Darvesch stands determined, "May Kahn reignite my flame of righteous anger, and guide this axe to dispatch of you swiftly!"
Theme: The Coming Curse
Seeing that her Frændi is ok, Alis slips away to end the last of the charred pygmies with her dagger. With a single deft stroke, she slices its head off and it topples over.
Without delay another pygmy charges up, thrusting with its spear, yet she takes little satisfaction from dodging the attack or her bladework.
"Um, everyone?" she says, swallowing hard, "Something wicked this way comes..."
GH[/ooc]
As Alis' voice trails off, you can hear what sounds like many whips cracking, the straining of fibers, and the soft thuds of something large approaching. Then you see it.
From out of the darkness emerges a vaguely humanoid thing the size of an ogre. Its bulging hulk strains its thick, violet 'skin' taut. From gaping pores, thick filaments and rope-like tendrils twitch spasmodically in the still air. These lash out with mindless precision latching onto the rough surface of the cave pulling it along like some perverse self-animated marionette.
While you have no idea if it can even see as you know it, as it draws near to the princess, its blubbery bulk shudders and you feel the cave rumble as the tough, fibrous growths all around and beneath you surge to life seeking to root everything near it in place. Alis gives a cry of surprise as the twisting growths entangle her legs, painful barbs digging into her skin!
Fort DC 20
Not good... NOT good!
"It's rooting everything in place with poison... THORNS! I'm stuck!"
There is a chorus of excited yipping from the alcove west of Darvesch as the pygmies, inspired by the awakening of their living god, surge forward to attack Darvesch with claw and spear. In their haste, the pygmies nearly trample one of their own before the others turn to head back around from the other direction.
Darvesch easily deflects a spear aimed at his head, burning axe casting grim shadows across his stony visage.
fumble?
no
The wave of winding, binding growths stops just shy of Lureene line-of-sight seemingly blocking it from approaching Darvesch even though he is closer. From behind her, Lureene hears Jask hiss, "Devilry! This is Devilry!"
He touches Lureene on the shoulder and murmurs a few words of prayer in a tongue she does not recognize. "There. That should further guard you from the poison. Go now, save her!"
, Alis, Jask; enemies
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 46)
-
- entangled (DC 20)
-
-
-
-
Lureene bites back a retort which would have hurt Jask's feelings had it been uttered aloud. And just HOW does he expect me to not get entangled while saving her?
Getting a closer look at the size of that thing, she immediately realizes rushing into that cave would be suicide. Tactically, it would be much better to draw the creature into a chokepoint and then chip away at it. Still if it came to it, she would do so.
"'Lis, can you free yourself?"
"With a bit of luck I can..."
Luck don't fail me now...
Saying a silent prayer to her goddess, Alis twists and breaks free, maneuvering out of the entangling growths with a dancer's finesse before the fungus god can react. The moment she is clear, she shouts, "HIT IT!" sheltering behind the wall near Darvesch.
Acrobatics DC 24
, Jask; enemies, Alis
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 46b)
"Nice to see you again, Frænka! Think you can handle these creeps while I go take care of the big one?" Darvesch attempts to move as swiftly as he can to get as close to the ogre sized plant-thing the fungus men seem to worship.
Lureene nods in satisfaction as Alis moves out of the range of the grasping tendrils. OK, this is going to get really smoky in here....as if it wasn't bad enough already!
Before Darvesch can move into an attacking position, she chants another magical spell and another ball of flame streaks out to engulf the fungal creature!
"Good to see you too!" Alis' grin is cut short as another fireball detonates filling the cavern with yet more smoke. Coughing and waving her hand she gasps, I'll be fine. Their 'god' is just around the corner. Mind your foot–" Her words are interrupted by a fit of coughing from the heavy smoke choking the air.
–and Lureene's spellcasting!
Even as a spear glances harmlessly off his backplate, Darvesch hurries around the corner, unfazed by the befouled air. Yet the moment he steps past the wall, the animated fungal growths root him in place. Unlike his Frænka however, the plate armor covering his shins prevents their poisonous barbs from finding purchase in his flesh.
