"Don't worry, I'll be chokin' him out if he goes tryin' any of that!"
Time: 0:30db (midday, 12:30pm)
"Oooh, he's so pretty now, El!"
About two hours ago Lureene had finished summoning Grak even as Mal and Tal enjoyed the spoils of their mid-morning hunt. Alis and Aycenia were immediately taken with the winged serpent's new appearance.
Not long thereafter, you departed heading south to the cliff-edge. From there, the beating sun clearly illuminated the bay below, the sparkling river feeding into it, and the winding trail leading up to the now deserted village.
"Alright everyoe, you know the drill. Over the cliff and I'll catch. El, head for the far bank of the river and so we don't have a repeat of last night. Darv–"
Even as the succubus leapt out and flew away, the start of your descent was almost comically bad. Darvesch, who had previously only been on the receiving end of a falling princess and not overly inclined to leave the ground practically just ran off the edge of the cliff without waiting!
In desperation, the rest of you leapt after him with Alis, Mal, and Tal practically tripping over themselves to catch up. Thankfully, two feather fall spells cast in quick succession averted any sort of disaster.
"Well OK then, that was... exciting." Fishing the end of a rope from her backpack, she handed it to Mal. "I'll swim across and attach this to something sturdy. The rest of you," she looks at Darvesch, "wait until I give you a signal before you start swimming and use the rope if you have trouble. I don't want anyone getting swept out to sea..."
Between the rope and a bit of help from Mal, who was not overly quiet in questioning the wisdom of wearing full-plate in the jungle let alone when swimming, you finally reached the south bank intact.
In spite of Mal's misgivings about the dwarf's woodwise however, Darvesch did manage to impress not only by keeping up the same pace as the rest of you but pointing out tracks that informed you that Cullos and his over-sized pet had come and gone yet again since you left last night — something that the taller rangers had overlooked.
Survival Checks
Acrobatics Checks
Swim Checks
Survival Checks
Stealth Checks
Theme: Touch of...?
It was past noon then when you finally arrived in the deserted village, your chatter hushed, and your footsteps light. After the night's hard rain, the traces of the battle were all but washed away. Strange though that there were no carrion birds in the sky.
Upon setting foot into the courtyard though, you can see why. All of the fallen bodies are missing. At the base of the lighthouse, a thick tarp has been cast over the hole leading to the cave below, large rocks pinning its corners in place.
Alis and Darvesch look at one another, lips curled and eyebrows raised, hearing something that is beyond the rest of you. She turns and whispers, "Do you hear that? It sounds like... gnawing coming from the pit..."
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village 2, (Round 00)
Lureene glances uneasily around her, her hand absently straying to Grak's neck. She had not wanted him exposed to possible sighting by the Red Mountain Devil, so he was close by her, which helped sharpen her senses (not to mention the fact he was SOOOO beautiful now!)
"I don't like this...at all, Grak." Sensing trouble ahead, she swiftly casts a spell of protection on herself.
She then waves at Sasha, motioning her to keep watch on the rear of the group.
Mal casts a spell of protection on himself that causes his skin to become like a thick hide. With one hand held up to the rest of you, he moves forward cautiously.
Upon reaching the edge of the pit, he crouches, listening carefully and testing the air with his nose. For several tense moments, he assays the area nearby before reporting back to Alis via her message cantrip.
"Ground is rutted, looks like bodies tossed down the pit. Pack of something down there feasting. No way it's natural. Everywhere else is quiet. Plan?"
Stealth Checks
Survival Checks
"No offense Mal, but, mind if I take a look?" Darvesch walks over to the tarp covered hole, places his hands on the tarp, and squints, and whispers,
There is movement from elsewhere suddenly, and a body that still has its head attached, rears back ripping a strip of flesh from the leg of a carcass, it gnaws on it hungrily before grabbing hold of its hands and dragging it away to the east.
Darvesch walks to the rest of the group, and quietly says, "Okay. I have good news and bad news."
Lureene tightens the grip on her rapier, as she stares at the dwarf.
Trying to speak in a calm voice, she responds "I would prefer there to be just good news, but let's have the bad news first."
"Well.. down in that hole is an infestation of ghoul-giants.." he takes a deep calming breath.
"...and the good news? Well, other than the fact they are still down in the cave?"
"The good news is that it's about 40 or more feet down, and I'm fairly confident that they won't be able to do much if someone chucks flasks of alchemical fire, fireballs, or something just as deadly, down there. He smiles.
Mal scratches his chin thoughtfully at the dwarf's words.
"Huh, handy trick. Any idea how many ghouls were down there?"
"Well, I saw two. But, I'll guarantee there are more down there."
