Let's take a closer look--we've come this far, James says, moving alongside Bek.
"Sure, who can argue with that logic." Quillin's voice drips with sarcasm, but he follows in the rear.
The group decides to stay as one and move into the guano laden cave. As Tipene moves from the tunnel into the cavern proper though, the light from his glow-stick is fully unveiled and spills upwards into the carpet of bats. A commotion begins to form and quickly turns into a growing chorus of squeaks, flutters... and falling sh1t. The noise makes it difficult to hear each other without a raised voice, and the addition of fresh guano doesn't exactly enhance or reduce the stench already filling your nostrils... but if the bats take off from their perches... then it'll get mighty uncomfortable in here.
Fording to the center of the cavern takes almost no time... though it's similarly impossible to avoid trailing guano up to your knees... or in Quillin's unfortunate case to the mid thighs. You can easily pick out the workings now and a glint and glimmer betrays that there might be a few more of the jewels lying about in the rock. It isn't a major shaft or tunnel - more a chip away at some partially exposed geodes.
"Aw, bat s#it! Bad idea all around. Back toward the entrance. Something is coming in after us and I'd rather not face it up to my elbows in guano."
Iscarel picks up a black, crumbling stone, giving it a curious look before glancing back to Quillin. "What? How in the hells do you know...?" He says, but does not argue, trudging back the way they came.
Tipene lowers his glowing weapon and tries to shade it with a corner of his overtunic, looking around at the chittering swarms of bats filling the cavern.
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...glancing back to Quillin. "What? How in the hells do you know...?" He says, but does not argue, trudging back the way they came.
Quillin's response drips irritability and sarcasm. "A little bird told me. Let's go, Tippene. You're just stirring the bats up."
"Little bird is enough for me." Bek also backs away through the filth.
Rackham frowns, dissatisfied, but nods at Quillin's information.
Useful pet you have there. Almost enough to justify tolerating its squawking.
James chuckles, tiptoing through the bat waste to get back to the entrance.
Tipene's shading of his glowstick has the desired effect of reducing the clamour of the bats... though as the quiescence grows upon the roof... you become very aware that the tunnel back to the surface is occupied... judging by the guttural growl that echoes through and down to you.
So there you are... knee deep in guano and faced with an as yet unseen beast that's descending down to meet you...
The chamber that you're in is roughly 40ft x 50ft - and the tunnel from the surface opens into the midpoint on one of the narrower ends. The workings are in a far opposite corner to the tunnel entrance. Guano coats all of the cavern floor - but is lighter in depth in a path betwixt the tunnel and the jewels, and in an short arc adjacent to where the tunnel joins the cavern.
The walls of the chamber aren't sheer, and the roundness of them could offer a means of getting up and out of the sh1te by wedging into a nook or cranny, but this would also potentially limit your mobility.
"Sounds like its spoiling for a fight." A low hiss escapes from Bek's mouth as he bends over, shaking for a moment. When he straightens again his face his shifted into a slightly triangular shape and sharp teeth glisten in his mouth. With an icy rasp, he asks "Shall we ambush it?"
"Ankle deep in shit on some forgotten piece of rock is not how id choose to go. I'm for an ambush."
The much less quiet Bek will go try to hide on the other side.
And squishes loudly through the excrement while trying to do so.
Still fuming at the foolishness that got them into this pile of sh!t, Quillin looks for a nook to hide in slightly above the action.
James sloshes through the muck to get to the area of the tunnel where it is more shallow, before the beast arrives.
Heavy footfalls come down the tunnel towards the guano filled chamber and you grow tense as the creature eases into view. As expected it looks bear-ish... with a certain emphasis on the ish. Limbs are more lithe than a bear's would be and it's fur is slightly sparser and mangey. It stands a man and a half tall, and two men wide though - cutting an impressive sight in the dimmed dark. It's head is elongated with a longer jaw and more fox-like ears, though even in this very dim light you spy that it has suffered significant burns to it's face. The fur on it's head and left shoulder is seared away, and it has it's head turned to the side slightly as it moves... as though it were relying more on it's ears than it's eyes.
It pauses at the entrance to the tunnel and sniffs, lowering itself into a defensive posture as it's ears stand erect to scan the cavern...
