Move action - go to square s21 (should be next to blue token, I can't view map clearly right now.)
Seeing the opportunity and his magical ally in trouble Gideon dashes in to take the shot.
I read that previous update incorrectly, make that a throw of my dagger at #3, throwing into melee will incur a -4 to hit, -1 from range increment halved by far shot, and point blank shot to make that roll only 4 lower for a 9 against what I believe to be flat-footed so a miss unfortunately.
Firmly attached to the half giant, the horrid beast drags the big man beneath the sand. A moment later, it resurfaces, looking for more prey.
Having no luck against Rennoc, the creature turns its attention to the Gulgite.
Once he realizes what has happened Chumani starts to try and dig himself out of the sand.
Dai grunts in pain as the claws slice across her unprotected abdomen. Grtting her teeth she brings her shovel back across in a blinding arc intended to lift head from shoulders.
[BAB, Str]
[Str, magic weapon, Judgment]
Having missed horribly with his dagger, Gideon resorts to his only means of fighting, his fists, turning, attempting to bash the monster threatening him and his .
Standard action- attack token 2.
after his attack and seeing how little effect it actually had, he breaks for his dagger, passing through Rennoc's square and to V19
Your blow sends the nasty little imp reeling. The strike should have dropped it, but whatever psionics it had employed earlier keep it on its feel, if just barely.
While his blow does harm the creature, Gideon is no expert in brawling, and leaves himself open and the thing takes a swipe at him. He's just a little too quick for it however.
Rennoc takes forth his Blue Lens and unleashes a ray of sickly, warped frost from his hands to strike the foe next to him.
attack, damage
Not liking its chances, the little humanoid decides to cut and run, heading straight for the rock wall.
The larger beast, however, lashes out Rennoc, trying to get a hold on the wizard.
Once again, sparks fly as claw and tooth meet magical barrier. The mage continues to be unscathed.
Gideon, now with only one foe and noticing that it cannot harm the wizard even with accurate strikes such as those grabs his dagger and moves to flanking position.
move- pick up dagger
standard- change to move action and move to R19
With a gougelike hold on the shovel, Dai executes a swift sideways strike as the creature attempts to disengage.
[BAB, Str]
[Str, magic weapon, Judgment]
Missing the little creature with her shovel Dai leaves it to meld into the stone. She runs up next to Rennoc and brings a two handed swing around in an arc at the anakore's head, missing as the creature adeptly rears and swings its head out of the way.
Full Round action charge to T21.
Standard Action:
[Str, BAB, Charge]
[Str]
-2 to AC until Dai's next turn.
Rennoc unleashes from his hand another chilling bolt torn from the Cerulean Storm, attack , damage
Trying to stay calm, Chumani continues to try and dig himself out of the sand.
Once out of the sand, Chumani gets to he feet and surveys the cavern. Looking to see where his help might be needed.
Filled with frustration, the anakore redoubles its efforts against the mage, while most blows rebound as before, one mighty claw manages to penetrate the barrier. It is slowed enough however that the mage is able to avoid being grabbed.
The creature that had been been routed earlier by magic re-emerges from the wall, still scorched and looking rather angry.
Grimacing in Pain unleashes another bolt of eldritch cold from his hand at the accursed beast before him...
attack, damage
critical confirmation, that is 4 or 6 damage I believe.
damage, so if I am reading this right that would be 6 damage... Anything I be missing?
Now in position Gideon sees his opening and takes a stab at the monster.
Missing horribly
Chumani steps forward slowly approaching the creature that had buried him alive. Once in position he again brings the large sand covered maul up and over his head, and the brings it down on the creature with all the force he put behind it.
Move Action: move to square S19
Standard Action: Single attack using Power Attack.
The beast takes one more ineffectual swipe at the plucky mage for daring to go toe to toe. His spell freezes the creature in place, then the half giant’s hammer descends, shattering it into thousands of pieces.
Rennoc turns his deadly attention to the last remaining beast and he unleashes from his hand another blast of primordial cold...
Ray of Frost, attack , damage
Dai moves back to the creature she frightened before to finish it off, solidly battering it into the cliff wall.
[BAB, Str]
[Str, magic weapon, judgment]
The final hej-kin’s body slumps against the wall. The cave is quiet now except for the trickle of the stream lazily winding along. The corpses of dune freaks and a hej-kin litter the beach. The caves extend into darkness in several directions. This peace does not last long as a voice calls down from above. “Oi! What’s going on down there? If you lot got the beastie, get your arses back up here.” one of the guards shouts down the hole.
