"Remain here, my little friend", Gristav said, at the fork between the up-slant and the down-, "If someone comes, worry. And if you worry, I'll know. Then if _I_ worry, come find me. Otherwise, we shouldn't be long..."
Leaving the butterfly behind, the party starts down the sloping tunnel. Before long, the magical light source shows the stone beneath their feet shining again with a sheen of dampness, and some of the deeper recesses in the rock hold isolated puddles of seawater.
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"Ooh. What a great place to hide treasure. And there won't be many traps, 'cause the water would set them off. They'd probably have just a net or two. You just need to hold someone in place and they drown when the tide rolls in. Or I'd use electric eels and poisonous octopuses. I wonder what's over there?"
Obliging Braddon's enthusiasm Phillip engages "Indeed, foul creatures would be the choice of the flamboyant... hidden portcullis might do the work even better than a net."
Braddon rolls his eyes.
"A portico would rust. Salt water is really... salty. My dad told me about these poisonous octopuses with blue rings. I can't remember their name. They'd kill intruders real quick."
Phil shrugs "Wouldn't rust in a single tide though... and when retracted could be coated with oil or magicked against the rot. I'd wager it more trouble to keep beasts tame and housed than it would to rely on harder mechanical means."
The tunnel continues to descend, and the environs get damper. The air is thick with salt and rot. As the party advances, the light reveals a sharp turn to the right; from that direction can be heard scuttling taps and the soft splash of water.
Deathly serious Phillip tenses and whispers to Braddon "Land squids... be wary" ruining the effect with a wink.
At Phil's suggestion, there is a flash of fear across Braddon's face and he freezes. This quickly gives way to annoyance, then concern. He draws both weapons and cautiously advances towards the corner of the sharp turn. There he pauses, then peers carefully around the edge.
Accompanied by the floating motes of light, Braddon cautiously approaches the blind corner.
Braddon hacks wildly at the creatures upon him.
That view-drawing tool (It's a tool, right? One hopes.) is awesome.
Braddon swings at the crab that is pinching him; the heavy blade smashes open the creature's carapace.
The third crab scuttles in the direction of fresh meat, moving up behind the crab that grabbed Braddon.
As Braddon becomes entangled with land-walking pincer-bearing land squids, Phillip gets his crossbow ready to hand and repositions to clear the way.
Snake draws his weapon and brings forth his innate magic to better protect himself.
Snake draws his weapon and casts a spell.
The crab grappling Braddon maintains its implacable grip, squeezing its heavy claw together as if to sever the half-elf's arm.
The rearmost crab scuttles closer; finding its way blocked, it waves its pincers in frustration.
These crabs likely have other ways to move around, perhaps from an unseen puddle or tunnel through the rock. Best to armor myself before engaging the creatures.
Tendal unfurls his scroll and recites the trigger, the magic flowing from the scroll through his mind and to his fingertips, then weaving around him to solidify into magical armor.
"With these narrow passages, its going to be difficult to get a solid magical strike in. If you see an opportunity, do not hesitate to alert me promptly."
Braddon screams and lashes out with both swords at the creature holding him.
"We need to play more Chess, you and I..."
Braddon awkwardly swings his massive sword and strikes another blow to the arthropod, which stubbornly clings to its putative meal.
The crab behind it, nearer the warmth of Braddon's flesh and the scent of his blood, isn't satisfied with expressing its frustration nonviolently. Instead its own claws strike the oozing crater in its fellow's carapace opened by Braddon's blade. The vise-like pressure on Braddon's arm releases as the crab clatters to the stone floor.
Gristav sees the opening to cast color spray but recalls, just before he moves, that vermin, even dwarf-sized ones, are immune to mind-affecting spells....
The crab behind's own claws strike the oozing crater in its fellow's carapace opened by Braddon's blade...
{Bestial stupid...}, the Magus mused, until the muse reminded:
Gristav sees the opening to cast color spray but recalls, just before he moves, that vermin, even dwarf-sized ones, are immune to mind-affecting spells...
"...and I need to play it better.", Gristav added from beside Braddon. He readied his stave, eyeing the nearby vermin. "I can hold this door, while you wrap that arm."
As if in punctuation, rivulets of ice rushed up Gristav's ashwood staff, blue light faintly flickering along biting frost, chilled air streaming, past and down.
"Mister Kane! Your Arts for our Sword!"