Crap, he got caught...
"Hang in there, Dar– *cough* I have a trick that might *wheeze*–" as she watches, Darvesch tears free thru sheer brute strength and disappears beyond the corner, "–help..."
Eyes still watering, she glances ruefully at the pygmies ruing the burning in her lungs even as she hears Lureene choking behind her.
Give 'em hell, cuz!
methinks a nat 20 is enough to resolve the Str check as a swift action instead of a move action ;)
Reflex DC 16
Fort DC 17
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 46c)
Darvesch pounds his way through the smoke, his shorter stature and acclimation to caves perhaps helping to avoid choking like the women behind him. As he advances, he finds that there is a stretch where Lureene's repeated firebombing has burned away the fungus blanketing the cavern and he can actually get firm footing.
Smirking at the charred husks of pygmies he sees on the ground, he just barely has time to get his shield up to block the powerful lash of a fibrous tentacle that assails him as he draws near the god that towers over him at at least twice his height!
Like some giant, ambulatory mushroom, he can see that its 'head' flares out wider than its bloated body, and from there protrude four tentacles, stronger than the surface tendrils it uses for movement, that flail and seek for flesh to rot. The axe in his hand seems to burn all the hotter as his approaches his fell quarry, and he knows that he has his god's calling before him...
; enemies, Alis, Lureene, Darvesch
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 46d)
"Again?!" Jask says in disbelief, squinting thru the smoke pouring up the through the passageway where he and Lureene stand. "You risk suffocating us in your attempts to kill the enemy! Caution, please!"
Noting that Lureene is still coughing, he remains ready to guard her with his spear should any foes seek to attack her.
"AAAH!" Alis' coughing fit is punctuated by a cry of pain as one of the pygmies takes advantage of her weakened state. It lunges forward slashing at her thighs and opening vicious, lacerations in her alabaster flesh.
Dammit, can't maneuver while I'm bent over hacking...
A barrage of whip-like blows crack loud and hard around Darvesch. He dodges two to one side, and just barely blocks another with his shield. Yet the fourth strike comes too quickly for him to react and he just barely ducks his head in time to suffer that strike along side his jaw instead of across the throat.
He can feel the burning sensation of some fell taint in the attack, but even without the added protections of Súmalya's blessing or the dead witch's antitoxin, he shakes it off. As the taste of blood reaches his lips, Darvesch realizes the fungal abomination is trying to pull back further into the sheltering morass of entangling growths to the west.
Fort DC 20
, Alis, Lureene, Darvesch, [Jask]
Darvesch anticipates it's movement striking swiftly as he tries to keep up with the giant mushroom.
"What the hell are these things!?!" He shouts in anger.
As the monstrous god moves away, Darvesch steps up and strikes. His burning axe bites into the abomination, black smoke seething from the point of impact. While it is not his best axe-stroke, he feels certain that it should have left a bigger gash than it did. Instead, the mark looks more like one left by a broadsword wielded by someone with no greater strength than Alis or Lureene. Something about its make-up was resisting his attack!
Thinking quickly, noting the way the pygmies acted in unison, the seemingly designed nature of the 'bridge' connecting this spire to the Silent Island, the unnatural proliferation of growth that should not be possible on the surface, the inquisitor realizes this is no mindless, natural thing he fights. While it might be beyond mortal ken, he recognizes all the signs of something not quite of this world, something with a dark enmity for the natural life of this world...
He also realizes that its whiplike tentacles are capable of rotting living matter in short order and that it would prefer to attack at range.
As god and inquisitor move further back into the cave, Lureene and Alis can see that the region of animated, grasping fungus retreats an equal distance, giving just enough space to traverse the large chamber's southern and eastern peripheries without risk of entanglement.
Ducking beneath the haze of smoke, Alis gasps taking a breath of clear air and vaults away from claws and spears and skipping through the writhing fungus to the other side.
