Shadow sneaks up and tags the creature solidly.
AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15; (+5 natural)
hp 18 (2d8+9)
Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +1
Immune mind-affecting effects
Speed 50 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d6+2 plus grab), sting +3 (1d4+2 plus poison)
HP: 18-5=13
Although wishing she had hit the soldier ant harder, Shadow looks content at the moment.
Talon swings his blades around, scoring a hit with his first attack and glancing off its carapace with the second.
Kelgeah sighs as the chitinous beast emerges and withstands blows from the party, muttering a small incantation and jabbing a finger in its direction; a pale blue beam darts forth.
Talon connects solidly with his first swing, but the second swings wide. Kelgeah's spell also tags the creature, but it still stands.
HP: 18-5=13-5=8-2=6
Round 2:
Delkaneth
Shadow
Talon
Kelgeah
soldier ant
The monster continues it's attack on Kel.
soldier ant vs Kel for
If the bite hits
and it's sting attempt for
If the sting hits Fort DC 14 or take Str.
Seeing the elf is still hard-pressed by the creature Delkaneth crosses the distance between them, drawing his axe as he goes. Finding an opening between the embattled Kelgeah and the swinging blade of Talon the young treasure hunter aims a swing of his own at the giant insect. The melee is a little too cramped and he is unable to time his attack properly, resulting in a complete miss.
Since the soldier ant is surrounded, this makes Shadow's job a little easier.
Watching for anatomy that looks important, Shadow lunges attempting to reward the Soldier ant with a killing blow, "Kiai!
Regardless of how much of the ant's heart was perforated, it will no longer serve the soldier ant in any capacity. As the soldier ant is falling, Shadows motions everyone to quickly follow her to get closer to the door or passage way leading out so this time if they are attacked, they are closer to getting out of the ant hive entry way.
Talon slashes through the ant with his double blades, feeling like this battle just keeps dragging on. How many ants were there?
You manage to take out the soldier ant and slip into the hallway without alerting any others.
The hallway turns a corner and travels south for about 30' before widening into a landing leading to a set of stairs going down.
Do you head down the stairs or explore more up here?
The party first hears clatter chain links, then footsteps, and then controlled breathing of something or someone nears the corner where the party is currently idling. Quickly, a tall, cute, slender, and young in appearance Elven female adult with dimples rounds the corner. She has shoulder length black hair and purple eyes. Her appearance is crisp and clean although she wears sturdy boots, a leather skirt exposing her slender sun golden legs, a chain shirt, and a hooded cloak with the hood down. In her right hand is a very large sword, 2/3rds her size, which should be wielded with two-hands but somehow she manages to balance out the weight and wields it with one. On her back, there is a Composite Longbow that is similar in size and fits nicely in between her well-made leather backpack along with the scabbard for her sword. In her right hand, there are two scrolls. Somewhat surprised, the elf speaks in a nice voice in common (Taldane), "Wow, there are giant ants in the other room and I think I gave them the slip?! Oh, well met, I am Field Agent Raina Amariyah from the Grand Lodge in Absalom and recently reassigned to the Varisian Lodge under Venture-Captains Lord and Lady Heidmarch. The Lord and Lady requested my transfer because they have reassignments for Kelgeah and Shadowlightbringer to immediately report to the Grand Lodge in Absalom for training." Raina holds up the scrolls and looks at Del and Talon, then Kel and Shadow. "Lord and Lady Heidmarch commanded me to report to Agent Talon Neverion."
Both Kel and Shadow step forward,
"I am Kel."
Raina bows from the neck and hands Kel her orders.
"And I am Shadow."
Raina bows from the neck and hands Shadow her orders, then speaks in Elvish.
In common, Raina continues, "It should be clear on the way back, I used my last pheromone bomb from a previous venture to distract the ants."
Kel says her goodbyes to Del and Talon accordingly to whatever relationships they had with her. Shadow low bows to Talon and Del, ”It has been an honor venturing with you. Perhaps, we will meet again?”
Then they both wave good bye to everyone leaving Del, Talon, and Raina to continue with the current mission.
Raina places her sword on her shoulder in a relaxed but ready hold, dimple smiles at both Del and Talon, then holds up her left hand. Where the scrolls once where there is a holy symbol tattooed on to her palm, then in her soothing and calm voice, "Are you two healthy, do you have any wounds that need healing or severe fatigued removed?"
"...None," Talon tells her, a little surprised by the abrupt arrival of a single person and the subsequent disappearance of two other members of his party. It seemed that he was the only one who'd stuck around this far from the very beginning. He was beginning to lose track of whom was whom - at least this new girl was easy on the eyes.
"I'm Talon, leading this venture. This is Delkaneth, I call him Del. He's probably our main scout now. I'm a front line fighter, and I'm guessing you've got magic in you and you know how to use that without chopping your hand off," He commented, glancing around the room briefly.
