"Orcs? I thought we where looking for goblins?" Ssilax asks, sounding a little confused. "Are the orcs attacking? I would imagine if we attack them without provocation, that would just stir up problems for the town." The dragonkin adds after a few moments of considering the situation. "But, I am also rather tired and might not be thinking clearly, so, I am off to my quarters for the night. Until the morning." Ssilax says after yawning.
Stopping to order a dinner meal for both himself and Dog, adding another ale in for himself. After paying, Ssilax heads back to his room for some light reading from his spell and prayer books. Well, after devouring his meal that is. He still wore his robes, but his cowl was hanging loosely under his muzzle.
Relaxed, Ssilax had made himself a nice reclining pile of his gear to lean against. The bed he left for Argon, after a month of sleeping on the ship, he wanted a flat surface to lay on. The kinks he had in his neck and shoulders from being hunched over most of the time, were going to take some effort to work out.
"Goblins. That's what I said. Yes, you must be tired." He adds with a crooked smile.
Wrathe retires early. Spending so much time warily watching over his shoulder for assassins with knives aimed at his spine, after spending so much time trying to avoid drowning, was exhausting.
He wanted to be ready the moment the cock crowed the Sols into the sky.
|
Maps are hard to find, and you suspect no cartographer has ever been tasked with making a map of these envrions; or if one has, it is sitting in the library of some local lord or duke. You do recall the wider look of the island from maps you had seen in the past, and have a rough picture in your heads based on those and other things you have been told of the place.
A good sleep is had by all. If dreams were logical, you might dream of sharks and leviathons swimming away to infinity, and beautiful azatas getting closer; and a marked theurge of Nethys greeting you with open arms, and pies. But the past is the past, and the future us unknown, no matter how well we steer our own personal crafts. The winds of fate have their own plans.
You wake early and gather your gear. Breakfast is a hearty mix of breads and cheeses, and meats and eggs if you like. Ale or sheep's milk is available, the latter warmed if desired. You are each poorer by fifteen silver pieces for the room, the meals and all the ale and wine you have drunk.
Outside it is cool, and you can see only fifty feet in any direction, for the fog sits still upon the land like the foam upon an ale's surface.
The girl Piglet is not there when you eat, nor when you leave. Whatever interest she had in you is gone, it seems. As you walk through the misty street you see all kinds of folk going about their business, much of it related, directly or indirectly, to sailing. You pass by the largest church in town, an imposing stone structure built high and strong. Abadar's faithful inhabit it, and up near the top, in one window, a silhouette in the fog watches your passage. It might (or might not) be the same one who saw you disembarking yesterday.
At the end of the two part graveyard is the carved staircase leading up. After the first small flight, the path heads southwards and up for a bit, and then you find another set of stairs. After ascending them you find a small flat part, from which you can head northwest or southeast. Looking back on the town, you only see the blanket of fog, and a few towers emerging vertically from it (and one wooden one not very much vertically); and the masts of the taller ships farther out, on the water.
Argon recalls that the plateau ends not too far northwest of Blackburn, and from the ship he saw only a barren plain up there. Farther south he recalls seeing some hills and woods up on the plateau. "I think we should head south, as I remember woods and such up that way."
" Isn't the other marked one in the plains of peril? IF we wish to go to the woods today, that is alright with me. We also might have our 'friend' watching us from the other day. " Daxniss says.
"The Plateau of Peril. Up above. It's where we're going," says Argon.
"Did we find out what forest that Momordica is living close too?" the dragonkin asks with a tired sounding yawn. Sleep and dreams had never been the Theurge's ally. Restless sleep and nightmares tend to be his constant nighttime companions. "It's a big island, and I rather not be bumbling around from monster to monster. I don't think we'd live that long with that route."
The dragonkin tries to shake off the fatigue that claws at his thoughts. Even after being awake for almost 2 hours with his books, the dragonkin couldn't shake the specter of bad dreams and restlessness.
"This is ridiculous, I need my coffee, excuse me," Getting up, he asks the bar tender if he has any coffee. If he doesn't, the robed dragonkin asks if he can use the stove to brew up a pot for himself. Aside from the little he had imbibed on the ship, the dragonkin still had a fair amount left with him. The way he felt this morning, he was going to need the strong black liquid to get his day started.
Returning with a cup filled to the brim with the exotic blend of the hot blackness, he sits down with a happy sigh. making sure no one was looking his way, he hunches over his mug slightly. Lowering his cowl, he takes a long drink from his cup. Raising his cowl back up, he looks at the others from the depths of his hooded robe, sighing contently.
"Ahhhhh, so much better. What where we talking about.., oh, that's right. So, before we should head out, we should swing by the general store, both to stock up on supplies and to see if we can narrow down the area where Momo is most likely to be living in."
Wrathe bumps his shoulder in Ssilax as he passes and whispers, as if to keep confidential his concerns, "First you switch orcs and goblins, and now you have forgotten that we purchased supplies just last night, for this very journey. Perhaps you have scale rot, and I am afraid it is terminal."
With callous disregard he offers to have the dragonkin stuffed, mounted, and assures his friend that they will continue to drag his rotting corpse around the countryside.
