"Well done Nicias, very glad we have you along!" Him says, slapping the alchemist on the back, very lightly, before taking the lead again and resuming their treck.
Frowning at her obvious ineptitude, Merelda looks to Nicias and Kirzon seriously.
"Excellent throw Nicias. We all owe you on that one. Forgive me if I ever called you a 'boy'. Kirzon? Are you and Boros OK? Those spider bites look awful."
Merelda: re-reoll your next d20 take the most favorable result during ROUND 2
Taking better of two results on Heal check for Kirzon.
The bites while numerous and poisonous do not appear to have left any ill effects on either Kirzon or Boros.
Worried the group is wearing itself thin, Merelda suggests the near impossible under the circumstances.
"Let us push on to the junction on the map and/or try to find a defensible position to rest I think. Do we agree?"
"I believe that is most wise Sister, we seem to be approaching our limit, some time to replenish might do us all some good." Innis agrees while taking a moment to massage the side of her head with her left hand.
Him gives Merelda and Innis an astonished look, "A great friend of mines daughter lies dying of a disease we ourselves are infected with, we do not know how much time she, or indeed we have left. I do not agree."
"Kirzon, what do you think? Will she die tonight if we rest for a few hours? Lililinda? What is your vote?"
Him frowns, "Well if you are sure Kirzon, it is true rushing ahead while feeling like the right thing to do in the heart may not be if we are certain we have the time to rest. But as you say we would need to find a place more suited, I am not a fussy man, but I cannot sleep besides effluent."
Lililinda looks up, startled a bit. "Oh, um, yes, we can rest, I suppose. I could press on, I still have magic to spend, but I just don't know any spells that work on mindless creatures." She looks back at the ground, her voice growing quieter. "I just feel a bit useless right now. You're all hurt and I couldn't do anything."
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"Well, I am down to my last 'special', but I still have a few other bottles I could throw, such as fire, acid or burst jars. I say, let's continue. If I run out, I can use my bow, or help some other way."
"On the other hand, if we stop for just 15 minutes, I can develop an extract and with ten minutes I can use my hybridization funnel to mix a couple of alchemical weapons for a more potent effect. But my Mutagen would wear off, so I would lose that until I can create another, which would take a much longer rest."
Looking cross, Merelda will take the offered vial from Kirzon, and will point down the tunnel.
"I didn't say stop here to rest. I said we move forward and look for a better place to rest as soon as reasonably possible.
It resembles something like what intelligent people call 'common sense', which I should have realized is often lacking in humans."
Flipping her sweat-soaked ponytail back over her shoulder, she coughs again and starts walking.
Not an alchemist by trade most of what Nicias says blows right past Innis. "...perhaps it might be best to arm Lady Lili with your liquid fire as she's lacking a proper role in all this. I feel we might benefit if she were at least armed in case of emergencies.
"Ah, well, heroics and stupidity are twins, and it is often difficult to tell one from the other, I strive for the former, but spend far more time with the later. But Kirzon's words have tempered my urgency - though not quenched it. And do not fear Lililinda we are assured that the main foes we face are vulnerable to your magics, this plot is not lead by any mindless thing," Him says, glancing back to flash a grin over his shoulder.
Lililinda seems happier at Him's words. "That's true."
To Innis, she says "Oh, I'm terrible at throwing things, always have been. I might be a liability if you give me one of those!"
Lililinda seems happier at Him's words. "That's true."To Innis, she says "Oh, I'm terrible at throwing things, always have been. I might be a liability if you give me one of those!"
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"Well, milady, something is better than nothing and you may be glad you have one of these concoctions in a pinch. If nothing else, as Merry said, you can throw them to the floor - but trying to hit is your best option."
Opening up two of the vials that festoon his bandolier, Nicias pulls out a couple of bottles of alchemist's fire and offers them to Lilli.
You have travel for another 20 minutes when you finally come to the junction point that Kirzon had mentioned. The chamber appears to be a large cistern meant for catching and redirecting the sewer water. The reek of sewers is immediately dwarfed by the dreadful stench of rotting carrion. The odor in question seems to emanate from a huge mound of decomposing, grey-green flesh blocking the your entrance into the chamber. A 5-foot long, half-eaten tentacle protrudes from the appalling carcass. As you draw closer you watch as a couple of sewer rats scamper off of the mound of flesh and run off into the chamber squealing at your light.
Looking disgusted, Merelda exclaims passionately while trying to hold her nose shut.
"Well...that's just disturbing."
Mereleda approaches the thing carefully. Her Rapier and whip in hand for now.
"What is that dead thing? Is that a tentacle? What could have killed it?"
The pile is motionless as far as you can tell. You would have to move this mound of flesh into the water or climb over it to get around it.
Merelda you see that there are tiny scratches and holes all over this body of this creature. The holes are not that large but they were probably made by something fairly sharp.
Kirzon you recognize the creature to be an otyugh. They are particularly vile and horrid creatures that lurk in places most sane creatures avoid.
They are disease carriers and often lair in middens, cesspools, offal pits, toxic swamps, and sewers—the greater a lair's filth, the greater the draw to the refuse-eating otyugh.