Don't think I've cast this when I wasn't diving before but...
Standing inside the illuminated smoke between three of her dancing lights, Alis can hear Jask choking and feel Tut's respiratory distress thru their supernatural bond. Straining to keep her own breathing under control, she ducks her head, momentarily crossing her arms before her face before sweeping her hands away as if trying to clear away the haze. Instantly, a zone of fresh air forms around her head granting her a reprieve from the heavy smoke.
Standing tall, she calls out in a commanding tone, "Darvesch needs our help! Jask, crouch beneath the smoke. Lureene, we can't fight if we can't breathe — mind the surroundings."
Reflex DC
Spellcraft DC 16
, {Jask}; enemies, Alis
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 47)
Lureene shakes off the effects of the smoke even as she notes the smoke bothering Jask and Tut. She nods in agreement while she brushes the tears out of her eyes.
"Yeah, I think we cannot take any more smoke in here, 'Lis!"
....Although I am not sure how I will be able to hurt that thing. Maybe Jask will have an idea....I hope.
As she steps into the cavern, she turns her attention to the remaining pygmies and thinks, Well, at least I can slow these filthy creatures down... as she once again intones her magic. After the spell goes off she moves next to her friend, ready to assist ehr.
Lureene carefully makes her way across the treacherous floor, slipping past Alis to get a better view of the situation. Noting that Alis' skin isn't as impervious as her own, she decides to do something about the remaining vegepygmies hoping to molest her further. With an intonation and a wave of her hands, she conjures a mass of sticky webs in the choke point to the south hoping to keep them at bay.
Even ask Jask drops to his knees at Alis' suggestion, the princess nods in approval. "Good plan."
Let's hope it works...
; enemies, Alis, Lureene, {Jask}
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 47b)
"I hope this works, Kahn.." he thinks to himself, and his god.
Darvesch mutters, "By all that is holy, I'll vanquish you.."
He strikes the god with all his might, yelling to his allies, "Strike him with weapons imbued with the light of your gods, or the hatred for fiends and unnatural abominations!"
As Darvesch raises his axe, its flames take on a golden cast. This time when he rains down a blows upon the fungal god, it emits a piercing howl of pain as a deep rent is torn in its violet form, dark energy pouring forth from the wound.
Still it is not done-for, not yet anyway. A dark aura suffuses the air around it and you recognize it as the same sort of attack the blackguard in Light's End brought to bear against Priyya!
A multitude of whip-cracks fill the air. One tentactle is blocked by the dwarf's breastplate, another two by his shieldwork. Yet even as he seeks to retaliate as the thing begins to move away, a hard blow strikes him through a gap between the plates of his left pauldron.
Immediately he can feel the weight of his shield double as the very muscles in his shoulder begin to wither and rot beneath the plate. He pales visibly as his very life-force shrinks from the abomination's vile touch.
Yet he is not done, he steps up and strikes at it again inflicting another terrible wound upon it even as the fungal growth on the ground snares his legs.
Fort DC 20
Reflex DC 20
Alarmed that someone has dared to strike at its god, the pygmies tear at Lureene's web seeking to free themselves. Only one succeed, and manages to catch up to the heretical dwarf, intent on murder.
At the eastern side of the room, Alis winces seeing the assault her cousin just suffered and how he very nearly dropped his shield.
Dammit, I thought he was going to fall for a moment there...
"Jask NOW, Darvesch needs our help!"
Beside her, Lureene begins to choke on the smoke again. The princess swears softly under her breath and recasts her spell upon the succubus. "No time for that, let's go!"
As Jask rushes into the chamber, she touches him and shouts, "FLY!"
Fort DC 19
"Fly?!" There is surprise in Jask's voice as he suddenly takes to the air. Quickly realizing what Alis has done, he nods and zips through the smoke-filled air to Darvesch's side. The fungal god tries to strike at him as he approaches, but its attack is blocked by a stalagmite.
