"Perhaps we should follow the blood trails away from the lift, for now, and find Major Luke Rand, Retired. We can either heal him, or loot his body..." Tychi says with dry gallows humor.
"Yeah, you're right let's head west then. Though I'd prefer finding him alive."
"Always preferable, I agree." Tychi says with an amused tone.
Following the scant blood trail, you move into the north west region of this level of the mine...A ten-foot-wide conveyor stretches from the mine tracks of the central hallway toward the end of this mining zone. Evenly spaced pillars reinforce the ceiling, and glimmering green crystals bedeck the mine shaft’s walls.
The machinery stands stationary and silent but milling around...the two headed giant and two of his ogre cronies...
...and, scurrying behind a pillar, an enormous arachnid like creature...
Tychi and Carran both move very quietly.
"I thank you for the offer, but I think I will decline. I'm perfectly happy and unique as I am now, even though I can't currently see."
Tychi pulls Carran to the side quietly and whispers in the catfolk's ear.
"Friend Carran, the chamber ahead is a natural chokepoint. I'm sure they selected it for that reason, but it works in our advantage, as we are the outnumbered party. I suggest we attack from hiding, you firing your bow as fast as you can, and me charging on Nike to there." He points to a spot on the ground. "Then if we kill the ogre, Nike and I withdraw on the next round. If you are far enough away they cannot reach you before you can fire again and Nike and I can charge him again, then we can repeat this again with the next one. We are fleeter of foot than they are, and can force them to come through a gauntlet of arrows and unicorn charges."
Carran nods, but points with his arm towards the spider.
"You're right, but that spider might give us some more trouble. Your idea is good, but risky. I'll take up position some 80 feet away from that chokepoint, I'll fire first then you charge in if that ogre still stands. What do we do if that ogre falls to my arrows? Do you charge in regardless or stay put to ambush the next one?"
"If the ogre falls to your arrows, then Nike and I will charge the next ogre, or the spider. I agree the spider could be an issue, it's obviously a pet, or it would be attacking the ogres. And with I agree it could be risky, but all is risky at our current strength. If things look grim, we must retreat. Be ready to leap on Nike so she can whisk us both away."
"Alright, I'll escape when we need to. Wait for my first volley and then jump in when you're ready."
Carran moves over until he's 80 feet from the first ogre, aims his bow and then unleashes the first volley of arrows against the unaware ogre.
Tychi and Nike wait to see the results of Carran's assault.
Arrow after arrow slam into the nearest of the ogres, it's stupid face looking around in bemusement as it's brain processes the pain... It staggers backwards and then catches it's feet...
Seeing that it is heavily wounded, Nike and Tychi switch tactics slightly. Nike races up to the creature, stopping 10 ft away.
Tychi then flurry's on the creature.
Nike then withdraws back to where Carran is waiting.
The first of the ogres falls to Tychi's attack, it's dying gasp coming long after the tengu and unicorn have retreated to safety...a shout goes up within the cavern as the two headed giant starts to organise some kind of a defense.
Meanwhile...
"Oh listen Luke...your friends are here, how terribly endearing...maybe one of them will be more appreciative of the gifts Haagenti offers?", a sharp nail trails a painful path along Major Luke Rand's chest...
Tychi and Nike wait for something to come out of the cave. Turning to Carran. "We should prepare to fall back along the rails, toward the stairs down. If we can reduce the enemies to just the two head, we can charge him. Otherwise, we need to fight a skirmish war, being outnumbered."
"Actually, if they are here for me, then you should probably make peace with whatever deity you worship."
If Carran and Tychi expected a response to their guerrilla style tactics, they certainly get one... The two-headed giant, flat against a pillar for cover calls out to 'get Metruni's guard'...and you catch a moving shape lumber across the tunnel as one of the ogres disappears to the north somewhere...
...there is silence for a moment and then with a crackling of electricity and a thunder clap, an arc of lightning flashes...the arachnid, reared up on it's hind legs, targets Carran with an unexpectedly violent attack...
The Catfolk, nestled against the rock, is caught in the blast and is briefly silhouetted in Tungsten Bright light...the smell of ozone within the cave is overpowering...
Meanwhile...
There is a crack of thunder within Major Luke Rand's ears...followed by giggling,"Ooooh....oh no, it looks like your friends have met my little pet...Oh, how sad...you must have been so hopeful...tell me my dear Luke, were you close to them? Shall I bring you their corpses?"
Carran grunts as he's suddenly hit by lightning, but manages to avoid the brunt of the damage done.
"Blast!"
Carran quickly moves away from sight and disappears into the shadows deeper inside the cave.
