I wonder if we should have brought flammable liquids? Nikeisha wondered as they went deeper into the sinkhole. Maybe burning the nest would have been a good idea. Ah well. They had enough people to hand that whacking things would work. Still...
"Don't suppose anyone brought any lamp oil or high-content alcohol with them? Just in case we need to indulge in a little pyromania?"
Psalm "Lets use rope or string or straps to make some weapon loops so we don't loose our weapons if we go unconscious." He pulls out a rope and ties it on to the handle of his scimitar long enough to make a short loop he can put his hand through. He stashes the remainder of the rope back in his gear.
Quint uses some string to lash his shortbow to his left hand. He also ties a loop that he can slip his hand through to the end of Windsong, but leaves the blade at his side for the moment.
Hack does the same with his right hand on the Greataxe.
When Nikeisha asks about flammable liquids: "Yes, that I do!" as she pulls aside part of her tunic to reveal a bandolier across her torso with 5 flasks of oil in the loops. "Oil can come in very handy! Just got to be carefull & make sure I don't get get caught in a fire myself!"
She then takes some string and makes one of these 'loop handles' on her bow and puts the loop on her left wrist. "I may be immune to their sleep ability, but I am not immune to being knocked down or dropping things. This idea of the loop around the wrist seems to me to be a wise precaution at any time for those dependent on weapons."
Before descending in the darkness, Shenkt, realizing that he and Nikeisha are going to need light to see, sparks a torch, and hands it to Nikeisha, since he'll need both hands on his axe when the time comes. Nikeisha stares at the torch for a moment, and then resigns herself to having to carry it in her left hand with her staff in the right. Psalm's bit of advice causes many in the party to take a bit of time to loop a bit of string or rope around their wrist and then around their weapon. So doing, they ensure that even if they fall to the worms' magical slumber, their weapon will still be within easy reach, once one of their elf-kin comrades kicks them awake. And none to soon. Just as Gomdebo smartly tells everyone to be wary of the tunnels collapsing, since worms aren't miners or builders, the earth surrounding the group starts to tremble with motion. Everyone stops suddenly and people reach out for each other to feel something solid and close. The fear of collapse is removed by a new fear as four worms drive their burrowing and hideously tendril-filled maws through the sides of the tunnel, appearing in front of and behind the group! "To arms!" Calls Quint, the quickest to react.
Seeing their worst fears realized as the plump worms show up. Psalm begins rushed casting of a spell. He shoots out his free hand sending a thorny vine out toward the worm at the parties rear. "The worms are on us. Strike fast."
Psalm shakes the vine free after it wraps the creature and readies for what comes next.
Quint's allies are momentarily surprised when he turns his bow back toward the group. With worms at his back, it momentarily looks like he's about to fire on one of his allies. He pulls an arrow, and in one fluid motion, pulls it back until it slips from his fingers, flying a bit too close for comfort to some of his allies to strike the worm that is almost on top of Nikeisha .
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Lindaer, already in the front, rushed forward with his rapier. The worms were but feet away! He stabbed out, easily finding his mark. He knew, though, that it would take more than a mere stab wound to fell the beasts. He tried to position himself in a way that he could block both of the worms from descending on Quin. His ally was not only susceptible to the sleep magic of the worms, but he was also using a bow. Put the two together, and he was a prime target. Lindear hoped that he would be able to protect him.
He tried to position himself in a way that he could block both of the worms from descending on Quin. His ally was not only susceptible to the sleep magic of the worms, but he was also using a bow.
Luna takes aim with her bow, just over Nikeisha's shoulder and let's an arrow fly.
Even though the group was caught off guard, they were by means surprised by the tunneling worms. Everyone came into the tunnel prepared for a fight, and it clearly shows in their deadly reactions and battle prowess. Psalm lashes out with his magically conjured whip of thorny vines, scraping a gash across rubbery skin of the worm furthest behind them. With deadly aim Quint, beyond all reason, as he is head and shoulders shorter than many of his comrades, not only finds a way through his friends' bodies, but buries an arrow deep in the other worm that burst into the tunnel behind the group. Lindaer steps up and jabs his rapier deep into the flesh of the worm that dared breach the tunnel right in front of him, and Gomdebo slides up next to Lindaer and finishes off the worm he wounded. She draws two daggers and attacks with wicked precision, slashing her off hand across the worm's skin and jabbing the other directly into the wound. The creature dies with a shrieking scream that ripples across the dirt, and causes all three of the other worms to echo the cry, temporarily causing mild auditory discomfort to everyone. Luna shakes off the discomfort rather quickly, turns, and fires her bow across Nikeisha's shoulder, burying the shaft deep into the worm at the furthest rear of the party. One down, two very much wounded, but then the worms' magic slams into the group.
The skin of the worm in front of the group ripples and swirls with rainbow colors sending a wave of slumber magic into those closest to the beast. Quint falls first letting go of his bow, but it doesn't fall far since it is tied to his wrist. Gomdebo follows shortly after, dropping both her daggers to the ground at her side. The group's highlander grows woozy for just a moment, his eyes feeling ridiculously heavy, but he growls and grips his axe tight, fighting off the worm's attempt to take him out of the combat. With Quint and Gomdebo in danger the rest of the group shakes off the discomfort of the piercing shriek and sets to their deadly work!
Jun will awaken Quint then move and attack yellow with his katana.
