Sarine moves around the right side of the cavern, attempting to reach the chokers that are throttling Aurelian.
"Where do these things come from?" Sarine says as she readies her sword to strike.
Aurelian and Ashlyn are unable to hit the, surprisingly nimble, creatures - at least not without putting Aurelians 'pride' at risk. Elizar, ignoring the feeble swing of the alert choker baby, has no such compunctions and slams hard into one of the creatures - sending it reeling.
With Elizar creating an opening Sarine moves in and swings a deadly overhand blow which slices a choker child neatly in half and relieves some, but not all, of the pressure on Aurelian. Unfortunately, the sight of a woman wielding her weapon with such skill is most impressive, and the swordsman finds that he is now responsible for much of the grip the choker maintains!
The eaternmost choker shakes off the despair Elizar causes and attacks to no avail!
The choker grappling Aurelian (red) attempts to twist his grip! Forcing the swordsman into a very uncomfortable position.
The final choker baby spins around and lashes out at Sarine, unsuccessfully.
From out of the tunnels behind two more chokers appear! These are larger and shriek in a strange language as they appear.
"You like these things almost as much as I do." Sarine comments to her sword briefly as she sees it flare with light again. She stands beside Aurelian and attacks the choker holding him. "Get it together Aurelian!"
Elizar slams into the choker in front of him, howling with rage!
Ashlyn draws her dagger and attacks the choker in front of her, hoping to have better success with a blade over her fist.
But, distracted by the worried wails of the approaching chokers, she completely misses!
Elizar slams the baby choker in front of him into paste on the floor as Sarine's greatsword whistles around and leaves a razor thin cut on Aurelian's thigh as the creature grabbing him in split into two neatly equal parts.
HP 13/21; Hero Points 0/2
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 11; CMD 12 (14 vs. disarm)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will -1 (0/1 set mind; 0/3 charmed life)
Panache: 2/3 (1/1 deed reroll);
Effects:
"Ah, yes, thank you, Sarine! You are as deadly as you are lovely!" Aurelian responds, kipping up to his feet in a sinuous motion and slashes at the choker in front of him.
"Damn fine work, Sarine!" Jenner calls out as he backs away now that there's an cleared path on the other side. It requires him to pass uncomfortably close to Elizar, but so be it.
Aurelian, freed from the choker's 'loving' embrace, rights himself and prepares for an attack from the remaining baby choker - which does not disappoint him!
Thankfully this choker only manages a glancing blow, and does not secure a handhold...
The adult chokers advance, both going for Sarine, who has so mercilessly destroyed two of their children!
Sarine takes a barrage of blows to the face and torso, but the adult's anger seems to inhibit them from latching on and squeezing as their children did.
HP 10/21; Hero Points 0/2
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 11; CMD 12 (14 vs. disarm)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will -1 (0/1 set mind; 0/3 charmed life)
Panache: 1/3 (1/1 deed reroll);
Effects:
Aurelian slashes his attacker, hoping to put an end to this thing quickly, before his tender bits suffer any more assaults.
Elizar hurries forward, slamming into the red choker with an angry howl!
But the choker hears him coming and has more than enough time to dodge Elizar's clumsy attack!
Ashlyn hurries after Elizar and stabs at the red choker with her dagger.
"I dunno what these uglies were yowling about, anyone else?" Jenner asks the group at large as he hurries into position and then swings.
"Sorry," Ashlyn replies over Elizar's howls. "I can't name all the weird languages I've learned from Elizar, but I do know that wasn't one of them."
"I don't know what they said, but I know how we make them stop!" Sarine says as she steps up to attack.
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The glowing greatsword flashes, lighting the entire cavern for a second as it whistles through the air and cleaves the adult choker from top to bottom!
The flash distracts the other choker and, as Aurelian and Jenner strike, it turns to flee - but the dwarf and human strike it down mercilessly from behind!
Combat over!
Moving carefully through the rest of the cave the group finds the chokers lair. Tossed haphazardly inside are a bunch of sacks and bags which contain a steel flask full of whisky, engraved with an elaborate R; a silver mirror with a rose motif (150gp), two vials of defoliant, four star candle fireworks, a thunderstone, a meridian belt and a somewhat stained shield cloak.
In another, smaller cave, you find veins of crystals which seem to have been carefully revealed by the quarrying efforts of small hands. Jenner can see that the veins hold quite a bit of potential for future mining. A number of precious and semi-precious stones are scattered around and the party collects them with a little careful effort.
Finally you find a tunnel which gradually slopes upwards, the air warms and you all emerge on the hill overlooking Talmandor's Bounty.
As you return to town Ramona and a number of other townfolk come to meet you, including both Daib and Geoff. "Are you all right?" Ramona asks, "We found Geoff shortly after you left, he went to hide in the smithy. What did you find?"
Despite the riches they discovered, Aurelian is somber as the group returns to the surface.
"They must have eaten Geoff entirely," he mourns. "For some reason they didn't even leave his bones. Aurelian Fache was too slow..."