Lureene gazes at the tarp covered pit. "Hmmm, I suppose we need to figure out who goes first down the pit." She glances at Priyya, knowing how effective she would be against the undead lurking below. "What concerns me is whoever goes first will be swarmed by those foul creatures before he or she can act against the ghouls."
She looks towards Alis, "How should we make our descent? Via magic, or by lowering a rope?" Glancing at the pit again she notes "Perhaps we can all descend at once..."
"We could featherfall down trailing a rope behind us, but I think we need to leave someone up here to keep a look-out for us. Any volunteers?"
"Aww, well ghould are already dead though right?" Sasha frown and kicks a rock, "That's not much fun. I'll climb up to that balcony on the lighthouse and keep a look out for that one giant and his pet lizard."
Lureene nods decisively, "That is a very good idea, Sash. We don't need Cullos to return and trap us down there while we have our hands full."
As Sasha prepares to climb up the walls of the lighthouse, Lureene rushes over and gives the taller redhead a hug. "Good hunting, Sash. If you see him, let Grak know and he will relay me the information."
She waves Grak over, "Stay with her, Grak."
Grak nods in acknowledgement, and flies up to the tower trailing a rope for Sasha to climb up. He uses his tail to tie the rope for her.
Priyya watches the red head run off and waits a moment for Lureene to return before speaking her peace.
"Hurling our most powerful spells at random in the hopes of striking only two ghouls when we assume there may be more is inefficient."
"When I looked down the pit last night, the bottom was out of sight, yet the walls of the pit ended about 40-feet down. That would make the chamber greater than 20-feet in height. Ghouls are not renowned for their athleticism so if someone was lowered on a rope, they could look around and call upon Alíta to destroy any undead lurking in the area. By someone I mean me of course."
She gives a pointed look to Lureene and says, "Jumping without knowing how ghouls are nearby could prove fatal. Their touch paralyzes the living."
Lureene fires back, "That may be the case, but if there is a living monster down there, you would be vulnerable. That is why I suggested we go down together."
Living creatures that can jump 30-feet in the air living in a cave full of ghouls? And here I thought she was just daft.
Priyya gazes coolly at the succubus. "Feel free to lead off then. The rest of us will be right behind you."
"No need for that, we're all just concerned about one another, that's all."
Turning to Mal, she says, "Can you rig up a way to lower Priyya down so she can have a look? I could turn her invisible if you think it's necessary."
Still eyeing the high-strung succubus, Priyya responds, "Save your spell, Alis. If something is down there I want to lure it out."
"Sure, I can do that. Lureene, see if Sasha still have that block and tackle she scavenged from the wreck."
When the response comes back from Grak that she does, Mal nods and unpacks a coil of rope. "The window grates in the tower and that scaffolding on the balcony look sturdy enough. I'll tie the rope off to the iron bars, have Sasha run it thru the pulley, and just lower Darkmane like that. She wants up? I'll just hop down and pull up on the slack."
He gives a toothy grin. "Figure I'm about twice her weight... in just my leg. Piece of cake."
"Priyya, you and I can go down first together. I'll be able to fend off some of the ghoul-giants while you what you do. Plus, I really want to end their miserable existence just as much as you do." He says, tightly gripping his trusty waraxe.
The warrior-priestess' ire at Lureene subsides, but her flickering aura swells with a rush of hormones at Mal's comment. Feeling face flush, she damps the flames down with her will, doing her best to look gruff and not grin.
Leg indeed.
At Darvesch's suggestion, she coughs in surprise.
Gods above, did he phrase it that way on purpose?
With a look of mild amusement on her face, Priyya replies, "Master Hellhammer, when I go down, I prefer to do so with only a single partner at a time."
She gives a deep laugh before clapping the stalwart dwarf on his pauldrons. "I'll be at least 20-feet above the ground. I'm not certain even Mal's mighty legs can bear up both of us. If anything happens to get up that high, just jump down the hole after me and you can get the axe drop on anything with the athleticism to snap at me."
Lureene bites back a sharp retort, Honestly, all I am doing here is trying to help her out...and she treats me like I am the enemy here! She can be SOOooo frustrating...
Still tring to maintain her composure, she asks Alis, "I could summon a creature to accompany Priyya on her trip. It would give her some small amount of protection." She thinks for a moment then adds, "A fire beetle would be a good choice, as they can fly and also shed a dim luminescence. Priyya would not need to reveal herself immediately."
Darvesh's face turns beet red, "I assure you, I didn't mean.." He coughs, flustered, "Who's to say they will swarm to you, knowing they can't reach you. If you need bait, I can handle that. I'll go down to ground level, attract the swarm, while you climb down, or are lowered down, to position and pray we can defeat them swiftly."