Concentrating intently, Jask raises a star-shaped holy symbol into the air. In a clear voice, the old man calls out. "Astra, heal this warrior whose fate is to strive against the darkness!"
At his touch, Darvesch can feel his vitality return, although his strength is still sapped.
As Alis' spell ends, Jask alights in the fungal patch somehow evading its grasping tendril for the time being.
OR
this one
Reflex DC 20
-
-
-
-
-2 penalty
no penalty
-
-
Alis breathes the tiniest sigh of relief that Jask's bravery didn't get him killed. Not taking her eyes off the enemy, she says to Lureene, "Come on, we need to give that thing more to think about..."
With that, she hops clear across the narrowing band of animated fungus before her landing directly behind the pygmy flanking Darvesch — the same one that injured her just moments ago.
"Miss me?"
; enemies, Alis, Jask
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 48)
Lureene shakes her head when she sees Jask miraculously survive the counterattack of the fungal god. I think 'Lis's goddess certainly favors him...I just hope her luck continues to hold here...I had better help him out.
She flexes her wings and jumps deeper into the cavern between Alis and Jask, and gives the old man an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry, Jask...your angel is here!"
As she lands gracefully behind the old man, she chants a melodious phrase and a golden light glows in a nimbus reflecting off her wings! She points at the fungal demon, "Your judgement has arrived, foul demon!"
Following Alis' example, Lureene vaults the treacherous footing landing safely near her companions and glowing like the sun.
; enemies, Alis, Jask, Lureene
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 48b)
"Surely this is no true demon.." Darvesch thinks. "Let's try this.." Darvesch shifts his focus to cutting down aberrant monsters and strange creatures.
Darvesch again swings at this creature, praying he can keep his strength up long enough to fell the thing.
Darvesch lands a terrific blow upon the abomination that makes its rubbery flesh boil away. Seeing that he chose wisely, the dwarf reverses his axe, trying to land a backhanded hit, but he is still off-balance from the first and misses by a wide margin.
Injured and in pain, the fungal god recoils as much from the axe-stroke as from Lureene's radiance. It lashes out, attempting to strike all those whom it can reach. Unable to quite reach Alis and Lureene, it focuses its wrath on Darvesch, and the one who dared to heal the being it had marked for death.
Darvesch feels the hard crack of a whip upside his head and just manages to knock another aside with his shield. As he braces for another attack, another tentacles lashes out with preturnatural precision to slash Jask's throat wide open. The old man drops to the ground, possibly dead. As the dwarf's gaze lingers, perhaps watching for signs of rot, another tentacle slips just past his guard and he feels darkness overtake his senses as he too falls to the ground, lifeblood soaking into the spongy cavern floor.
As the two men fall, the fungal god seems to reconsider its retreat, but you notice that Darvesch's axe still burns in his grasp. The thing inches backwards, biding its time even as it sends out the mental call to its minions to aid it.
yes
Fort DC 20
CMB DC 15
free
free
move
move
Alis gasps as Jask falls but when her Frændi does, a single word, shrieked in horror pierces the muting quiet of the cavern,
Trying to keep her head in the fight, the princess readies herself for an attack by the pygmy before her, but instead it does something unexpected. It lunges forward towards Darvesch's axe!
Oh hell no!
In a flurry of movement, she goes to sweep its legs. Instinctively, the small creature attempts to grab hold and pull her off her feet, but it underestimates her swiftness and there is a crack as the heel of her boot drops down upon its back.
Before she can do anything about it though, she hears the pitter-patter of small feet behind her and turns to find that one of the pygmies has freed itself from Lureene's web and is running straight at her.
"Stay away from my friends!"
In desperation, she attempts to knock it down too, but something catches her foot and she goes down. Yet rather than pouncing atop her, the vegepygmy continues its course, as if being controlled by a greater intellect, and runs up to Lureene instead.
Dammit...
Willing her dancing lights to sweep forward, she rolls to the side and slashes at the back of the pygmy intent upon disrupting Lureene's attack. She takes a good-sized chunk out of its shoulder, but it remains standing.
