"There's no magic in the room, and I don't see what's got you spooked, son." Dvalin whispers a reply.
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The group stood peering into the hole, trying to get a good look at what was inside it. They could make out a carapace that looked stoney, but had a sheen to it. They could see glistening black eyes reflecting Lyla's light. They could tell it was pretty large, but it was impossible to tell exactly how large. It seemed to be partially buried behind the empty husks of large insects, whack made it very hard to see clearly.
On closer inspection, the pit was full of them. Shells. Spindly legs. Even a few good sized bones, all cracked and broken.
For now, the thing in the pit just stayed there, crammed in it's hole, watching them watch it.
It's a horse sized insect of some kind. Lots of eyes, big pinchers.
It's a scorpion. A really big scorpion.
Dvalin doesn't see the hole.
Cadeyrn tried to get a better look at the creature.
"Can't get a good look at it, but from what I can tell it's waiting to see what we will do.", Cadeyrn whispers to the rest.
Nisfeollyn opened the book and peered around the room through the magical lens. When the room was mapped, he bent down and looked at the hole again, this time with the lens.
"It pains me to admit," Nisfeollyn said with a sigh. "I have no idea what that is."
The creature in the hole went still, as animals often do when they are being observed.
"I've a flask of oil to burn it out. Whatever it is." Dvalin offers.
"It's worth a shot and then at least we can get a better look at it." Cadeyrn replied.
”We should leave the creature alone,” the elf said, stepping away from the hole. ”Unless it attacks us, there’s no reason at the moment to attack it. Which door piques your interest the most, Bladud?”
Bladud raises his eyes at the dwarf’s suggestion. ”Tha’s certainly like ta’piss it off, whatever it is.” He considers, still watching the thing, ”And I don’t like the thought of it bein’at our backs, either…. ‘specially if we don’t know what it is.”
He looks over at Nisfeollyn. ”Let me’ave that eye-piece. Ah’ll take a closer look, and we can see if the other group can identify it… at least if it’s dangerous or not.”
If he’s handed the eyepiece, he motions for the group to stay put and be ready, then he begins cautiously moving forward, trying to get a good enough perspective to send a decent image to the other group.
Dvalin snorts at the elf's and scout's comments, "Well, if it be friendly, it would've offered tea."
"Yoo'n'ah've got different definitions of friendly."
Dvalin shrugs and murmurs a reply, "evidently."
Cadeyrn stepped forward when Bladud had signaled to be ready. He put away his greataxe and readied for what was to come, while focusing internally.
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Nisfeollyn handed the lens to Bladud with a shrug of his shoulders and a slight smile. The elf stepped back, indicating with a nod for Wuntholor to fly from his arm to the back of the room in case this creature does attack them. He pulled his longsword out, setting his feet in a defensive stance.
It was the surveyor Bladud's actions this day that give us one of the more famous images in the Surveyor's Museum.
The picture titled The Scorpion's Grasp depicts an impressive specimen of Hadrurus Scorpiones Gigantus mid lunge, it's massive pincer claw seeming to reach right out of the page.
This image has captured the hearts of many adventure seeking youths who dream of being Royal Surveyors, and acts as a deterrent for the weak of heart.
Sometimes the treasures found by our good Society are not simply relics of the past.
Bladud and Cadeyrn moved forward carefully. Bladud looked thorough the lens, the magic boos it was linked to filling in details as they got closer.
It moved faster than any of them expected, lunging forward with a massive claw and grabbing at Bladud.
It's claw bit into him and lifted him off the ground as teh rest of it unfolded from it's hiding place, black-green carapace covered it, it's many legs straddled it hole it called home. A long tail arced above it, waving a massive stinger. It's many beady eyes glittered in the faint light.
It's a giant scorpion.
Drawing on the power inside of him Cadeyrn focused his mind on what he wanted to bring forth. He opened his hands and only one thought went through his mind, Lucerne hammer.
In what seemed to be mere moments, liquid metal poured out of his gauntlets, solidifying in the form of a big hammer.
He stepped forward ready to swing at the monstrous creature.
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Ready for anything, Dvalin charges at the mighty beast with a roar wielding his warhammer in two-hands, but his hammer blow glances off the rigid carapace.