Judging by the look of the beast... Quillin suspects that it's likely a beast of the natural world rather than something tainted by the arcane or planar influence. Luckily he wasn't that drunk a few years before in Port Peril when a sailor two tables over was loudly waxing lyrical about a creature his crew had encountered. He called it a jungle bear... but you're reasonably sure it's likely known by a more accurate nom de plume... but importantly he boasted of how it came upon them in the deep dark of night swinging through the trees like a monkey before tearing a couple of his crew in half before being beaten away with bow and blade.
The Tulita prepares to attack the creature from a flank with one of the others.
Quillin raises a long tapered eyebrow at the sight of the creature as he sits in the near dark waiting for the action. And I thought that ridiculous bear story was just a sailor's yarn.
Waiting for Rackham to signal his readiness, Iscarel fires his readied spell from the shadows, hoping to finish the job the fires started.
As soon as the fight erupts, Bek begins his song. A disturbing chant that seems to twist its tendrils into your mind and soul, but also fills you with unnatural strength.
Iscarel's summoned globule of acid marks the commencement of festivities as it flies through the gloom... searing into the bear-thing's flesh. It roars a guttural and primal scream of pain that sets the bats careening from their posts atop the chamber. As the cavern fills with flapping wings and screeches... the bear stalks ponderously forward into the guano. There is a hesitation to it's gait though... as it seems to not quite know where it is looking. Nevertheless it draws near to Iscarel... as Bek's ominous spoken words twist and wend through the darkness.
Quillin crouches in his nook beneath the swirling bats and begins a conjuration.
James moves up to engage the beast, slashing at it's scarred face.
"We're going to nail that hide of yours to the mast, ugly." bites the elf, moving to back Rackham up.
Tipene opens himself to the power of Ocean inside of him. The air around him fills with the smell of salt spray in the wind. Roaring a Tulita war cry, he moves to engage and swings at the creature with his tewhatewa.
The crew sledges through the thigh high sh1te to support Iscarel as he engages the jungle-bear. The elfling's wit is lost upon the scarred hided beast, as his diving rapier just manages to force it's way betwixt knotted muscle and draw blood. This wound is soon matched by a second, when Tipene drives his tewhatewa with bonecrunching force into it's lower ribcage. It rears and turns enough to spoil Rackham's assault... and seems to pay Quillin's strange words little mind.
Primal in it's response it's milky eyes focus in on Tipene as the source of the worst of it's hurt. Long arms grasp and it's elongated jaw snaps at the bloodrager...
Claw:
Claw: for
Miss Chance:
Bite:
...and though the tulita avoids it's maw and left arm, the creature's right paw carves a bloody path down his thigh.
Iscarel delivers another sting with his blade before leaping out of the reach of the creatures claws.
Quillin opens a tiny little bag to complete his spell and a large ugly rat appears opposite where Iscarel stood. The rodent of unusual size has coal black hair and frightfully glowing red eyes and stinks of brimstone. Nasty yellow teeth nip at the big bear's feet!
The conjurer hocks up a foul loogey into his hand and with a flick of the wrist and arcane word sends a glowing green spit ball into the scrum.
James presses the attack, frustrated at his inept strikes and the creature's ferocity.
Ignoring the pain, Tipene swings again, but goes wide of the mark as he slips in the muck of the cavern.
Bek continues his eerie song and then forges his way through the nasty muck to try to land a blow of his own.
The repeated blows of acidic missiles, Iscarel's blade and Rackham's own sword begin to weigh upon the bear as it's movements slow even further. However it's wrath is not yet entirely spent and though Iscarel manages to squelchily remove himself from danger... the others nearby aren't as lucky...
Claw at Tipene:
Claw at Tipene: for
Bite at Rackham:
...a second raking blow landing upon the Tulitan.
Quillin watches eagerly to see what his minion does. The guano covered rodent does its nasty best, but is no match for a bear though at least it provides a bit of a distraction.
Tipene ignores the filthy claw mark across his body and strikes again, his carved staff hammering into the bear.
Seeing the guano flying around and the bear on its last legs, Bek decides to forgo a bite and tries to cut into it again with his cutlass while continuing his song.
Rackham drives the point of his blade at the beast's scarred face, trying to put the pitiable creature down for good.
Darting back into the fray, Iscarel delivers another sting.