Karina looks around as the party remains silent. "Okie doke. I guess that means no takers."
"Alrighty Vlad, why don't you hand me a match? I'll light the tree on the outside. I'll wait for you to get the bundle on the inside first of course."
"Nope we are going to start burning this before I go in. We are going to burn it all." Vlad tosses the matchbox to Karina. Vlad takes the rifle he got from the hunters and uses the metal barrel to roll Pete's burning body a few feet from the opening, laying him against the tree to begin the process of burning it down. "After we have enough mites we need to shove Pete's body in the opening fast, but while I am down there make sure to make a bedroll with gunpowder in it because Pete's body might be burning down by the time I get back, we have to make sure that he is blazing for this to work."
"Oh does anyone have a healing item?"
"You'll need some help to get the fire burning everywhere. The matches won't be enough." Vlad says as he looks around. "I know! Just wrap the gunpowder from cartridges in cloth and then just place them around tree." Vlad takes all the cartridges out of his pockets and puts them on the ground along with the shotgun. "How about you guys keep track of that for me while I am down there. When I get back I can take them all back."
"Alright, wish me luck then!" Vlad starts to run to the hole then he stops for a second. "On second thought..." Vlad walks over to Karina "Sorry Karina but I am about to enter a tree full of things that want to kill me to burn down a tree I am within while it burns from the outside. If I die I am gong to die without regrets." With that Vlad kisses Karina on the lips, "You truly are a superbly beautiful woman."
"Now I can die a happy man!" Vlad says cheerily as he runs to the hole. He casts dancing lights down it to see, puts his bundle in one hand, holds his rapier in the other, "Geronimo!" And Vlad descends into the hole.
Karina nods at Vlad as he explains the plan, but looks around for others to take a more active role in preparing the gunpowder bundles. As the others work to prepare them, she sits back, a couple of matches in hand, looking anxious.
When Vlad kisses Karina, she is focused on the preparations, and it catches her a bit off guard. During the brief moment, she seems uneasy and does not kiss him back. As Vlad rushes into the hole, she stands in place, giving off some nervous laughter and shaking her head at his dancing lights anctics. "Boy's sure got himself a deathwish, don't he?" She then looks at the rest of the party and sighs. "Well, time for us to hold up on our end of the bargain!" She exclaims as she strikes her first match and starts to light the cloth around the tree.
After about three and a half minutes, Vlad comes barreling up through the hole. He is bleeding from several fresh cuts and has a couple of darts sticking out of him. All in all, it looks like he is on his last legs. "Shove the body down the hole, shove it now!" He shouts, scrambling up and out of the hole.
Vlad struck at one of the dagger-wielding mites but hit only air. One mite nicked Vlad's arm with his dagger. The caltrop mite tossed a caltrop at Vlad but missed entirely, as did the other dagger wielder. Vlad stabbed at the mite who had struck him, but missed once more. Then began the suckage. The second dagger-wielding mite decapitated the first, only to be stabbed through the neck by a caltrop flung by the third mite . Vlad set the remaining mite's loincloth on fire , the mite fumbles again and strikes out his own eye with a caltrop, Vlad silences him with forced quiet, and the mite seppukus with another caltrop .
The seriously amused Vlad ventured deeper into the tunnels, emerging into a branching chamber. Choosing one fork, he stumbled down into a torture cellar, in which five mites were busily mutilating the corpses of some deceased kobolds. Vlad charged them, missing yet again. Two armed with daggers engaged and attacked the paladin, injuring him. The other three attempted to flee deeper into the warren, but Vlad conjured an image of another cave-in . Vlad attempted to stick one of the melee mites with his rapier, but missed again. Both dagger wielders missed Vlad, and the other three mites grabbed darts from near where the kobolds lay. Vlad backed off and lit a moldy stool aflame (as well as the table it stood beneath). One of the dart throwers struck Vlad with a glancing blow, while another struck one of the dagger wielders with whom he was fighting. The injured mite ran and tackled the offending thrower, grappling him. The other dagger wielder missed Vlad. Vlad then lit another table on fire. The grappling mites start to beat each other up, ignoring the interloper and the billowing smoke. The dagger wielder accidentally cut his own belt, entangling himself in his pants and tumbling into the first flaming table , but the two dart throwers struck Vlad with darts . Vlad lit the charge, dropped it, and ran. A dart whizzed past him , and he continued to run as an explosion bellowed in the room he had just left. As he ran, Vlad saw (amid the smoke and flames) the pursuing dart thrower running into the other chamber, his head alight. Vlad fled out through the tunnel to the surface, where he arrived injured, harrowed, and victorious.
As Vlad bursts out of the hole, Karina quickly glances over him and says in a half concerned, half matter-of-fact tone, "Eesh, you look like hell!" She adds, looking a bit confused, "Aren't we supposed to wait for some mites to come out before we shove down the body?"
She doesn't make any immediate moves towards Pete's body.
HP:1/21
Vlad moans on the ground, "Oh that hurt more than I hoped." Vlad struggles to pull the darts out of himself wincing as he does so. "Yep you are right, we need to wait for the buggers to come out beforehand. Just lost track of myself for a minute with the whole. Ow! Being nine-tenths dead." Vlad struggles further away from the hole. "I am going to be over here, when they come out, I don't really want any of them near me. One hit and I'm gone." Vlad struggles away from the hole observing the spreading fire on the tree itself.