He wipes away a tear as it trickles down his cheek.
He appears stunned when they are met by the deceased man.
"But, Aurelian Fache thought you were dead! This is wonderful that you are alive, but you should not hide and leave us to head into danger to save you when you do not need it!" he remonstrates the undead not dead colonist.
Ashlyn searches through the loot sadly, hoping to at least find a finger or scrap of Geoff's clothes that she can return to Daib. Unfortunately, she finds nothing.
"Daib will be so sad..."
Suddenly her frown deepens, and she looks at Elizar, who's giving her an 'I-told-you-so' sort of look.
She shakes her head at him. "I know."
On the walk back, Ashlyn's quiet and somber.
---
"Geoff! You're alive!" she exclaims when she sees him. "Oh, thank goodness!"
She rushes over and gives both Daib and Geoff a hug of relief.
Elizar howls angrily and hurls himself between Ashlyn and the others, then guides her away.
Ashlyn gives Elizar a big, goopy hug, and then waves hello to Ramona. She stands on her tip-toes and peers over Elizar's shoulder, "We're fine, Ramona! It was Geoff we were worried about! We thought he got eaten!"
She laughs in relief.
Sarine greets Ramona while the others congratulate Geoff on not being dead. "We found a tunnel complex that had an opening in the well. There were some more creatures down there similar to a few we cleared Talmandor's Bounty of when we arrived. Now that we know that there was a nest of them, it was only a matter of time before the colony began to suffer attacks. Fortunately, it looks like we were able to clear them out. We had a scare with Geoff, but took care of a problem that would only have gotten worse with time. Desna must smile on us today...or should it be Erastil?" Sarine trails off, not really certain how to handle the local pantheon in this case.
"Until we occupy the area more fully, those tunnels will probably continue to attract monsters of some sort or another. It shouldn't be too much of a threat as long as we patrol the area occaisionally, though, and we might want to consider closing off at least one of the entrances. We won't want to shut it off completely though," Sarine says with a grin. "Jenner will be able to fill you in on the details better than I can, but we were lucky in another way. We're sitting on top of some minerals that seem to be valuable. With a bit of luck, we might be able to start turning a profit on our colony sooner than we expected."
Jenner eagerly nods along with Sarine and her excellent recap. "Aye, there's an excellent quartz vein down in that cave that I wager my beard will turn good profit once we have the tools to get it going right. Now, I say we raise our mugs to Geoff turning out quite alright after all-- and pour one out for those pour souls who didn't make it. I brought back what remains we could find-- at this rate, we'll need to start a graveyard, eh. A somber duty, but I'll see to it if you please."
@Sarine: items are all fairly recent, from the first wave. As to colonists - there is no third wave planned, not for a year or two at least. The Peregrine will be making regular trips back and forth but the original plan was that the first two waves would have a year or two to establish themselves before any more people turned up. How your news effects things in Almas... you dont know!
Aurelian nods.
"Yes, this calls for a celebration. We have found an important resource for Talmandor's Bounty and Geoff is back, alive. All in all, this is an excellent day's work!" he declares.
Ramona smiles at the summary provided. "Indeed, this is excellent work. Now originally I had something else I was going to ask you all to deal with, but it appears fate got in the way first. Don't worry about it - it can keep until tomorrow." She turns to the crowd and waves them away. "Come on everyone, just our heroes back from a mornings work - just like you should all be doing!"
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"Aurelian Fache can defeat fate too, if he must," Aurelian Fache declares boldly. "Tell us what it is you wish, and we will decide if it can keep or not."
"Let me see the state of you, Sarine, you took some devils of a few hits, there."
Jenner frowns as his touch to Sarine's shoulder barely knits any of the wounds she took in the fight. "Er.... hang on a second," he says with an embarrassed throat clearing. "Evie, you know something of the healing arts too, don't you?"
Father Eamon bustles over, his blonde hair and easy smile a welcome sight. "Oh dear - you all seem to get in a lot of trouble don't you?" With a prayer he channels Erastil's blessing and soothes the parties wounds.
"There isn't much more I can do for you today." He apologises. "Father Grouch will help if necessary but he'll probably want a tithe or some such." He shakes his head with a smile.
Once healing is done, and new clothes found for those whose wardrobes suffered malfeasance, Ramona directs you all to Anya Sandstrider. "She's leading a group of younger hunters out today and wanted some back-up." Ramona explains, "Although perhaps don't put it that way to her?"
Anya welcomes you, Ramona outlined the situation correctly it seems. "I must guide wet-behind-the-ears lowlanders. We will not catch much, all creatures hear lowlanders long way away. But I found watering place - many pigs go there. You should too, find colony food - then lowlanders not a problem and can get better."
Finding the watering hole is not difficult, Anya's instructions are comprehensive. The stream is fast flowing and cool, with easily sloping banks on both sides which show the tracks of boar. There are trees all around and plenty of cover if it is desired.