Not trusting his aim when impaired by intervening half-elf... Phillip holds his quarrel.
Gristav rushes up next to Braddon and magicks his weapon in readiness.
Phillip, his view of the enemy obstructed by the two half-elves, waits for an opportunity.
Snake moves near the others and waits for an opening.
Snake moves up and hexes Braddon, and the discolored and mangled flesh on his arm regains a more healthy appearance.
While the one crab stands momentarily flummoxed, its claws clenched on its fellow crustacean, the one behind scuttles past it and attempts to seize Braddon again. Once clawed and twice shy, the half-elf easily avoids being regrappled.
"Ooh, thank you," Braddon almost moans at Snake's touch, and with his arm feeling better he unleashes both weapons on the crab before him. He then steps back cautiously.
The gathering ice unweighted the magus' greatwand, unweildy wound with rime, but he was instant to ignore the failure he'd be so slow to forgive, and wove the wroth and will toward woe...
...and wyrd inweft, and remedied rime's unweighting. The greatwand whirled...
...and smote! And perfected staff, and remembered curse, and waiting spell all struck at once...
+ Fort DC 13 or +1 HP and Brand effect
+ Fatigued
Satisfied, (though still not forgiving his failure), Gristav stepped back in line with Braddon, silent, absently noting the rime, that again climbed the staff...
Braddon's large blade fails to pierce the crab's carapace, but the magic short sword cracks its shell.
He retreats, just as the crab in the rear drops its unfortunate fellow and scuttles forward after the softer-skinned tidbits. Its claw snaps at Gristav but comes away empty.
In return, the magus beats a quick tattoo on the crustacean's shell, the first strike ricocheting harmlessly but the second splintering a cobweb of cracks and riming them with ice.
Holding his position once more Phillip frowns, offering a quiet "There's aught I can do without risking my shot piercing softer shell than the crab's..."
Tendal watches for an opportunity to strike through the flailing melee of claw and steel.
This is quite disappointing...there isn't any way to get a useful spell off!
"Is there a way to allow the crab further access to the room, such that you could pin it down and allow attacks from the flank?" Tendal asks, concerned about the blood, and feeling impotent.
"Good idea, bub." Snake takes an awkward swing around the jutting rock at the crab before taking a step back.
Tendal joins Phillip in waiting for clear line of effect.
Snake swings at the crab snapping at Gristav and, despite the intervening rock of the cave wall, strikes the creature firmly enough to cave in another section of its shell before stepping back to draw the crustacean further in.
Clicking with murderous annoyance, the crab in the rear advances to the front line and snaps at Gristav, its heavy claw scraping the half-elf but failing to maintain hold of him.
"DIE, YOU #@(%!^& #@(%. #@(% YOU. #@(% YOU, YOU #@(%!^& SQUID!"
Braddon unleashes a string of profanities at the creatures, perhaps hoping it will lend to his swings. While his bastard sword tries to hold back the second crab , his short sword darts at the wounded creature before him.
Braddon is left to hope that giant crabs have a vulnerability to strong language after dividing his attacks results in damaging neither crustacean.
The icy crab appears weakened. It slowly raises one claw and snaps feebly at Gristav.
{Perhaps he's battling an invisible squid?}, Gristav mused mirthfully, his own wound explaining Braddon's ire, if not his ill luck. Gristav half wished the flitterling were present, to do what it might in that domain.
But it was not, so Gristav simpled and doubled his grip on the greatwand, and struck for the frosted foething...
{That squid is an excellent guardian of these crabs!}, Gristav teased himself, and laughed aloud, loosing his left hand, looping and chambering the staff in his right, circling while the sinister shaped spellstuff...
New-cast Curse crackled along the stave, crawling over the cold. The right hand readied, and wrought woe...
...to Gristav! But he laughed aloud, "That invisible squid!", he chuckled, "Is a perfect defense!"
Stepping back along the shifting line, Gristav tried to review what he'd done badly, or might do better. {Nearly any of that.}, he grinned.
Gristav, like Braddon, fails to crack crab shell but steps back to provide line of effect to Phillip.
Phillip takes his opportunity to raise crossbow and loose a clear-ish shot at the nearest of their crustacean assaulters...
Light Crossbow: for
Phillip takes advantage of the opportunity at a clear shot. His small bolt punctures the crab's shell with a loud crack and buries itself deep in the vulnerable flesh beneath.