He spots the door almost on a fluke, hidden by the west wall. Talon heads forward, sliding a finger along the seams, before turning to Del. "You think you can get this open?"
Raina nods with a dimpled smile at both Talon and Del as Talon introduces the both of them, "Good, good, I am glad you are both ok! If you need healing at any time and I do not notice, do not hesitate to call for me." She laughs and motions her sword up and down on her shoulder, "Yes, I promise you will not have to apply a tourniquet around my hand nor my neck. I can not say the same thing about our enemies. After all, her Most Holy Sarenrae does not promote misery. As for other dabbling, I know a few things here and there thanks to the Dean Master of Spells, Aram Zey at the Grand Lodge." Raina takes a breath, "Oh, do you need to see my orders from Lord and Lady Heidmarch and should I take rear guard?"
Delkaneth is also confused by the rapid exchange of words and members. Gods, I've seen three people leave this group since we entered The Crow just yesterday!
He spies the door just as Talon points it out, and moves over to check it out.
Raina turns around to make sure nothing sneaks up on them, and keeps looking over her shoulder waiting for her any direct or indirect queue to follow them. In a tactical low voice, "Del, do you need some extra light?"
The door is not locked and opens to a 3' wide tunnel leading westward. At the end of it is another door, not concealed from this side.
As you enter there is a rustling sound from above and a large black spider with a red hourglass marking on it's glossy abdomen drops to attack!
Delkaneth
Raina
Talon
giant spider
The creature will attack the first person through the door: for plus poison (fort DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Con and staggered; cure 2 saves.)
"Let's head through," Talon decides, leading the group forward down the secret passage - perhaps they'd get lucky and avoid a tough fight this way...
...or a spider would drop onto his back and try to penetrate his armor. He was lucky that it only hit metal plate with its fangs, letting him cut at it twice in retaliation.
Raina nods at Talon and follows.
Quickly and quietly Raina gets into position in where she can heal both Del and Talon, then displays she can handle the sword and takes a swing at the spider.
Gods, pay attention!
Yet again the young treasure hunter is last to react as the spider falls on the group. Chastising himself with muttered curses in Infernal, he steps up to Talon's position and also tries to strike it without hitting the man or getting in the way of his spinning sword.
As everyone swings at the creature in the somewhat confined space only Del seems to be able to tag it this round.
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +4 natural, –1 size)
hp 37 (5d8+15)
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +1
Immune mind-affecting effects
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +6 (1d8+6 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks web (+4 ranged, DC 19, 5 hp)
Current HP: 37-8=29
Init:
Delkaneth
Raina
Talon
spider
If it's still there when it's turn comes up, the spider will stick with it's current victim.
for plus DC 17 fort to avoid the poison.
Due to the type and size of the giant spider, Raina keeps one eye on Del and the other on the spider. Raina is watching for signs of envenomation such as change of skin color, sweat, and perhaps nerve damage symptoms because of the type of spider it is. And of course, in addition, he has been injured.
As the groups initial barrage of attacks does little to deter the creature Delkaneth starts to get concerned. The target of their quest is still out of reach and this place's enlarged vermin were determined to keep it that way. Undeterred he presses the attack, trusting his luck to get him and his companions through this battle and closer to their goal.
Archaeologist's Luck - 4 of 6 remaining
Lvl 1 spells - 3 of 3 remaining
Talon yells as the fangs of the spider sink into an unarmored part of him, hissing between his teeth before striking it twice again. His second blow just barely connects, and he's lucky that he avoided the venom.
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +4 natural, –1 size)
hp 37 (5d8+15)
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +1
Immune mind-affecting effects
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +6 (1d8+6 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks web (+4 ranged, DC 19, 5 hp)
Current HP: 37-8=29-9=20-7=13-6=7
Next Round:
Delkaneth
Talon
Raina
spider
Not seeing Talon begin to sweat profusely and/or change color, Raina refocuses her full attention back to the Giant Black Widow spider and tactically slips into position while grabbing the hilt of her bastard sword with both hands. Once in position, she lifts the sword over her head and chops down on the spider like a pick but instead with a sword,
The sword comes down with extreme force and a resounding "SQUISH", hitting something very important in order for the spider to survive, then a loud thump follows. Satisfied with her hit, she looks up to see if any more giant Black Widows plan to descend and make a meal out of those she has been assigned to keep from permanent sleep.
And Raina's swing drops the creature.
Where to next? You have stairs to the north and sought (north goes up, south goes down).
If Raina can not see anything with darkvision because of too much artificial light, she casts a light spell with her special ability to expose anything that may be in the darkness. If nothing visible can be seen, Raina makes sure the giant spider is dead by stabbing in the brain housing group and the shakes spider blood off her blade towards the wall after pulling the blade out of the spider. Then she looks towards Talon and in a soothing caring voice, "Talon since you were bitten, do you need any medical assistance? If not, I am ready to go when you all are. However before we go, shall we check the spider's nest just in case any of her victims left something behind?"
