With a wild frenzy in her eyes, Caladra swings at the large trog, continuing the movemenr into the trog beside it.
"Thorek, Cedric, get forward right after me!" Cyrioul calls as he steps forward.
None too confident about his ability to bring sufficient aid to his surrounded friend without getting himself killed, the wizard still advances and shouts "Chwistrell! A blinding spray of colors flares forward from his hands, enveloping the two closest troglodytes in a flash of light.
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Caladra erupts from the toppled bones, and her furious attack leaves a deep furrow in the troglodyte champion's hide armor, and a stream of blood begins to leak out.
Her follow-through swing, however, is evaded by the other trog.
Cyrioul's magic washes over the trogs in a many-hued wave.
The ordinary trog warrior resists the spell's hold, but the champion's eyes grow milky. The warhammer drops from her grasp, its rune-etched stone head lands heavily on the ground, crunching the loose bones beneath it.
"Well done, Cyrioul!" Advancing to support Cyrioul, Thorek turns to face the nearest troglodyte as he interposes himself between the wizard and the reptilian warrior. Realizing the troglodyte champion has been disabled for the moment, the warpriest turns to helping Caladra finish off the nearest warrior. His dorn-dergar snakes out, heavy chain looping around a leg to pull him off-balance.
The trog champion wobbles in place, staring into space with unseeing eyes.
The other warriors, either enraged by this disrespect or perhaps seeing an opportunity for personal glory, lunge at Caladra with their spears.
Their primitive weapons merely glance off the enraged fighter's steel, though.
With the big trog stunned and disoriented, Bree changes her initial strategy. She drops her bow for her rapier and darts forward to help Caladra.
Cedric pushes forward as fast as he can, maneuvering his spear to stab at the closest Troglodyte aver Bree's shoulder. The weird crunchy surface underfoot proves distracting, however, and he mostly just manages to get the point temporarily stuck in some of the grisly decorations.
Boudra smiles as Cyrioul's spell disables the troglodyte leader, but when Bree moves forward into position she grimaces. No room to shoot... Lunging forward, she steadies Cedric's arm.
Lily moves up towards the standing troglodyte to get a better angle. Calming down a bit more now that she saw the scarier one fall down she fires an arrow.
In this intense, very close-quarters battle, it is hard to pick out a clean target - and thus, the party's latest battery of attacks are deflected or misaimed.
Even one of the trogs, attempting to ram the haft of its spear at the passing Lily, is unable to find its mark.
Yanking his weapon back to himself, Thorek catches the steel ball and darts forward to bash the fallen troglodyte. Not especially sporting, but she looked like she could pack a punch and the dwarf wasn't keen on finding out.
"This is no fun," Caladra said and spat at the big trog's feet before attacking again.
Caladra strikes her unaware target with her fearce strength, almost feeling pity as the beast was unable to defend itself.
Feeling the fight may be reasonably well in hand, Cyrioul extends a finger towards the farthest troglodyte and calls, "Ignere!"
Caladra's mighty strike claims the champion's left arm, leaving it flopping wetly to the ground.
Spinning around with her rising slash, Caladra's follow through cleaves a deadly wound in chest of the trog warrior standing to the champion's left, and he also falls.
A heartbeat later, Thorek's strike sends the nigh-comatose troglodyte champion also falling to the ground with a splatter.
Cyrioul's magic dazzles the last troglodyte, but the warrior manages to barely shrug off the spell.
With a ghastly, primal shriek, the last trog throws its entire body into a final, death or glory attack.
Its snapping teeth fail to find flesh, but its spear pierces through a gap in Caladra's armor.
Caladra smiles as the two trogs fall before her blade and is momentarily caught off guard as the last trog attacks her. She grunts as the spear finds its mark and looks at the creature in his eyes.
"You'll regret that," She says before swinging her mighty blade at the beast.
Despite her talk, the fatigue of the battles have started to grow and she swings her blade wide, missing the troglodyte.
Boudra casts guidance on Thorek, stepping forward to reach him. Enough violence, she thinks sadly. Let's end this quickly.