Well, no one was really shocked at the attack nor the tactics. Nikeisha could only hope to wipe one out before the sleep spell put her under as well. Slamming the staff against the tunnel floor, she gestured at the nearest enemy and called out, "Rusva!"
Hack yells as he flies into a rage and moves forwad to attack the orange rainbow worm with Lindaer.
Quint falls first letting go of his bow, but it doesn't fall far since it is tied to his wrist.
Quint falls first letting go of his bow, but it doesn't fall far since it is tied to his wrist.
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Boddy will cast firebolt at which ever of green or yellow is still up. If both are up, he'll go at whichever one looks most wounder
for
Jun kicks Quint awake on his way forward, and then slashes his katana in a wicked gash across the rainbow worm's back, drawing a spray of blood, and another high pitched and ear-piercing shriek from the creature's hideous maw. Nikeisha launches a blast of blue-green flame at the worm directly adjacent to her and burns it to a crispy husk in seconds flat. Shenkt charges forward booting Gomdebo in the ribs on his way by, and then buries his axe so deep in the back of the worm that Jun just wounded that it splits directly into two wriggling halves. Boddynuck, seeing that there is only one worm left still moving launches his own blast of red-orange fire at the creature and quickly crisps it up as well, ending this first skirmish with the sleeper worms in what felt to be no more than a mere heartbeat. After Boddynuck destroys that last worm, he turns to his companions and remarks, "That was entirely too easy. If that was a the first test of our strength, I fear we may have just indicated a level of power that will make the next attack exponentially more deadly..." His voice trails off a bit as he looks back and forth around the tunnel.
From the ground Quint looks up, to see only Lindaer standing by him, and says, "What'd I miss?"
Good work. Let's keep takin' the fight to 'em.
Psalm chuckles at Gomdebo, "You and your HARE-brained dreams."
"I don't see any alternative but to stick to our plan and proceed. Anybody else get any good ideas?
I know that we have no choice, but the way that they scream when they get hurt still bothers me. I know I'm just being sentimental and soft but I WISH we could do this without all the killing and screaming"
"I'm sure Hack can keep his desire to see if things can be sliced and diced under control when the situation calls for it," Nikeisha commented. "Thankfully, this situation calls for just that."
"I am concerned that their screams may be alerting the rest as to both our progress down the tunnels and of our prowess in combating them as well. But I see no other options at this point."
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"You wish to offer mercy to those who would murder children?" there was no vitriol in his voice, but Jun definitely seemed confused.
Turning to Luna, Jun will say "Good, I hope their screams do indeed warn them of our coming. They can flee, but they'll only die tired."
Psalm looks serious, "These things are an abomination to Amren. I'd bet my boots and more they were made by those who truck with dark powers. They aren't natural and they grow exponentially in number and cause sink holes. Kill them or an unnatural menace kills thousands." He sighs, "Screaming is optional."
"Dunno if they're abominations," Nikeisha said with a shrug. "Don't much matter. They eat kids. They have to die. There ain't nothing else to say."
Quint resumes scouting ahead, wishing that if his new companions insisted on taking these risks, they could at least be more quiet. That way, maybe they would have a chance of sneaking past something...
Hack moves to just beyond the advance scouts, still atrempting to remain silent.
As the group's hulking highlander moves up the corridor, attempting, however terribly, since he had to take the torch away from Nikeish in order to even see where he is going, to be stealthy, he walks right past Quint, or would have at least, if Quint hadn't popped out of the shadows and grabbed the highlander's pack and pulled him back. "I wouldn't do that Hack." Quint says matter of factly. He then steps up and using the tip of his shortbow, prods the earth, just in front of the tribal warrior's foot. The earth promptly gives way, in large clumps. Quint guides Shenkt's torch hand down to the new hole, and it reveals a pit, at least thirty feet deep.
Quint then prods more of the earth in front of them both, and even more gives way, everything below it for as far as his bow can reach falls down into the pit. It's at just that moment that Gomdebo, the party's resident spelunking expert, walks up, and sees what the boys are looking at. "Clever girl." Is all she says at first. Then, "Good catch Quint, how'd you know it wasn't solid ground under there?" To which Quint says, "I didn't. I've been prodding the ground wherever I go just to make sure it's stable." Gomdebo smiles, she then grabs the ten foot pole that's connected to a leather loop on her pack and begins prodding as far as it will reach in front of them all. It all gives way. Shenkt kneels down and sticks the torch into the exposed part of the pit, and is able to see that not only is the pit thirty feet deep, it's also twenty feet wide, but it is not an intersecting tunnel, the only entrance and exit holes into the pit are two and three feet in diameter. He looks at Gomdebo and says, "The worms constructed this?! They dug a trap?!
At that point the rest of the group catches up and Jun turns to Boddynuck, "Still want to try and end this without killing them? They are most certainly trying to kill us."
Boddynuck looks at the pit, and then remarks, "There's no way I'm jumping across that! Now what are we going to do?"
Unfortunately no one has any time to try and come up with a solution to the thirty foot deep, twenty foot wide chasm in front of them, because Luna yells, "Behind!" Everyone turns to see four more worms breach the sidewalls of the tunnel behind them. It isn't hard to notice these worms are slightly bigger and hardier than the previous four. Psalm mumbles, barely audibly, "It's not just a trap, it's an ambush."