"Aa-AAH!" Alis claps a hand over her mouth and stifles a powerful sneeze that practically brings her to her knees, eyes in tears.
Breathing hard, Alis accepts Lureene's hand in getting back to her feet. "Wow," she sniffs and wipes her eyes, "this big, musty hole here really got me choked up. El, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Go ahead and summon a big beetle down there and let's see if anything takes notice."
"Whew!" She fans herself with a silk fan she keeps in her belt and shakes her head at Priyya.
Sense Motive Checks:
Lureene shakes her head at Alis, "I sure hope you are not picking up any of those nasty diseases this place seems infested with, 'Lis."
She then steps close to the pit and motions for Mal to pull back the tarp just enough for the beetle to slip underneath. Just before she starts the summoning, she asks "So, who is going to watch what happens?"
Priyya gets down to business. "Ghouls aren't bright and their hunger defines them. I think they'll come to investigate a dangling piece of bait. After I blast them once with Alita's power, they may retreat, but who can say? If we can figure a way - a series of pulleys perhaps and possibly Sasha helping Mal on balancing the load - I'd be happy for the extra company on the way down, Darvesch. Knowing your father, I can well imagine you wouldn't want to be left out of the 'fun'."
"Agreed. I'm anxious to finish this quickly. I don't want Ieana getting here before we're finished with this. We'll need the break to rest a moment before we deal with her." Darvesh states simply.
Priyya nods her agreement and casts a spell of protection on herself. "Let's go see how much damage we can do to these foul creatures in short order."
Walking to the edge of the now uncovered pit, Lureene casts her summoning spell and you can see the cavern floor far below illuminated in a short radius revealing a pile of at least a half-dozen headless corpses. The beetle scurries about the chamber, climbing over the bodies at its mistress' silent urging, but if there is anything else down there, then there is no reaction to the oversized insect.
"Wow, that's a lot of dead people, haha!" Sasha swings down from the balcony on Alis' rope and cozies up next to Mal, "Looks like I get to help you with your load after all, huh?"
The look on Mal's face says that he's far from amused at Priyya's suggestion although he refrains from booting the smaller ranger down the pit.
With a laugh, Priyya puts her foot in one of the two loops tied into the bottom of the rope and grabs on with her free hand, the other gripping the hilt of her scimitar. Darvesch does the same and gives two-shakes of his axe when they are ready to descend.
Sasha and Mal heave on the rope taking up just enough of the weight so that the two holy warriors swing out into the open above the yawning pit. Slowly, they begin to lower the pair, Mal counting off markings on the rope until they've descended about 45 feet for a good view from a safe height above the floor.
Alis and Lureene stand at the edge of the pit looking down, weapons and wand in hand in case the others come under attack.
Yet that attack does not come. Below them, the uneven floor of the 30-foot high cave is stained with blood and scattered with pieces of wood, fallen leaves, broken weapons, and in places, bits of bone.
In the center of the vast cavern you can count no more than eight headless bodies: Klorak, Malikadna, one of the harem girls, and five of the berserkers and rangers — less than half of the warriors you defeated. The two harem girls who leapt from the lighthouse last night are also missing even though they should be at the bottom of the pile.
To the east is a narrow cleft in the rock, big enough for humans yet probably cramped for giants to pass thru. The floor in that direction is heavily rutted and stained with blood as if many bodies have been dragged that way over the years.
MAP: VV - Caves of the Mother, (Round 00)
Priyya looks at the dwarf and shrugs, "Maybe they don't like the light. Let's ring the dinner bell, shall we?" She gives him a devil-may-care grin before yelling, "FRESH MEAT!"
On Priyya's yell, Lureene gives the priestess an acknowledging wave and points to the east, urging the beetle to head in that direction.
"I don't need light to see down here. I'll go a little bit ahead of you, and I'll see if I can't find some ghoul-giants." As he says that, he gets an idea, "Or, why don't we bring them to us?" He ungloves his left hand, holds the head of his axe, and quickly swipes the blade across the palm. He then squeezes his hand, and lets a couple drops hit the floor. "Dinner is served." He says with a quiet amusement, steeling himself against the onslaught of ghouls that may or may not come.
Theme: The Storm
Priyya's shout resounds off the rocky cavern walls echoing away into the darkness. For a few moments, the only noise is the sound of Lureene's summoned beetle skittering across the rocky floor. Just as Darvesch starts to speak up, however, you hear a rapid shuffling sound from the east, and what sounds like quick, ragged breathing.
A few moments later, a great, hairless head covered in boils-ridden grey skin quickly juts past the corner, eyes fixed on the strange glowing bug before it. Not a moment later, another runs out into the room running on all fours. While they are both humanoid in shape and the size of the cannibals, bony protrusions jut from their spines, at at the end of their over-long arms are great claws.
