Zoli looks at the gash in her shield arm and says, "Uh, I've been better I suppose."
____________
Rilee taps Zoli with her wand, shaking her head. "Ugly, bitter unseelie. That ambush was a close one."
She frowns, looking around at the bodies. "I might be able to follow their tracks back to their lair to see what treasures they've squirreled away. But we've also wasted enough time, since wherever they lived, it was probably away from the giants."
Trying to follow the tracks of these fey proves nearly impossible along the stone floors of the tunnels, especially given how much they wind and web through the rock. Eventually, however, the group comes across a particularly long passageway heading somewhat upwards. Setsuna once again activates her ring and quietly makes her way up the passage about 10-20 feet ahead of the others.
As you enter, the kobold tilts its head and looks towards the crack. It mutters to itself in the tongue of dragons "It's about time," before picking up the spear and rising to it's feet. The moment it's clawed hand grasps the weapon, the blade on the end bursts into light as arcane energy begins to pulse across it in waves.
Ahead, you can all see an eery bluish white glow suddenly come into existence, revealing part of a larger chamber in the distance. Then, a high pitched voice says brazenly, "It's about time you damn fey showed up with this week's tribute, or else Enga was going to have to come crack some skulls to remind you who runs this territory now!"
__________
Setsuna casts Blessing of Fervor on herself and the party; she then takes a five foot step to her exact location.
Unable to see much in the darkness, Eugeni runs over to the wall and waits.
Eugeni sprints into the chamber, and past a small lizard-like creature. He runs to the opposite wall of the chamber, and fires a two simultaneous arrows at the little thing.
Zoli hustles around the corner and sees the kobold. "If you're the boss of those redcaps, you're in for a world of disappointment.
"And as for busting heads," she smiles as she raises her buckler and swings with Baern's Breath, "Well, you're welcome to try!"
___________
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine on her shoulder gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
AC 29 vs first 3 attacks, thanks to Grettela’s ermine insight, then 27 AC
HP 73/75
Luck 16/20
Panache 4/5 (-1 if parries, +1 if that crit confirmed)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
zilch
Rilee steps up behind Zoli and readies a spell to cast in case the kobold tries anything magical.
As the group bursts into the room, the kobold shrieks in pain and surprise as Eugeni's arrow buries itself deep in the thing's torso, protruding from the far side!
"You...you're all gonna die! RRRAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The kobold thrusts his spear three times furiously at Zoli, who is unable to parry the attack aside! The glowing spearhead makes a deep laceration through her left flank, though she is able to avoid the second two thrusts.
__________
Setsuna casts Chain of Perdition. She then takes a quick five foot step away from her original position to avoid retaliation. When her summoned weapon materializes, it attempts to blind the kobold via a Dirty Trick.
Rilee uses the blessing of fervor to hustle around the kobold and stand out of Eugeni's line of fire. Then she sets down a small figurine of a bird of prey, touches it with a command, and a large roc appears in its place with a defiant screech.
The reincarnated druid directs it to attack the lizardlike being.
"Oww!!" Zoli cries out as the spear jabs into her side. Turning a bit defensively, she swings with blessed speed, making three quick cuts.
____________________
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine on her shoulder gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
AC 29 vs first 3 attacks, thanks to Grettela’s ermine insight, then 27 AC
HP 53/75
Luck 16/20
Panache 3/5 (-1 if parries, +1 if that crit confirmed)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
Blessing of Fervor
Eugeni frowns at the resilient kobold. He fires more arrows at it.
32 crit for 20 (30 to confirm for more)
17 for 15
24 for 18
24 for 19
Edit:
The kobold, clearly blinded by the mystic chains whirling nearby, thrusts its spear once thrice more at Zoli. It manages, even hindered, to slip the point past her defenses and into her abdomen.
__________
Rilee steps forward and augments Olympus' defenses with one of her spells that is further enhanced by Setsuna's blessing.
Olympus then presses the attack on the small but fierce kobold.
With the kobold clasped within Olympus' beak, Zoli is easily able to cleave it's head from it's shoulders. As the body falls limp, the spear drops from it's grasp and the room once more is washed in darkness.
Setsuna takes about half a minute to patch Zoli's wounds.
"I'm going to scout to the north," she announces as she renews her Invisibility.