Vlad puts away his rapier and takes out his bow. He begins to focus on small branches on the tree and casting spark on them. Anything that he thinks he can get to burn he starts to burn.
Karina says to the party, "Just stay in the back and try to keep safe, Vlad. Everyone else, let's get ready to fight. Grab some rope if you have it. I'm going to cast grease when those things start coming out. Hopefully that will block the entrance a bit so we can catch more of them."
She draws her whip and produces a length of rope from her pack, ready to fight.
Nitina reloads and rechecks her gun.
A few moments later, four mites charge up and out of the hole. Each holds a dart and a dagger.
Initiative Order:
Nitina (24)
DM (20)
Arastine (16+)
Klinn (16-)
Vlad (8)
Karina (4)
AoO at mite J8:
Attack:
Damage:
Vlad casts Daze on the mite on J9.
As the mites come boiling out of their hole, Nitina calmly sights along her carbine and takes a shot at the one in I7.
Attack vs touch
Damage
She then reloads and side-steps to M9, closing the circle around the mites.
Karina strikes one of the mites, cutting its arm.
The injured mite steps to J7 and stabs at Karina with its dagger, but the blow fails to connect. The mite in I8 chucks a dart at Karina, but misses.
The mite in J9 charges to L9 and stabs at Nitina with its dagger, but it misses as well.
The mite in I9 advances to K9 and tosses a dart at Vlad, and manages to connect . Vlad is now at 0 HP and disabled. He feels a momentary numbness spreading through his limbs, but manages to ignore it.
Two more mites emerge from the tunnel (in I9 and J9). They seem to be fleeing the tree in a panic, but quickly realize that violence is going on and draw daggers.
Revolver still drawn, Arastine imbues her weapon with magical energy (sacrifices a first-level spell to give the weapon a +1 enhancement bonus) and takes aim at the mites. She fires twice, but the second shot misfires.
HP:0/21
Vlad limps to M16, blood pouring off of him
"Now would be a great time to shove the body in!" He says as he moves away.
Karina yells out, "There's too many! Here, this should help!"
She steps back to J5 and casts grease on the 10 foot square from I8 to J9. The three mites standing there need to make DC 15 reflex saves or fall prone.
Klinn and Nysro (who still has mage armor, AC=20) step up and try to grab some mites.
If both I9 and J9 have fallen, Nysro steps to J10 and tries to grapple K9. If not, Nysro step to J10 and grapple wichever mite is standing. Klinn will move to I10 and grapple a mite that has fallen prone or the one that Nysro just tried to grab if there is no prone mite.
Nysro CM:
Klinn CM:
Nitina takes a 5-foot step back and blasts her foe at point-blank range.
Attack vs touch
Damage
She then reloads.
*Poke*
*Poke Poke*
pokepoke
Arastine blasts her target apart. Vlad moves away from the action . Karina greases the area outside the opening, causing the mite in I9 to fall prone. The other two mites keep their footing. Klinn and Nysro move in and grab one mite each. Nitina blasts her target apart as well.
The grabbed mites each attempt to wriggle free. Both are unsuccessful. The mite in I8 awkwardly makes his way to K8. The mite in J7 steps to J6 and slashes at Karina with his dagger, but misses.
Current Initiative:
Nitina
DM
Arastine
Vlad
Karina
Klinn
Vlad continues to move away from the action, coughing up blood as he does so. As he moves he pulls out a cigarette brings his hand up to light it, he winces and thinks better of it. Vlad then reaches for his matchbook and realizes that he gave it to Karina. Vlad settles for sucking on the cigarette hoping some of the tobacco will leach into his blood.
Vlad moves to N16.
Karina chuckles to herself at the mites slipping on the greasy surface. "Pathetic, disgusting creatures" she thinks to herself as she steps back to J4 and takes another swing at the mite assailing her. Once again, she will do non lethal damage to the mite via Whip Mastery.
Attack:
Damage:
Nitina shifts sideways to N10 and fires at the mite in J10 before reloading.
Attack vs touch
Damage
pokepoke
Klinn and Nysro attempt to hang on to their critters. If they both hang on, they move to K12 and K11 respectively with their mites.
Klinn grap:
Nysro grap:
Arastine steps forward and attempts to punch out the mite in K8.
Arastine misses her target .
Vlad beats a retreat, lighting a cigarette as he goes.
Karina deals a minor wound to her target.
Klinn drops his mite . Klinn holds his ground, while Nysro backs up to K11 with his prize.
Nitina blasts Klinn's formerly-grappled mite apart, covering Klinn in a spray of blood.
The mite Karina struck with her whip chucks a dart at her before fleeing north to F5.
The mite Arastine has been fighting slashes at her with his dagger but fails to connect.
The mite grappled by Nysro squirms fruitlessly.
A bigger, grey-skinned mite emerges into the sunlight. He grips a cruelly curved dagger in one hand and a large, dripping dart in the other. He effortlessly moves across the grease spell to J10.
From inside the tunnel, you hear an enraged SKREEEEEE!!! and the sound of many legs scrabbling at the walls of the tunnel.
Nitina shoots at the big new mite.
Attack
Damage
What is it that we're accomplishing here anyway? They're just going to keep coming.
Karina shouts, "Keep those things away from me! I'm gonna plug the hole."
She moves towards Pete's body (I6) and pushes it towards the hole, preparing to seal it up next turn.
Vlad Continues to stay the heck away! But doesn't move any further away.
Klinn attempts to grapple the grey skinned mite.
Nysro trys to pin his mite.
More Poking