"EL!" she cries out, "I don't have any attacks that can hurt that thing, it's up to you! YOU CAN DO IT!"
; enemies, Alis
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 48c)
Lureene feels a palpaple sense of desperation fill the cave as first Jask, and then Darvesch go down under the assaults from the fungal creature.
This is not how the plan was supposed to go! I should not have let Jask come along! We should have brought Priyya and Mal instead! Fighting back a wave of hopelessness, she notes with bitterness even her web spell has not proved very effective either.
She realized it was all up to her now. While she could handle her own failure here, as it would mean her death most likely, she could not bear to let her friends suffer her own mistakes. She takes a deep breath and focuses her glow on the true threat, ignoring the pygmy next to her. She debated for a split second to have Alis flee, but knew the princess would never abandon her here.
Here goes...forgive me Father...
She points at the fungal creature and looses her golden light in a twin pair of burning arcs which also carries her hopes and dreams with them.
Lureene's attack hits the evil god hard, burning twin holes clear thru it and out the other side. It shrieks in pain, causing the entire spire to shudder, but it does not go down. Still standing within the writhing mass of snaring growth, the fell thing anxiously bides its time as it waits for its minions to clear the obstacle before it.
Not far from Alis, the pygmy she had tripped crawls forward and grabs Darvesch's axe seeking to pull it from his grasp. When it touches the haft however, the weapon flashes brightly, immolating the pygmy completely!
What the–
From around the far end of the southern wall, another pygmy appears. It swiftly races past its god over to Lureene, attempting to hem her in. Glowering at the situation and knowing that they dare not try to approach, Alis spins and strikes out with her bejeweled mithril dagger relieving the pygmy beside her of its head.
"The axe is keeping it at bay!" She points east. "Fall back and hit it again!"
At Alis' words, you can feel a wave of hostility sweep through the air and a low thrumming emanates sound from the god. In horror, you see it lumber forward, shuddering in pain as Darvesch's axe burns it, yet unwilling to allow its tormentors to regroup!
Before Lureene can react, a lightning-fast tentacle lashes out attempting to strike her. Yet luck saves her, and instead another of her mirror images is destroyed.
Gritting her teeth, Alis dives towards her friend. Sensing that the other mortal is about to aid the blasphemous spell-caster, the god lashes out, attempting to strike the princess, but she easily evades its attack. Stretching out a hand towards Lureene, she tags her on the palm and shouts, "FLY!"
Fort DC 20
Con DC 10
Fort DC 21
; enemies, Alis
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 49)
-
-
-
- dying
-
-
- stabilized
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 49)
Lureene is thankful Alis' luck is still holding up...mostly. As Alis slaps her on the palm and feels the magic take ahold of her, she launches hersel away from the creature!
As she lands in the entangling vines, she puts them aside and tries to recall whether acid would be fully effective against this fiend.
Alis doesn't have to say 'fly' twice. Lureene darts away from the fungal god as fast as she can, diving further into the retreating smoke. Nearby, she can hear King Tut choking even as Grak continues to badger her, wonder what's wrong.
Turning around, she sees Alis standing alone next to the abomination and wracks her brain trying to recall what other fiends were allergic to. She herself was somewhat resistant to freezing, burning, and electrocution, whereas her mother was impervious fire and lightning and shrugged off ice, and acid.
Yet this thing had actually gotten burned by her fireball so it clearly didn't share the same traits. About the only thing she knew for certain is that light spell she cast did far more damage than it had any business doing — even had she used it against someone like Lucia.
Lureene curses the fact while her Light of Mercuria spell was quite effective against the foul creature, it took several precious seconds to loose the energy in its destructive form, seconds she did not think Alis had. She knew a fireball spell would finish it off...along with her fallen comrades.
I wish I could remember!
She elects to trust in her acidic orb, trusting the plantlike nature overrode its fiendish resistances. She hurriedly chants her spell and lets it fly...