"Oh, all right." Lililinda takes the offered bottles. "Don't be surprised if I burn myself up." she adds glumly.
"Ew"
"Whatever killed this - Otyugh you say Kirzon? - has really sharp claws or teeth. Like big needles. Heh. I almost wish I
could animate the dead. This creature would be a great asset down in this cesspool, despite the smell."
Looking over the mass, Merelda shakes her head and looks around at her companions, desperately trying not to show her tiredness.
"I don't know if we can moved that thing. It's huge, and there is no telling what might be lurking in that mass of dead flesh
if we chopped into it. Burning might work, but it would take some time since it is so wet and probably would just choke us with
horrid fumes down here. Any ideas?"
"I could leap over it and see if anything stirs," Him replies with little enthusiasm.
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"I think we should avoid touching it, just in case. Burning is an option, we could douse it in oil and set alight to it, but I can't help feeling that it would announce our presence to every creature within half a mile, so let's leave that to a final resort. Let's pick up the planks from the last bridge we crossed and use them to lever it into the cesspool."
Tugging on her ponytail, Merelda muses and brainstorms out loud to no one in particular.
"The planks are a good idea, but they are pretty far away. Also, there is no telling what else is back there that we managed to
bypass on accident, just waiting for something like us to come along and feed on. Acid? Do You have or could you make some acid
Nicias? We could dissolve some of the creature in the right places and maybe slip past its bulk if we can shift it or open room
past it. Or pull the creature back by attaching a rope to that tentacle? Do it as a group? Can we summon a bunch of sewer rats
somehow so they can eat that thing away in a short time...?"
Merelda snorts and stomps her foot in frustration.
"I refuse to let a giant rotting corpse keep me from my revenge!"
Merelda snaps her fingers suddenly.
"Rotting! That may be it!"
Looking around with a smirk on her lips...
"Bear with me, but I have an idea that 'might' work, especially in this place. But it won't be petty or easy, even if it does work."
Seeing no dissent from her compatriots Merelda continues pointing at Innis and Lililinda.
"You two can cast the prestidigitation cantrip, can you not? A simple spell, that when used properly can do things like cleaning and simple changes that can last up to an hour? Ok, this may push the limits on the spell. We'll need Nicias and Kirzon's help too. Him your job is to guard us while we work on this thing. So stay awake and keep your eyes open for anything that might be dangerous. Got it?"
An obvious but mild excitement spurs Merelda on.
"OK, Kirzon, as a Druid you know what makes things grow...and rot. Search the sewer for the most vile and rotting materials nearby that you can find....stuff that you know might cause flesh decay to accelerate more than normal. Nicias, your job is the most important. I need you to make a catalyst. Something that when applied to the rotting material Kirzon finds that it accelerates the processes involved at least...ten-fold? A hundred-fold would be better, but these are extreme circumstances, and I only expect miracles. No need to re-invent Green Slime, OK?"
Smiling broadly, feeling her second wind coming on, Merelda gushes out the last part.
"Once Nicias has the catalyst ready we combine it with the rotting materials from Kirzon and apply it to the dead creature...getting it inside the bulk would be best if we can I think. Then you two cast prestidigitation as often as possible to accelerate the catalyst, or at least maintain optimal moisture and temperature to cause degeneration of the carcasses' tissues. Once the beast's body starts to bloat and swell, a process that has already started anyway, we just stand way back and I launch a crossbow bolt or two at it to cause it to burst."
Merelda spreads her hands as if an obvious objective unfolds.
"The meaty remains of the creature will spill out as mostly liquids instead of solids...and just go down the drain. The remaining bulk should be easy enough for us to shift past. A few prestidigitation spells of cleaning later and we'll be moving on."
Sighing as if she suddenly realizes the idea seems a little kooky, Merelda waves at the others.
"Well? What do you think? Am I mad? It may take us a couple of hours, but it is better than waiting days for the carcass to rot itself away."
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"I think I should just leap over it and see if it stirs," Him says, "we could be worrying over nothing - though I doubt it."
There is nothing to connect a rope to. If you had a piton you could hammer it into the wall to create a secure point to attach the rope to.
"Sure any boosts would be appreciated just in case," Him says looking to Kirzon and Innis, once they provide any aide he takes a run up and attempts to leap over the disgusting pile.
Him clears the otyugh's corpse and lands on the other side without disturbing the body. Landing on the other side Him's light is able to illuminate more of the chamber.
From what he can see the walkway opens up into 15 foot wide floor that extends further south. Much like the rest of these sewers you see there are some puddles on the ground but other than that the room is empty.
"Opens up a bit through here, but I cannot see anything obvious to tie a rope to. Perhaps we simply all need to jump, with as much magical assistance as possible, and then deal with any problems as they arise?"
"My way would have been a lot more fun."
Merelda you almost clear the corpse but your foot clips the creature's head causing you to land on the creature. Now standing atop the creature you immediately get the sensation that you are sinking into it and as you look down to see your boots partially disappear into the folds of skin. Your panic quickly subsides as you realize you are not sinking anymore but you do find walking over the creature proves difficult.
Lililinda looks in horror at the mound of rot. It's almost taller than she is!
"Umm, maybe if someone... tossed me?"