One more dead spider - Talon was thankful enough for that at least. He rolled his shoulder, glancing at the elf. "I'm good for now. Check the nest if you want to do so, we're not in any hurry," He tells her, glancing around.
Talon spots the secret door across from them as well, looking to open it up. "Might as well keep going through this way until we reach a dead end."
Raina makes sure the nest is safe and hopefully anything she missed, Talon or Del would see it. Then takes a peak to see if any treasure or something helpful is in the nest. If not, she hops down and follows Talon and Del.
Delkaneth keeps watch over the newly arrived elf as she checks the nest, then moves up to Talon to examine the newly discovered door.
Raina looks around and then climbs down, "Well, there was a victim that was about 6 months dead and there is enough traffic through here because the body has already been looted. I am ready to move on now when you all are ready."
With nothing of interest in the web beyond the news that they are not the first group to enter these catacombs, Delkaneth examines the door Talon discovered to ensure it isn't trapped and determine how to open it.
The door opens easily, revealing a narrow passage, similar to the one you followed to get to this area.
Del, you hear sounds, voices and banging sounds, from down that passage.
Delkaneth raises his hand in a sharp stop motion to the others. He cocks his head to the side as he tries to zero in on the source of the sound.
Checking that his gear is secure so as not to make too much noise, he begins creeping along the right wall of the passage. He looks back over his shoulder to signal Shadow to take the left.......before remembering that she is probably back at the boat by now. I've always worked better alone anyway.
Turning back to the business at hand he begins to slowly move down tha hallway toward the source of the noise.
"All right, everyone stay low, quiet and out of sight - let's try and see them before they spot us," Talon tells them in a whisper, staying low and trying to keep his armor from making too much of a clatter.
Raina remains quiet vocally, however her armor has other things in mind and makes a chain shirt small metal link grinding sound. So not as loud as Plate Mail but not as quiet as it could or should have been.
As the small links grind, Raina has an apologetic look and stops moving altogether but hey she is out of sight.
You get to the end of the small passage and are confronted by the sight of six mites toiling away chiseling out a new chamber here, using what appear to be tiny hammers and dulled chisels.
Upon seeing you at the entry they shriek, spit and throw their little hammers at you. The small area provides no cover for stealthy folks as the small projectiles ricochet around the small chamber.
Init:
Delkaneth
Raina
Talon
mites
Del=1, Raina=2, Talon=3
mite 1 vs Talon for
mite 2 vs Raina for
mite 3 vs Raina for
mite 4 vs Del for
mite 5 vs Raina for
mite 6 vs Del for
"OUCH! HEY!!!" Raina covers her head with her arms hoping to shield the rest of the hammers from hitting her.
As hammers fly and bounce everywhere, Delkaneth's instincts take over and he lashes out with some missiles of his own. He hates to throw his best axe but since that is what is in his hand he lets it fly without hesitation. As the two weapons leave his hands, each heading for different targets, he knows they are not his bet throws. Now with no weapon in either hand the young treasure hunter has to trust in his luck and hope they were good enough.
Archaeologist's Luck - 3 of 6 remaining
Lvl 1 spells - 3 of 3 remaining
Raina holds her attack to see if they flee or become more dangerous since it will take too long to bring her bow out to safely use. She looks at Del and Talon realizing she was hit more times with the tiny hammers than they were.
Talon goes on the defensive, bunkering down in his armor as he approaches the mites, hoping they'll focus on him instead of his allies.
Round 1:
Del
Raina
mites
Talon
The mites, having thrown away one of their weapons, continue to shriek and as they do, their cries change, triggering one of their innate abilities.
Mites 1 & 2 will try to affect Talon with Doom, 3 & 4 will target Del, and 5 & 6 Raina.
DC 10 (will) to save or be shaken for 1 min.
If they succeed (or even if they don't) they will attempt to rush past to escape down the tunnel.
The combination of being pelted with stones and being inundated by a pack of shrieking mites has unsettled Raina a little but she keeps pushing through it but does not attack this round. So far, they haven't done anything to warrant a major assault and perhaps waste resources for something larger and more deadly. She continues to watch everyone, including herself, for injuries sustained, "Talon do you want me to attack even though they have not cause great bodily injury? They are just being a nuisance because we probably surprised these little folk."
Talon shakes off both attempts against him by the mites to throw him under their magical spell, but doesn't try to kill them just yet - far as he could see, they weren't that harmful to them. Unlike the goblins, they weren't trying to kill them but just drive them away it seemed. He could respect that, and perhaps try to talk to them.
"No, let's not hurt them unless they're really trying to kill us," He tells her. "Follow them - they'll probably lead us right back to their leader."
Raina nods, "Del can you please take lead in pursuit of the mites, my trap detection skills are non-existent and I may lead us into a trap?"