooth wrapped in webbing and surrounded.
OA on Leo (1d20 11=28, 1d4 5=6).
Forcing his snout through the encircling webbing, Snaggletooth yells at the top of his voice -
Draconic
"Brothers, freedom is at hand, death to the creepers!! I am Snaggletooth of Bleak's Band! I bring mighty warriors to crush creepers forever! Rise up and fight with us! Anybody who doesn't fight will be locked up forever and left to rot!! Oh, and there are some weapons in the northern room for the taking! I will hold this group off!"
Scaly kobold heads emerge tentatively through the cell doors and a flood of draconic babble breaks out, followed shortly afterwards by the appearance of some of the prisoners. Among them, to Snaggletooth's immense relief is Kneebiter.
Draconic
"Snaggletooth has come for us! He is a mighty kobold hero and he is going to die for us. This is stupid and brave. We should help him."
There is further confused babble as an argument breaks out among the freed prisoners.
Draconic
"The man in black said they were coming to sacrifice us to undead cannibals."
"He could have been lying."
"Snaggletooth could be lying."
"There are lots of them..."
Kneebiter stamps a foot hard and yells again -
Draconic
"You are all dropped eggs! We are sneaky kobolds and we cannot be defeated. Everyone knows this!" Snaggletooth's presence has given him enormous courage all of a sudden.
Devlin hefts his halberd and sighs sadly and theatrically before adding to the confusion by calling out to the prisoners -
"They're going to chop you up small and feed you to the ghosts in the basement."
Bluff v kobolds to make the believe the party are here to kill them. (1d20 8=28)
He sounds so convincing that even Snaggletooth looks half believing. Kneebiter shakes his head firmly at the scummy warlord.
"Not true."
"Reckon not everyone believes you." Devlin grins smugly and points out the obvious. Six of the kobolds are now looking viciously at the heroes.
in Draconic
Breathing deeply and fortifying himself as best he can for the coming attacks, Snaggletooth puts a world of scorn into his voice as he calls again -
Draconic
"You believe human over Snaggletooth? If I survive this, I make sure you share creepers' fate. Stupid kobolds. You forget kobold teaching. Enemy of kobold enemy is kobold friend. Why you believe your captors? You think they care for you? Why we come all this way to kill you? We come to foil bad guys plans and free kobolds."
Kneebiter turns on the treacherous kobold behind him and smacks him hard around the face.
Draconic
"See! Stupid, stupid dropped egg. Snaggletooth is my friend and I will help him even if you won't!"
K2 quails under Kneebiter's lesson in manners and nods quickly.
Caine's blow efficiently bloodies C5.
Snaggletooth glares at the encircling foes and awaits his fate.
E1 bares venomous fangs and chomps down. Somehow the kobold manages to pull himself out of the way and the ettercap bites on nothing.
E2 fares much better, sinking teeth deeply into the small web-wrapped figure in front of him.
Spider Bite v Snaggle (on hit makes secondary attack) (1d20 11=26, 1d6 4=10).
E3 can't resist trying for a Snaggle snack either and also sinks teeth into him.
Spider Bite v Snaggle (on hit makes secondary attack) (1d20 11=22, 1d6 4=9).
Eyes wide with horror, Cronin shifts away from the creepers and the door and hurls Selune's blessing at his comrade. "Stay strong Snaggle - we're coming."
With unusual vigour, the cleric punches C2 hard in the face, leaving a bloody bruise on the pallid skin.
"Get away from the stairs!" he calls desperately to his friends.
Spiked gauntlet v C2 (1d20 4=22, 1d6=6)
Devlin watches with undisguised amusement. "See you got some fine new gadgets since I saw you last. Me too."
Raising her voice above the din of battle, Mirth adds her voice to the chorus, singing a song of half-truths and promises.
Draconic:
She is moving before she finishes speaking, stepping between the creepers with a flourish of her fine cloak and a smirk, gifting a creeper with his own nightmares.
Rev:
The slender tiefling's words are laced with enough honey and conviction for two more of the kobolds to decide to change sides again. The remainder are starting to look outnumbered, but continue to mutter determinedly in favour of team Devlin.
Her flamboyant shift catches C2 and C5 by surprise and neither can land a blow as she wafts insolently between them. Some dreadful vision wraps itself tenderly around C5's head and the creeper is demolished by a wave of fire that erupts from the ground, immolating it entirely. As her own vision and that of Brujo and Caine vanishes in the sooty black of exploding creeper, Mirth has the satisfaction of knowing that she has bloodied C2 and damaged C3 as well.
"Now you, I like. Almost as much as mouthy gal. Stylish." Devlin looks appraisingly at Mirth before shrugging. "Shame you won't be around long enough for us to get better acquainted. Go get her." He gestures casually to C3 and C4 who wrap themselves in shadow and launch attacks on the tiefling.
C3 and C4 both risk passing Cronin's spiked fist to get to their preferred enemy.
OAs on C3 and C4 by Cronin (1d20 4=15, 1d6=4, 1d20 4=11, 1d6=1).
C3's attack lands snugly, drawing more blood.
C3 v Mirth (1d20 13=25, 1d4 4=6, 1d6=1).
C4 sidles next to her and she can feel its clammy breath on her back just in time to allow her to brace herself against the incoming attack.
C4 v Mirth (1d20 13=21, 1d4 4=6, 1d6=6)
Brujo's sight clears in time to see two more comrades come under attack from the creepers.
C1 refuses to be distracted and concentrates on doing further damage to Snaggletooth. Pale eyes glinting, its dagger carves vindictively into the web-strewn kobold.
C1 v Snaggletooth (1d20 11=22, 1d4 4=6, 1d6=1).
C2 turns vengeful eyes on Cronin as Mirth falls in a heap at its feet, seeking redress for the smack in the face it took earlier. Vengeance comes sweetly, as the dagger digs deep into the shifter's ribcage.
C2 v Cronin (1d20 11=25, 1d4 4=6).
Leo seeing Mirth fall moves to cover her , he calls upon his faith as he strikes at the nearest of her assailants who are also threatening Caine and Brujo
Fairwind shoves past the ensemble on the staircase, muttering "What in the Hells is goin' on up here..." and then surveying the chaos of melee, bellows, "Hold on, lil buddy, I'm comin'!" as she deftly slices at a creeper.
Fairwind hurtles into the room, blades flashing. Sustaining a minor wound as she brushes past the waiting C3 and her blinded colleagues, she takes on long look at the scene before her and slices deftly into C2, cutting sinew from bone with brutal efficiency.
OA on rapidly passing Fairwind (1d20 13=24, 1d4 5=6).
Leo's ire rises as Mirth falls and he steps defiantly to protect her prone form as his longsword easily slides under C3's defenses. Pallid eyes turn to follow him as the pull of his divine challenge calls the creature to him.
Kneebiter yells loudly at his kobold allies -
Draconic
"Hit the stupid ones. Keep them in the cells."
He moves a step back to keep out of trouble and make sure his instructions are being obeyed.
Draconic
"Don't be killed Snaggletooth. We will help you. Once we've told these others to shut up."