"Let's get moving Tychi, cats hate rain and they certainly do hate lightning."
"How about we make a bet? I bet my friends kill your pet and guards. If I am right, you cure my blindness. If I am wrong, I take your 'gift'?"
Tychi dismounts as a free action, and then stealths back deeper into the cave. Nike then moves in the direction Carran left in, also using stealth. If she finds him within one move, she will use Cure Serious on him.
Meanwhile…
”A wager? Oh Luke, you know how to make a girl’s heart race…why not…if they can get past my pet…and my guards…well, you may have your sight back…but…”, there is a hint of venom in the voice, ”if they are caught…you will all receive Haagenti’s gift”
"Then it's settled."
Retreating back into the mine, it isn’t long before Carran, Tychi and Nike hear the tell-tale grunting and complaining of an ogre being told to look for you…and behind it, the chittering and scraping of an oversized arachnid…
Looking around and shouting, the ogre doesn’t see you…and starts to wander off towards the lift platforms to the east…but, when it sees the arachnid turn and skitter towards the south, it runs ahead of it…
Mumbling under it’s breath, ”Must be down this way if the damned spider thinks so….”
Carran will wait till the ogre and spider have both passed him, staying very still and quiet, but when both have passed and got to about 90 feet he takes up his bow and aims for the spider.
When Carran releases his arrow, Nike is already in motion...galloping towards the over-sized arachnid at astronomical speeds. Almost in unison, Carran's arrow, Nike's horn and Tychi's whipsword cut, pierce and slam agains the creature's carapace...gouts of blood exploding with the focused force of the blows... With an almost alien sound, the creature roars and turns on Tychi and his companion...
With a stupid roar, the ogre accompanying the spider turns and charges at Nike...
Tychi opens up with a flurry of whipsword blows at the spider, expending chi to gain an extra attack.
The flurry of blows land again and again upon the spider's bulbous abdomen...somehow it still stands...until Tychi reaches for some inner reserves and, with his final blow, slays the creature. Arcs of electricity, heat and cold fire and fizz with wild intensity as the arachnid attempts to cling to life...it's death throes, short and violent...
As Nike races back, she attempts to kick the ogre...but somehow misses...
Carran unloads a volley of arrows at the ogre from his position.
As the last remaining ogre lumbers back up the caverns towards Tychi and Nike, Carran steps from the shadows and, in quick succession, one...two...three...four arrows cut through the air...and slam into the ogre...it falls forwards, dead before it hits the ground...
...silence returns to the mine...
Carran nods to tychi with a slight grin.
"Good work on that spider Tychi, I didn't look forward to getting hit again with a blast. You too Nike. Let's show that two-headed ogre what's what and take him down a notch as well. But first we should take to the shadows again."
Carran will move over into the shadows, back to the corner where the cave turns left and looks around.
Tychi and Nike look at each other, then Carran, and Tychi gives a very soft hoot. "It is much easier to dispatch evil when there is no one running screaming forward." Nike says as Tychi hoots.
Then they separate, with Nike staying 20 feet back, and Tychi moving forward with Carran in the shadows.
Moving back to the cavern where you initially saw the spider, the ogres and the two-headed giant, you stealthily approach... All is quiet and still... Until you see the telltale shadow of a person hiding behind one of the many pillars that dot the cave... And then you notice another... And another... All told, there are four 'people' lying in wait... Clearly hiding (or attempting to do so)...
"So Tychi? Same tactics on this bunch of ogres? There seem to be more than last time, but luckily there is no spider among them."
Tychi nods, switching out his whip sword for his kusarigami. "Yes, same tactics. You snipe them, if they charge forward, Nike and I will flatten one and retreat." He then stealthfully moves back to Nike and mounts, waiting for the archer to snipe them out of cover.
"Alright, one ogre pincushion coming right up."
Carran replies and then procedes to take some arrows out from his quiver and looads the first two on his bow. Then he quickly looks out from cover and fires a single arrow at ogre nr. 2.
Carran’s first shot, announcing their presence, flies true and strikes one of the hiding figures in an exposed shoulder…oddly, there is a decidedly metallic noise when the arrow hits.
Carran will unload another volley of arrows on his first target, if he goes down he fires at the next obvious target. (nr. 4)
Nike/Tychi ready a charge when one enters the bottleneck of the cavern on the surprise action.
Then they're normal action will be to Attack/Fall back.
Since I will be very busy, please bot through these actions. If not possible, Nike/Tychi will continue to wait until they move, then charge the one in the lead, with Nike doing a powerful charge, and tychi flurrying at the end of the charge.