Sarine looks much recovered after the healing from Father Eamon. "Not at all. That is very helpful. I feel almost all better. Thank you for granting us Erastil's blessing."
"Of course we'll help, Ramona," Ashlyn says from over Elizar's shoulder.
---
On the trip, Ashlyn reminds Elizar that he'll have to be quiet every few minutes, but he ignores her, wailing sadly and sobbing the entire trip.
As they reach the watering hole, Ashlyn looks around for any signs of which side of the bank they should set up their ambush, or how many boar there might be.
---
As the ambush is planned--and Elizar still wails non-stop, Ashlyn sighs.
"I'm sorry, pal, but we really need quiet here."
She gives him a big hug, and with a wet, slurping sound, Elizar's body is drawn into Ashlyn's. He disappears inside of her, leaving behind a slimy film on Ashlyn's face and clothes.
Ashlyn seems sad as she wipes away the slime, but then she returns to deciding upon a plan with the others.
Ashlyn climbs up into a nice full-looking tree and hides in the boughs.
---
While she sits in the tree, Ashlyn makes strange facial expressions, as if she's having a conversation in her head with someone very upset.
Occasionally she whispers, "I'm sorry," and "It'll be alright,"
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"Yes, this is very helpful," Aurelian says. "Aurelian Fache feels as if he is ready to fight more chokers."
He agrees to join the others, happily.
"Aurelian Fache knows a good trap. He will stand near the water, and when the pigs come to drink, he will kill them!"
He watches as Sarine expertly creates a snare, as if she were born to it, though he's not able to add much in terms of tracking or trapping the creatures. He will finally accede to climbing a tree to hide, planning to stay low to the ground so he can drop down when needed.
He pats his two dagger, making sure they're firmly set in his boots so he can start with ranged attacks if need be.
Jenner stares in a kind of low-key squicked-out 'errrr' mode as Ashlyn once again absorbs her creepy ghost. It will never not be icky to him. He shakes himself, and tries to turn to the task at hand.
"Well, well, let's see what I have to help this endeavor..."
The dwarf slings off his pack and starts dumping various things out. And more things. And more things. "Rope with a grapple, aye, could rig a tripwire and hide it in the tall grass, now, my hammock, that could be a net in a pinch, couldn't it, I've got my full mess kit, could clang the pans around for noise..."
Jenner spends some time studying the sloping banks and tugging his beard.
Unskilled in the ways of hunting, Jenner gives up on trying to glean something from the prints. Instead, he lowers his rope in among the brush, with one end up in the tree so he can tug it taut and pull it up. "Here now: how about this? When the boars come over this slump of dirt and start downhill to the bank, we tug this up-- maybe it trips them, with their downhill speed against 'em. Then Ashlyn-- do you want to try and toss my hammock here down atop one, like a net? We might be able to drive 'em into the stream, too, animals can't fight as well in water if they're not born to it."
Jenner packs all his gear back up except for the bits he is leaving out to use, and tries to rig his rope.
Reasonably satisfied with that, he edges up into a tree carefully, trying to position himself in the thickest of the greenery since he's not a quiet dwarf. Not remotely.
Guys, there's a heavy dwarf in scale mail that's bowing over one of the trees a little. He is very, very visible.
Jenner huffs as he settles into position. "So, can anyone see me?" he asks innocently.
"Yes. You are shining like a torch in the darkness full of chokers," Aurelian points out. "But maybe the boars, they will not think to look up?"
"....well..... well, I suppose someone needs to be the bait," Jenner offers sheepishly.
Ashlyn takes the hammock. "I sure can try, Jenner!" she replies pleasantly.
Looking at Jenner's obvious hiding spot, Ashlyn puts her hand on her chin and thinks. "Hmmm... Perhaps if you arranges those few branches there to provide you some cover. That one over... yeah, and that one by your foot. No... Further... Further.... Do dwarves not bend that way? Oh, sorry... Well, bend that one then? Yes, the leaves might help... hide you." Ashlyn smiles helpfully.
The party crafts a variety of snares and hide themselves, with varying degrees of success...
Some time later a pair of boar appear and head for the river. As they are on the far side they do not immediately notice Jenner even though his disguise lacks a certain something.
As they approach the water to drink, Sarine's brilliantly executed snare catches the lead boar by the hoof. The second one seems startled by the initial pigs grunt of dismay!
"Ha! You are not very smart, pig! You have been outsmarted by Aurelian Fache's friends!" the swordsman exults as he flings a dagger toward the entangled pig, slashing its shoulder.
Unable to reach the boar with the 'net' as she was instructed, Ashlyn focuses on a nearby stone and sends it hurling at the 'free' boar with her mind.
"I got him!" Sarine cries excitedly, somewhat surprised by the effectiveness of her snare. She hurls her javelin in the direction of the boar.
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As his sling was already loaded for this 'attack ranged from stealth' (ha, stealth...) Jenner just chucks a rock forward at the entangled boar....
Surprising even him, the slingstone flies true.