Comfortable with Thorek and Cedric being able to attack around her, Bree steps forward to try to finish off the lead trog.
sigh
Her footing in the bones is unsteady, and her blow (most likely) slides off his armor.
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Cedric finagles himself as close to the lone remaining troglodyte as the close quarters and difficult floor will allow, and regroups himself for another thrust with his spear. He can feel himself starting to go wrong, but he can feel the magic wrought by Boudra adjusting his attack even as he makes it.
Lily picks her way through the bones on the periphery of the skirmish.
With too many friendly bodies in the way, she dares not loose another arrow at the last trog.
Instead, she keeps her bow trained on the rear of the cavern, noticing another passage leading down into the dark.
Cedric's spear thrust badly wounds the last trog, and Caladra's attempt at a finishing strike goes wide in her frenzy.
Crunching though the bones, Thorek moves to engage the last troglodyte from the side as he steps around their fallen champion. The arc of his swing ends at the base of his enemy's skull with an ugly crunch.
Cyrioul waits for Thorek to attack, hoping the dwarf can end the last Trog's resistance. In case the attack misses, the wizard readies his wand to unleash a bolt of energy.
Thorek's attack fells the last warrior of this warband.
With the chaos of battle subsided, even a cursory look reveals that the tribe kept trophies other than skulls and bones here.
An oaken staff bound with steel fittings acts as a tentpole among one display of bones.
A water-proof scroll case sits on one shelf-like arrangement, accompanied by two black gemstones and four thunderstones.
While the troglodyte warriors carry nothing more than crude spears and soiled hide armor, their champion possesses more unusual gear.
Her spiked hide armor is of uncanny quality, either taken from a fallen adventurer or passed down as an heirloom within the tribe.
A quick examination, aided by magic, reveals that the stone-headed, rune-etched warhammer she dropped is, indeed, enchanted.
Much like the warhammer, the blindsided champion also carried a trio of potions she never got the chance to use.
Lastly, she wears a wolf-fang necklace and a deer-hide quiver of four rough but usable javelins.
These include a silver locket containing a braided length of blonde hair, two simple platinum rings, a large pearl that radiates magic, and a battered wooden flute that is beyond salvage but sits in a handsome silver case, lined with velvet, etched with images of mums and cypress trees.
At the far end of the chamber is one last tunnel, winding downward, deeper into the earth.
The corridor slopes down at irregular angles and reeks of dampness.
The walls are jagged and covered with sharp stone barbs.
Mossy growths spread across the floor and walls, yet more old bones lying pale against the dark moss.
Bree takes a quick look around the room, sorting through some of the bones as she moves. She casts detect magic as she moves along.
"We really should go through this place to make sure there isn't anything else in this room, good or bad. Do you want to do that now, or head down this tunnel first?"
"Let me know if you need any second opinions on identification, Cyr. Hello, what's this?" she says as she stoops to examine the necklace about the champion's throat.
Cyrioul sighs and slumps for a moment, his hands on his knees. ”That could have gone much worse. I’m glad that it didn’t!”
With a word of power, the wizard focuses his arcane sight on the treasure trove before them...
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Caladra let out a long sigh as she relaxed after combat. She approached the felled champion and put a boot to her face and bent down. Hand firmly grasped around her largest fang, Caladra wrentch the tooth free with a grunt.
"And so you have attained immortality," Caladra said to her fallen foe as she eyed the fang before pocketing it.
While the others search for valuables and magic, Cedric's top priority is the continued health of the group. He's still a little wounded, and he knows Caladra took yet another beating. So he gets into the middle of the group and channels the power of Erastil to tend to their wounds, and also those any of the others might have taken without him noticing.
Lily says to Cyrioul while looking about,"Yeah. They looked pretty scary all things considered. How much is left of this tunnel?"
The wolf-fang necklace is not magical, but it is of surprising quality. The fallen champion obviously took pride in this symbol of strength and prestige.