My allies, I believe it is best that we do not answer the call of the guards just yet... First lets ascertain whether or not if these creatures are edible, then lets see if the water is drinkable. Finally stone mason I want you to test the cavern walls and so forth, if you believe that it may be possible to find a way out on the other side of them I can "expedite" the process... Just give me a night to allow my abilities to return to me.
Dai surveys the field of battle. Her allies worked well to dispatch the foul creatures, and the Half-Giant did return from under the sand. She listens to Rennoc and nods in approval.
"The guards know not if we were the victors here - they might just as well send more unfortunates down, or failing that, eventually descend to investigate themselves. At which point we could ambush them just as easily.
These caves might lead to an exit, or they might not. If not, then we are back where we started, albeit with perhaps some hard stares, heavy work detail and half-rations.
The only thing to recommend return is the certainty of a little food, and most likely a shallow grave for our wasted bodies. I'm for exploring. Let us not answer the guards and create the illusion that we were defeated. We can always claim we were routed, ran, and got lost..."
Dai also offers to heal either Rennoc or Chumani, depending on who is most injured/asks most vociferously. She then examines the anakore and small creatures (hej-kin) to determine edibility and searches the surrounding area for anything of note.
Chumani listens to the others and nods his agreement to ignoring the slavers.
"A little healing would be appreciated before we set out, as would some food and water."
He then moves over to the wall to examine the stone, tapping at it lightly with the handle of his maul.
"I am for exploration, this may one of our only chances of escape"
Gideon then heads back the to edge of the bright light and looks further into the cave.
"Shall we go? Or are we waiting a bit longer?"
The water appears potable. As she examines the area, Daishata notices a few flecks of gold under the surface intermingled with the sand, although it is hard to make out by the distant torchlight.
The creatures could potentially be carved up for meat. Attempting to do so would require about 10 minutes of work, some kind of blade and a Survival skill check.
The rock walls of the cavern are solid. The passages extend into darkness beyond the limits of even Chumani’s vision.
Other than the impromptu entrance created above, these caves seem to be natural, carved out by the stream over a long time.
Underground streams such as this usually feed from the mountains. Following it upstream should eventually lead to the surface, but it is hard to say how far away that might be.
Grak’s Pool, the outpost where you were/are enslaved is known to have a natural spring inside the fortress walls. It is highly likely that following the stream in the direction it travels will eventually connect to the spring.
"Hey, this stream probably came from the mountains and we can probably get out if we follow it upstream, so that is always an option."
So long as my mind holds out I can clear paths and the like through the stone for a ways.
Chumani moves over to the stream and kneels down using one hand to scoop up some water while keeping his other on the shaft of the maul.
"I suggest we get moving soon, some of our abilities will only last a short time."
Shadows from above play across the sand by the torch and hanging rope. Clearly someone up there is moving about.
From the hole in the ceiling, one of the guards calls out again "Hellooo? Meat? Are you dead down there?”
You then overhear a couple of them talking. “Well, now what? We can’t just keep throwing slaves down there and hoping whatever's eating them gets full. If what I hear is true, all kinds of nasty critters make their nests under there. Veritable death sentence if you ask me.”
“I didn’t hear a scream like the first one. There should have been a scream.”
“Maybe their tongues got eaten first. Besides, not everyone’s a screamer like you Lok.”
“Shut up and go get Graftcrush. If we are going to have to go down there, I’d rather have him and those lizards of his backing us up, even if it will mean a lash later.”
My allies I believe it is best to snuff out the torch or commandeer it and get moving, it is inevitable that our foes will chase us... Let us lure them to a location where numbers will not help them.
"I second that notion, do you perhaps happen to have a magical source of light? Should we take the torch the guards would likely notice and be even more suspicious."
"Let's head away from the camp, and unless someone has a light we should take the torch."
Unfortunately not at this time, my mental reserves have been depleted to an extent.
Dai calls upon her divine spirit to heal Chumani's wounds:
"Yes, we should move out - the slavers appear to be curious. I vote we follow the stream down through whatever caverns it reaches. Up likely leads back towards Grak's Pool.
As for light, I have no means beyond the mundane. Almost all of my powers are spent for today beyond a few minor prayers..."
Dai picks up the torch and moves with it under a rock ledge if possible, away from the place the party entered and the view of the remaining guard.
"Upstream or down... We need to decide now and move!" snarls Dai.
I suggest we go upstream, if we can make it to the surface we will be that much safer... If we meet our slavers or others along the way I will give them a demonstration of the Cerulean Storm's might.
Let us go now, we need to decided quickly, I still suggest upstream but will follow, let us not delay any longer.
Gideon moves towards the cave leading upstream.
Shall we or are you too opposed to the path upstream?