When the light goes out, Rilee keeps her hand on Olympus to calm him. While Setsuna disappears and heads off to scout, the druid chants another spell and lays it upon her roc.
She moves around the great bird and examines the kobold's equipment, bringing up [i]detect magic.
"Thanks, Setsu. Apparently I'm not the only little bugger around that's good at stabbing things."
Zoli casts light on a pebble. When Setsu starts to head out on her own, the Swashbuckaeologist warns, "Be careful! There are plenty of things down here that might be able to locate you by your smell. Or traps that could capture you. Don't go far!"
While she waits for Setsu's return--and periodically listens for sounds coming from the North--she joins Rilee in investigating.
Sitting atop this mattress, a map splayed across his lap, is a fierce looking stone giant. Adorning his waist and arms are a hundred bands of hair, each clasped with a silver ring. As the fur to his immediate left opens away on its own, the giant turns with a start and peers into the passageway...before reaching to his belt and removing a small vial and drinking it down. A moment later, his eyes fix themselves on your own!
Upon realizing that the giants actually prepared for invisible scouts, Setsuna immediately loses all composure and bolts back to the group.
Thanks to her Grace spell, for six seconds, Setsuna operates on Azathothian physics and nimbly dodges any swings of opportunity allowed her by her nonexistent guard.
"Zoli, we have company from the north!" she shouts in panicked Thassilonian. "Tell Rilee to Stone Spike the north passage and Eugeni to move back!"
5th: 1/4
4th: 2/6
3rd: 1/8
2nd: 2/8
1st: 3/8
The giant moves through the fur and backs his way north through the passage, drinking another potion as he moves. "Intruders from the small tunnels! Off your asses!"
Remembering how hard giants hit, Setsuna decides to put a big slab of meat between her friends and the enemies; she takes a five foot step back and then begins to summon a celestial ankylosaurus.
5th: 2/4
4th: 2/6
3rd: 1/8
2nd: 2/8
1st: 3/8
Rilee hands the necklace of fireballs to Zoli or Eugeni. "These may come in handy."
When Setsuna yells and comes screaming back into the chamber, she steps up and gets ready, glancing at Zoli to try to figure out what the oracle yelled.
"Ooooh, Setsu says it's gonna get exciting! Giants incoming. Riley, she wonders if you wanna get stony-spikey?
"Oh, and judging by the way she's gesturing, I figure she's summoning something big right about here" (She points to where the purple rectangle is on the map.)
To Setsuna, "Вы знаете, сколько? Что ты видел?"
Zoli moves to the side, peaks down the corridor, and readies to throw the kobold's spear at the first giant she sees.
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine on her shoulder gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
AC 29 vs first 3 attacks, thanks to Grettela’s ermine insight, then 27 AC
HP 53/75
Luck 16/20
Panache 4/5 (-1 if parries)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
zilch
"Spikey, huh?" Rilee says under her breath. Brandishing the staff of heaven and earth proudly in front of her, she draws upon its stored reserves of power and touches its end to the stoney floor.
Almost invisibly, the cavern's ground warps and becomes riddled with vicious spikes that blend in perfectly with the existing stone. "Don't go that way unless you can fly," she says softly.
"Woohoo, finally get to test out my new bow!" Eugeni grins. Runs over to the wall, crouching there as he waits for the giants with an arrow knocked.
The group makes their quick preparations within this chamber, as down the hall, the sound of several large objects scraping across stone can be heard.
"Yes, General Galenmir!"
A moment later, several sets of heavy footsteps can be heard making their way down the northern passage...
Setsuna considers the voices telling war stories she heard in addition to the giant she stumbled upon.
"At least three."
Upon hearing the giants mention a general, the invisible Oracle perks up.
Setsuna spawns her inky wings and flies to the center of the room to cast Blessing of Fervor on the party.
While compelled to attack his summoner's enemies, the celestial ankylosaurus also sees and hears them approaching. Noting the passage way to be rather cramped, he instead channels his holy energies and readies his tail club for an opportunities strike.
"Here they come," Rilee mutters as she chants quickly and a plume of fire erupts in her hand. She sees the faint outline of a giant filling the north passage and hurls the ball in its direction.
Then Rilee ducks behind Olympus to use him as cover.