Lureene's orb of acid flies straight and true striking the monstrosity squarely in a region already heavily damaged by Darvesch. The thing pauses for a moment, one of its tendrils inspecting the injury yet seemingly unable to tell what just happened as the greenish acid pours back out of the wound sizzling only when it splashes onto the cavern floor below.
Lureene's face falls as she realizes that this fungal god is either resistant to or immune to corrosion.
As she watches, the thing moves off of Darvesch, before unleashing a flurry of whip-like attacks against Alis. Although the lithe little dancer is fast, she's not fast enough and one of its tentacles strikes her hard across her arm nearly knocking her dagger away.
Fort DC
-
-
-
- dying
-
-
- stabilized
Alis has to fight off a sinking feeling when she sees Lureene's attack has no effect.
If I get Darv back up, he might be able to do something, but I'm no cleric. If this thing focuses on him agai–
A sick *SPLORTCH* breaks Alis' train of thought.
"Jask?"
She turns to see the last remaining vegepygmy pulls from Jask's heart and step up behind her into a flanking position.
"" Eyes narrowing, she dives away from the evil god, ducking beneath a tentacle as she moves laterally. The pygmy raises its spear thinking to spit her upon it, but instead she dodges into the fungal growth between the two fallen men, fooling both god and minion.
Crouching next to Darvesch, she pulls a hidden plug from the end of her rapier's scabbard and a glowing blue drought flows into his open mouth curing some of his wounds. From close by, the familiar voice of his Frænka breaks through the darkness in which Darvesch was lost, and he once againn becomes aware of how much pain he's in. It is then that he wonder if he'd have done better not to wake up at all.
Teeth clenched in frustration, eyes red with anger and sorrow, the princess glares at the so-called god and says, "Lureene, I'm clear. FIREBALL IT!"
Fort DC 22
Reflex DC 20
Perception Checks
; Darvesch, enemies, Alis
MAP: S-The Fungal God, (Round 50)
-
-
-
- prone
-
-
- dead
"With pleasure!"
Her eyes brimming with tears, Lureene chants her spell with an undercurrent of rage, mixed with despair.
A pea-sized ember streaks from Lureene's finger and the fungal god quakes in impotent rage at the deception before it is consumed by roiling waves of flame. To the north, you can see the pygmy dodge the worst of it, but then a strange thing happens.
As the 'god's' body burst apart, depositing the bloated and blackened remains of a human male upon the ground, the pygmy goes rigid as a board and falls over, burning up even as the rest of the growth upon the floor, walls, and ceiling begins to disintegrate.
Before the thick, choking smoke can overwhelm Darvesch, Alis casts her spell upon him as well before helping him to his feet. Not far away, she can sense that King Tut finally managed to muster enough strength to dash outside before succumbing to asphyxiation.
Fort DC 23
Theme: Apologize
After tending to the worst of Darvesch's wounds, she sighs and kneels beside Jask, wiping the blood from his face with a small, soft cloth. Heaviness in her heart, she says, "He was so adamant about coming along... to prove his worth..."
Bowing her head, she says quietly, "Thank you for your sacrifice, Mr. Derindi. You redeemed your pride... You saved my cousin."
Yet it's still my fault that you're dead. I knew better... I knew...
Doing her best to maintain a regal bearing in spite of everything, Alis says evenly, "Jask deserves a better resting place than this. Let's bear him back to Aycenia's grove at least. His spirit will rest better there."
Lureene looks over the dead male human which had been their enemy. Was this the remains of the Captain? Considering what is now happening to the fungal growth now, she considered it likely the threat was ended. But she felt no elation, and she knew why. This victory came at a steep price.
It takes all of Lureene's willpower not to break down sobbing when she sees Jask's corpse. This is MY fault! Why did I insist he come along? She takes little comfort in the fact his presence probably saved Darvesch, and all of them. Still seeing Alis trying to maintain her composure helps her somewhat.
She walks over to where Alis is and softly replys in a voice choked with emotion, "I agree, 'Lis. I think he would like that..."