Warhammer +1
MWK Hide Armor with Spikes
Wolf-Fang Necklace (100gp)
Potion of Aid
2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds
4 Javelins
MWK Quarterstaff
4 Thunderstones
2 Uncut Onyx gems (25gp each)
Silver Locket (25gp)
2 Platinum Rings (50gp each)
Flute Case (125gp)
Pearl of Power (1st Level)
Scroll Case Containing: Scroll of Darkness, Scroll of False Life, and Scroll of Ray of Enfeeblement
The tunnel beyond turns slightly before abruptly ending in a wide pit that descends at least forty feet downward into the earth.
Rungs have been carved into the sides of the pit, making the climb somewhat less treacherous.
Edging close to the edge of pit and peering over, Thorek sweeps the depths with his tunnel-vision for anything of interest.
Boudra lets the others go through the loot, taking a few moments instead to make sure that there's nothing else lurking around the room. She does, however, look over the scrolls with interest.
You can use these, right? she signs to Cyrioul. I've never learned any proper magic...it seems fascinating. I wonder how these brutes came by them.
Cyrioul nods to Boudra, signing back Yes, I should be able to make use of some of these. It's a school of magic that I'm less familiar with, but I should be able to make use of them.
Thorek notices an irregularity towards the bottom of the pit.
Around the last 10 feet or so, the natural earth and rock gives way to worked stone of very ancient craftsmanship.
"Hold a moment, there's...some sort of structure down there? A ruin or compound perhaps, worked stone rather than natural cave. The rest of the troglodytes may well be down there."
"More? I was hoping that was it. Do you all feel like we can continue our explorations? I can keep aiding in minor ways as we go, but my most effective assistance has been spent."
How is everyone doing? Boudra signs. I'll keep pushing on if need be, but I know that I for one am exhausted...and of course, we don't want to get sneaked up on by the troglodytes.
"I'm out of spells this day, but otherwise hale and healthy. I could push on, but let us first return to our comrades and usher them in. I don't want them to spend another night out in the woods with that killer!"
"If I'm to be honest I could probably use a break too. Tiny got in a good hit," Caladra said while rubbing her neck. She pocketed the fang she took from the champion and pondered what to do next with it.
"It seems we are agreed. Let's bring the townsfolk inside. We'll set up evening watches and get everyone as rested as we can. Oh, don't forget about that shrieker by the front entrance!"
"I'll go help with the logistics of packing up supplies so that we don't lose anything. Anyone want to stand guard by the big, scary hole in the ground?"
"I will do so," Thorek volunteers. "I see better in the dark than anyone else here, I think."
" I'll stay with Thorek. I don't want to leave him alone. "
Cyrioul nods, grateful for the stoic dwarf's vigil, and for Lily's friendship. "Right then - stay safe, and don't do anything heroic without us!" He smirks at this, then goes with the others to return to the townsfolk.
It feels like a long time since he's had to think about them, but it's only been a matter of a few hours. I don't like the thought of leaving them undefended for even that long, what with some killer wandering through the area.
The wizard reflects on that he's part of a very small community now, after a life of city living in Tamran. Not the community he would have chosen, of course, but a good one none the less. Here's to hoping that the caves work out for now, and that we can defend them well against the Legion, should they ever show up. The last thought struck him as a little madulin, but also perhaps just a practical consideration to keep in mind.
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The rest of the party emerges from the caverns, greeted by the welcoming embrace of clean, fresh air.
The sun has just passed its meridian. Soon it will creep down towards the western horizon.
The party's own tracks are easy to retrace, and it is not long before you find some of the townsfolk.
Or rather, they find you.
"There they are!"
The comforting, familiar teal color of Jet's waist scarf is the first sight to catch your eye as the erstwhile owner of the Taproot Inn emerges from the brush.
A pair of townsfolk - Pete and Elden - follow quickly after, carrying some weapons from the survivors' meager armory.
"We were worried after you pursued those troglodytes and didn't return straight away," Jet explains. "There was some grumbling about staying put rather than looking for you, especially from Kinning. The three of us set out anyway to see if you needed help. But, assuming that's enemy blood staining you all, I'm guessing that you managed yourselves well, yet again."
Jet's relief is easy to read from the beaming smile between her twin black braids. It is a feeling shared by her escorts, despite the sweat streaking their brows.