The first giant in the line surges forward, but immediately begins moving more cautiously as his feet begin getting stabbed by the magic spikes.
"OWW! The floor is sharp!" he calls out in his native tongue.
As he proceeds down the hall, however, he readies his club to batter the skull of the dinosaur at the end of the passage. However, the onslaught of spear, arrow, and mace-like-tail bring him low before he can even attack!
The hall continues to fill with more giants, however, each one being forced to step gingerly on the spike stones. The furthest one down the line lets out a particularly pained yelp and begins walking even more slowly through them. The nearest one manages to bring his club down on the head of the ankylosaurus, causing it to grunt in pain from the force of the blow.
__________
Rather relieved that the giants marched in to close in melee, Rilee steps back out from behind Olympus and throws several more balls of fire at the lead giant.
Zoli whistles appreciatively as the dinosaur, arrows, and spear take down the first giant so quickly.
Seeing them so close--and yet out of reach of Baern's Breath--Zoli is tempted to duck under the massive dinosaur's leg and get a swing in...but with effort she restrains herself.
Instead she draws her scimitar and readies to strike if a giant makes it past.
_______________
Swft: activate luck
Stnd: swing!
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine on her shoulder gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
AC 29 vs first 3 attacks, thanks to Grettela’s ermine insight, then 27 AC
HP 74/75
Luck 16/20 (-1 if the giants come into her reach)
Panache 3/5 (-1 if parries, +1 for any crit confirmed)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
Blessing of Fervor
Eugeni steps forward, and sends a volley at the first giant in line.
30 for 24
26 for 26
27 for 29
26 for 22
24 for 27
Setsuna flies over to Eugeni and uses the Blessing of Fervor to cast Extended Abundant Ammunition on his second quiver.
The celestial ankylosaurus swings his tail twice at the closest giant. However, the recent blow to the head seems to have thrown off his aim.
The lead giant falls, allowing the remaining two to step forward. The new lead giant drives his club furiously down across the dinosaur's head, causing it's knees to buckle and sway, but the angelic beast remains standing!
Just beyond these two giants, a third appears, a female giant floating along a foot or two off the floor. She looks over the scene before her, but otherwise remains does nothing.
__________
"Yoip!!" Zoli cringes she sees how hard the massive club smashes into the dinosaur's head.
Suddenly aware that she's next, she calls out, "Say, Eugeni, mind spotting me a charge from that new wand of yours? I'll happily pay you back!"
Swft: activate luck
Stnd: swing!
Should anyone try to attack Zoli, the ermine on her shoulder gives her a guiding chitter and nudge, helping her to avoid getting squashed.
AC 29 vs first 3 attacks, thanks to Grettela’s ermine insight, then 27 AC
HP 53/75
Luck 16/20 (-1 if the giants come into her reach)
Panache 3/5 (-1 if parries, +1 if that crit confirmed)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
Blessing of Fervor
Setsuna also cringes upon seeing the giant's massive blow to her summon's head. Suddenly aware that her... best friend is next, the invisible Oracle flies over to Zoli and uses Blessing of Fervor to cast Extended Ironskin on Zoli.
The celestial ankylosaurus continues to swing his tail; however, both blows to the head seem to have scrambled his brain and thrown off his aim.
"Ooooh, fancy!"
Zoli marvels, as her skin takes on the look and feel of polished iron, glinting in the light of her glowing pebble. "Thanks Setsu, that's even better!"
AC 34 vs first 3 attacks, thanks to Grettela’s ermine insight, then 32 AC
HP 74/75
Luck 16/20 (-1 if the giants come into her reach)
Panache 3/5 (-1 if parries)
Charmed Life 4/4
Luck o’ the Scene 1/1
Lessons of Chaldira 1/1
False Life 0/1
Buffs
Blessing of Fervor
Ironskin
"Yoip!!" Zoli cringes she sees how hard the massive club smashes into the dinosaur's head.
Suddenly aware that she's next, she calls out, "Say, Eugeni, mind spotting me a charge from that new wand of yours? I'll happily pay you back!"
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Eugeni steps to the edge of the spiked ground, raising his enchanted bow. "Thanks, babe," he comments to Setsu. He continues firing his infinite blazing arrows into the giants.
33 for 25
28 for 25
20 for 25
20 for 24
24 for 28