She bends over and plants a kiss on his rapidly cooling lips. "Farewell Jask. I...I want to thank you for saving us there. And I...I wish I could have done better. I hope you can forgive me."
"Dammit, Jask. Why'd you have to die saving me.." Is Darvesh's only thought as he stands, looking at his fallen ally. "Let's cover him up, and give him a proper burial. El, help me with him, will you." Darvesch remains hard as stone on the outside, as he feels the pain of losing another battle brother.
Lureene looks up at Darvesch where he can see her eyes still glisten with unshed tears. "Yes, Darv, we need to make sure he gets a proper burial. Like Alis said, I think he would appreciate being buried in Aycenia's grove."
Alis rests a comforting hand on Lureene's shoulder even as bits of flaking fungus sprinkle down from the ceiling, blanketing everything inside the cave like some subterranean snowfall. Looking to Darvesch as he dresses Jask's body for travel, she says, "If it wasn't for you and your axe, I think we all would have fallen. Even when you were stricken it still burned the enemy."
Sighing, she turns to look a the mushy black mass of the former captain of the Nightsong. When the glint of gold catches her eye. Walking over, she uses the tip of her rapier to lift a gold pocket watch free. "It looks like Captain Ames was unsuccessful in his final mission as master of the Nightsong."
She extends the pocket watch at swords-length and you can see 'Havner Ames, Captain: S.A.S. Nightsong' engraved on the back plate.
Shaking her head as his form continues to melt away, she mutters, "Gods, what a terrible fate. There's no way we can move him like this, I suppose the best we can offer are to burn the remains and offer our prayers..."
Lureene chokes back a sob, as Alis mentions the final fate of the late Captaiin to her. "I...I guess not..." She looks over inside the cave and adds, "I guess we need to make sure no trace of that fungal egg is left, right?"
It would be foolish for us NOT to make sure the threat is completely eliminated...
Later, as the Captain's remains are burned, she offers a silent prayer, Captain Ames, I wish I could forgive you right now, but the pain is too much for me. Maybe I just need more time...
After a thorough search of the cave, you can find no trace of anything like the pod that was described, nor any magical or alignment-based signatures other than yourselves. Of course, as Darvesch explains, such a spore pod would have likely withered away long ago after having fulfilled its foul purpose of infecting everyone.
Indeed from what he can tell the only reason the captain's body was still around at all was because it had been host to the thing that grew out of him after he was infected. He was no more your enemy than any unfortunate soul who might get turned into a zombie by some dark act. A dead tree with fungus growing on it does not revert to being a living tree simply because something else is living upon its husk.
Finding nothing else of note in the cave or on the captain (beyond the metal buttons and buckles of his clothes that were not consumed by the blight), you make your way outside. As you shield your eyes against the glare of the setting sun, you find yourselves witnessing a surreal scene. With the sustaining presence of its god now destroyed, the unnatural fungus covering everything has begun to dry out. Everything touched by the sun has already begun to crumble and blow away on the wind, scintillating in the wind like snowflakes.
The rope bridge back to the island itself groans ominously when you attempt to cross, and Alis decides it best to simply fly everyone back rather than risk a fall into the rising surf. No sooner has Darvesch landed on the far side than does it give way, falling apart under its own weight. After spending a few minutes to fashion a make-shift litter upon which to bear Jask, you begin the trek south to rendezvous with Gelik and Sasha, eyes squinted against the fungal snow and the setting sun.
Dungeoneering Checks
Time: 2:00 et (eventide, 8:00pm)
""
Sasha's indelicate outburst elicits a groan from the small pup tent by the sheltered campfire the huntress had built, the smell of fish cooking wafting thru the humid evening air.
It had been about 6 hours since the four had set out to end the blight, and Parrot Island was still uncomfortably warm even a good hour past the tropical sunset. Rubbing his eyes, Gelik staggers out from his tent, fancy blue robes rumpled and hair askew. "Who's dead? Sasha was right here all this time, she kept trying to talk to the damn birds..."