The first creature cocks it head at the beetle and reaches out, effortlessly picking it up and turning the squirming creature over in its hands. Yet smelling fresh blood nearby, the other gazes up at the sunlight pouring down from the gaping hole in the ceiling and gives a deep gutteral bark. It swats at the beetle distracting its undead kin easily bursting the creature's body and showering them in its luminescent juices.
The first utters a low growl of disappointment as the oddity vanishes, but it soon gets over it as it realizes there is tasty, blood-filled flesh dangling just overhead!
Initiative Rolls
Perception Checks
K: Religion
, (Alis), Undead, Darvesch, (Lureene);
MAP: VV - Caves of the Mother, (Round 01)
"Those aren't ghouls at all! Be careful, everyone! They're very quick on all fours, can't paralyze, but carry a nasty disease. So be careful when cutting or stabbing them!" With that, he will activate his purity judgement, cast flames of the faithful, and drop to the floor.
Priyya tries to lure as many of the creatures forward as possible. "Get your fresh meat right here!" She waits until the beasts surge forward and are almost upon them before sending forth a stark white blast of Alita's healing and destructive light.
Grunting and barking with excitement, the giant festrogs rush charge into the room with inhuman speed, the rear one leapfrogging over its feral kin in an attempt to snatch at Priyya and Darvesch. However, the two are just high enough that its clawed hands miss by a few feet. Even so, it is far higher a leap than you could have ever anticipated from a pair of ghouls. Wasting no time, Priyya channels Alíta's power just as the two pass beneath, burning both severely with her holy flames!
Immediately after the blast, thoughts of battle overruling tactics or what happens when one side in a tug-of-war lets go of the rope, Darvesch girds his weapon with offensive magic and lets go of the rope!
Up above, Mal and Sasha are immediately hurled off their feet by the force they were exerting, the big warrior landing heavily atop the svelte redhead with a curse of surprise, and she gives a loud grunt as all the wind is forceded from her. Mal's grip is knocked loose and (fortunately for her) Sasha is likewise unable to maintain her grip.
Hanging in the air in much the same way that bricks don't, Priyya immediately plummets after Darvesch. The dwarf impacts a split second ahead of her crashing onto the forgiving form of one of the dead giants.
In a feat spectacular agility, Priyya miraculously avoids landing on him and instead crashes into Malikadna's charred husk before rolling to the floor and landing flat on her back. Amazed by their good fortune, the festrog that wasn't able to leap as high tries to take advantage of the situation and gropes for the softer looking Priyya with its claws. Ironically, the Surya-ka-Vahaak is protected not by grace or skill but because one of the corpses above her blocks the foul creature's grasping claws!
Will DC 17
Acrobatics Checks
Reflex DC 18
, Priyya, Undead, Darvesch, Lureene
What–
"–the HELL?!"
Alis stands gawking at the calamity below, blinking in surprise as the last of the slack rope slides thru the pulley and falls into the darkness below. She looks up at Sasha flailing her arms helplessly beneath Mal, and then looks at King Tut who just raises his hands and shrugs his tiny shoulders.
She flexes her knees, ready to hop down, rapier in hand before she recalls Darvesch's warning:
"They ... carry a nasty disease. So be careful when cutting or stabbing them!"
"I–" She looks up at Lureene holding up her weapons, with a hopeless expression on her face. "I've got nothing, El!"
, Undead, Darvesch, Lureene, Mal, Sasha
MAP: VV - Caves of the Mother, (Round 02)
On seeing Alis' reaction to the shocking turn of events, Lureene fears the worst. She quickly peers down the shaft, and notes both Darvesch and Priyya laying prone at the bottom of the pit, along with one of the festrogs hovering over the warrior-priestess.
She glances back at Alis, a confused look on her face. What happened to them down there?
She then calls down to Darvesch and Priyya, "Are you both OK?'
"Noooo!" Sasha gasps, "I can't fvcking breathe!"
"Yeah smartass," Mal growls back at Lureene, unaware that she's not talking to them, "I'll be fine as soon as I pick this BONY B1TCH out of my ASS!"
Lureene glances over her shoulder back towards the sprawled couple with an amused glint in her eyes. A small smile plays over her face as she responds "You really need to control your urges better, Mal."
Like the urge to punt you down the hole?
"Yeah, get right on that."
What the hell happened... rope break?
"Alis, you caught them right? Right?!"
Priyya doesn't even bother getting up. Her scarred palm glows and another wave of light flashes across the cavern, healing Darvesch and herself while it scours the undead.
Standard Action -
Move Action -