Nisfeollyn flinched as the creature shot from the hole and grabbed Bladud. "Ahh! It's a giant scorpion!"
Bladud roars in response to the not-unexpected attack... a roar that grows in intensity as he drops his spear and begins pushing back against the scorpion's massive pincers.
Dvalin's hammer glances of the creature's tough carapace as Bladud manages to wrench himself free, landing in front of the massive thing.
The scorpion scuttles back into the corner and lashes out again, claws and tail snapping forth.
Dvalin managed to dodge the claw, but the unpredictable tail slammed into his shoulder. he could feel the wound burning as it pumped venom into him.
Bladud had just gotten free, but the creature snatched him up again, it's pincers punching more holes in him.
you take Strength damage.
The highlander grunts as he's once again pinched. "Thah's how it is, then?!" he growls as he grabs the morningstar at his waist and raises it high. "I think you'll find tha'men a'tha highlands don't go down so easily!"
The morningstar slams down on the creature's armored arm.
Dvalin cries out in pain as the scorpion's stinger bends behind and pierces his chainmail. He shudders as poison floods his body, but his dwarven constitution barely stifles the effects. He steps up and wildly swings his warhammer with both hands but the carapace again deflects the mighty blow.
"You are messing with the wrong highlanders!", with those words Cadeyrn stepped to the edge of the pit and swung at the scorpion with his lucerne hammer trying to connect with the creature's carapace.
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Nisfeollyn saw that the scorpion was blocked by his three companions so the likelihood of it getting past them to attack him was very small. Calling upon basic arcane knowledge, he caused a flare of light to burst in front of the scorpion’s eyes with the proper incantation.
Bladud's morningstar crunched through the carapace creature's causing a spray of ichor from the claw. It made a strange hissing screech. A burst of light exploded in front of its lidless eyes causing it to shy away just as Cadeyern's polished hammer came down on it, smashing a huge hole in it's flat body.
It writhed in pain, squeezing Bladud and lashing out at Cadeyrn with claw and tail.
Dvalin cries out in frustration. Seeing both highlanders damaged, he calls upon the secrets of Hriedmar to help the highlanders to find more inner strength. He channels positive healing selectively excluding the scorpion.
Cadeyrn swung at the scorpion trying to hit the same spot again.
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"Thah's right!" Bladud grunts in response Cadeyrn's words. "Let's see---"
Whatever was to come next is cut off as the giant scorpion begins nearly cutting Bladud in half.
With few options, the highlander takes a moment to study his foe's armor before slamming his morningstar down once more.
"We hav'ta finish this fight now," he gasps through the pressure, "Or we're done for!"
”In case you don’t know, it is poisonous. Avoid its stinger,” the elf called to his companions.
He sheathed his longsword and readied his short bow. Drawing an arrow, he aimed at the scorpion. Seeing a momentary gap between the scorpion and Dvalin, he fired.
Cadeyrn buried his hammer into the massive creature again, smashing down on the already cracked carapace and piercing down into the soft meat. It twitched and spasmed as Bladud hit the smaller side of the claw hart enough to break through and damage the thick sinew that allowed it to contract. He pulled himself free as it shuddered.
Nisfeolyn's arrow slammed into the front of it's face as it finished it's death throws. The shaft quivered in a ruptured eye. The beast lay still.
"Are you still in one piece", Cadeyrn asked Bladud while laying a hand on his shoulder. Cadeyrn then murmured a few words of power.
I hope this will help you my friend, he thought while he let healing power flow from him to Bladud.
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Nisfeollyn knelt by the giant scorpion, retrieving his arrow from one of its eyes. ”They are usually solitary but sometimes live in small colonies. Well done, Caderyn, Dvalin, and Bladud. Do you need a few minutes to gain your breath?” Nisfeollyn asked the ones who were injured.
”I’ll search the its hole. There may be clues about other animals in these ruins.”
Dvalin snaps his left fingers and ignites his cigar. He always enjoys a post-combat smoke.
Nisfeollyn climbs down into the hole. It is surprisingly dry, filled with husks and bones of former meals.
He begins pulling out things left behind by humanoids and tossing them back up to the floor. Mostly what is recovered is unusable, but amid the old leathers, ruined clothes, tattered boots, bones and shells are a few usable pieces.
Wuntholor cawed in glee at the topaz ring as the treasure was brought out. Nisfeollyn looked at the ring in the light of his glowing feather.
”Very fine indeed, Wuntholor. Who shall carry these items as we explore? I assume we’ll divide it later at camp. Which door appeals to you Bladud?”
"Does anyone else use a sling? I could use those fine bullets. We should just inventory the rest of the material and leave it here for collection. Unless we can use some of this stuff." Dvalin suggests.
"I carry a sling, but hardly use it. That's why I pick up a rock or two when I actually do use it, but I wouldn't mind having a few of those bullets", Cadeyrn replied to Dvalin's suggestion.
"Split them?" Dvalin replaces 10 regular sling bullets with the new fine ones. He leaves Cadeyrn the other nine fine ones and his 10 regular bullets.
"That's fine with me", Cadeyrn took the 10 regular and 9 fine sling bullets.
Bladud released his fury as he took a few moments to extricate himself from the scorpion’s claw, nodding in response to Cadeyrn’s touch.
”Still in one piece, aye.” He mostly ignores the team’s examination of the prizes of the scorpion’s lair, focusing instead on the dead scorpion. ”Might be able’ta pull some food from this big fella’s body if we need’ta.” He shrugs, ”… if we need’ta.”
Still heaving, he looks over at the team, a half-grin on his lips. ”I’d say thaht was well’done. or at’least it could’a gone worse.” He takes a moment to admire the image captured in the book by the eyepiece as the scorpion lunged. ”That makes a right heroic image. I’d say a follow-up shot of all of’us standin’on the carcass sounds about right, nei? We can’t all be in’it, but at least most of’us can.”
”Nisfeollyn, mind collectin’ an image of the spoils of’our efforts, here? You can be in’tha next one.”
He plants a boot on the dead scorpion’s carapace and rests his morningstar on his shoulder… mugging for the camera.
When the image is captured, the highlander recollects his gear and begins checking for all exits… even hidden ones. He then tries to see if he can pick up sign or scent of the spider or man they had originally come to follow.
As he works, he mutters to the team, "Ah'm still blooded a bit from that wee tussle. What are the chances I could get a bit more healin'?"
Dvalin issues a prayer to Hriedmar and anoints Bladud with his tattooed left hand.
"We need to invest in a wand of curing if you're going to use your bloody body as a weapon."
Bladud gives a grunted laugh, "At the time, I didn'a have much choice." He rubs where the claw had squeezed his ribs, giving them a satisfied whack as he nods to the northman. "And thanks."
As Bladud continues searching the room for all possible exits or tracks, he looks over at the team's academic. "Nisfeollyn. Might be a smart idea to touch base with base camp... and the other team. Update'em and check in."
”Not at all, not at all,” Nisfeollyn said taking the lens for a group picture. ”Wuntholor can take my place. Caderyn do you mind if he’s on your shoulder or forearm?”
Once that is taken care of, Nisfeollyn looked at the gathered items with Wuntholor, mumbling and cawing to each other in Arcadian.
”I say we leave the keg here for now. No use carrying around items that are not paramount to our survival. I can chalk a circle around it with foreboding, arcane symbols that hopefully will deter any of the laborers above come should they come down here. It wouldn’t be an actual magic circle of protection. Merely the appearance of one. Also, do you mind if I claim either the ivory dice or the ring? Wuntholor would appreciate it.”
Nisfeollyn glanced around the chamber looking for a decent place to sit. Not finding one, he carefully sat on the giant scorpion, making sure he did not get any blood or ichor on his robes. Satisfied, he opened the book, checking that their lens-pictures were recorded and the mapping was progressing as it should.
Lyla, how is your group faring? We encountered a giant scorpion in the first chamber. While usually solitary they sometimes live in colonies. There’s a lens picture of the group (Wuntholor in my place) standing before the corpse. No clear indications of when or for what purpose this was constructed. Be careful.
Nisfeollyn then communicates the same basic message to Jonas.