To the others he says, "The route matters not to me. I just want to stretch my legs and put some space between myself and civilization."
|
|
The cliffs are not sheer, but they would be a tough climb, probably requiring climbing gear, were there not a convenient walking path. Even along the path there are places you have to climb, up on rocks to continue. A horse would not fare well here; perhaps a goat or sheep would?
At spots stairs are carved into the rock, making the climb easier. At other spots, it seems there used to be stairs, but they have fallen away. It is a long way down.
As you hike, Argon and Daxniss notice something strange, above the fog, above the town; a large (dog-sized) bat flies around, first toward the cliffs, then around in circles. Shortly after it disappears back into the fog, not reappearing.
As you continue on, rising higher and higher, heading generally southward, you feel your legs aching a little and you're breathing hard. There is no rain this morning, and now that you're above the fog you see beautiful sunshine lighting up the island before you. You are sure Ayrtor must look magnificent, if you can just reach the ridge.
Up ahead a dark spot is on the path. Perhaps a cave.
" Bloody 'ell that was a big bloody bat. As for supplies, I picked up some more rations and some tea, nothing else I could think of at the mom3nt. " Daxniss tries to ponder what the bat would eat, and shudders.
"Scale rot indeed," Ssilax had responded to Wrathe with a snort of amusement. "Given where you spent most of your free time in the city, I would say I'm not the one who needs to worry about something rotting off." The dragonkin says with a snicker.
Realizing that he didn't really need anything, Ssilax agrees to head out once they finish breakfast.
"Big Bat? Where?" Ssilax says looking skyward and scanning the heavens. "Wow. What a beautiful view" Ssilax says looking around and drinking in the view.
A touch later, when they had paused for a quick breather, the dragonkin looks ahead at the path.
"Is that a cave up ahead?" The young Theurge asks. "So, this might be a bit random, but I wonder if Momo knows were coming. Rygear mentioned that she didn't know, but, there is a chance she might have learned through divine means. Like if she used her abilites to hide in plain sight in the town?" Ssilax pauses for a few moments.
"Just a random thought in my head I thought I would share. Blame the coffee for actually waking me up," Ssilax says with a quiet chuckle.
Each word is forced out through a laboured breath, "What...would...cause people...to live in....such..a...horrible....horseless....place?"
Once he catches his breath, Wrathe tries his Copper Amulet. Perhaps the theurge was part of the same order as his master and Rygear. He had two uses in the day, so he would also try it when they were much closer to where they imagined she lived.
"Momo? She has a nickname already? I wonder if she'll like that."
Argon looks at the cliffs, thinking it would be fun to try and climb them, if he had more time and the right equipment. He seems to be enjoying the hike and climb.
|
|
The group approaches the cave, Argon first, then Ssilax and Dog, Wrathe, and finally Daxniss. Just as Argon reaches a spot where you all can see into the cave (it is five feet back from the path), a figure appears on the path in front of you, twenty feet beyond the cave. It is short, maybe three feet tall, and has a skull of some kind on its face. Red eyes can be seen from inside the eye holes of the skull. It holds a small crossbow pointed at Argon.
A gravelly voice rings out. "Halt, for you trespass on the Domain of the Death Ghoulers!" as more goblins scramble down the slope to join him, some using rope and others running and sliding. Others, you hear, are doing the same behind you, though they are all descending via rope.
With all this happening, you note there is something moving in the cave, so it might not be a safe place to duck.
Initiative is yours.
" Well this escalated quickly, trying to meet a thurge and being ambushed by goblins. " Daxniss says while turning sideways, trying to see how many foes where behind them.
Daxniss had a hand on her rapier hilt and smiled, baring her Caine teeth as they slid out farther, like a serpent's fangs sliding into view.
Daxniss prepares herself to roll past Argon and stab the speaker from behind, trying to set up a classic combat flank.
Wrathe's eyes follow suit with Daxniss' lead. He cast about to glean how many foes they were dealing with, including those that might be trying to remain hidden....especially cave denizens.
The speaker was threatening, but he was unsure if this situation meant likely attack, being sold into slavery, just a threat, or something where they would pay a fine/toll for their insolence. He tries to get a handle on the goblin's intent.
Concerned, Ssilax glances around, looking over his shoulder at the goblins descending. They where effectively surrounded, and something was lurking in the cave, so fleeing there was probably not a good idea.
"Well s#&$." The young Theurge says. Even if they could break through the goblins raining down behind them, its not exactly like they could flee back down the mountainside.
Jumping didn't really count.
Mentally gathering up his magics, he glances at the others.
"Anybody have an idea?" Ssilax mutters to his friends. The robed and cowled looks at the goblin that spoke to them. All things considered, its common was pretty decent sounding. 'That's a dumb thing to think about,' the dragonkin thinks to to himself.
"Where are your clan markers? We didn't see any on the way up." Ssilax asks, stalling for a bit of time.
Argon moves forward, dropping his quarterstaff at his feet, drawing both his falcata and his axe, and hoping the goblin doesn't shoot. He glances up the slope to see if there are more goblins.
He hopes the spellcasters have something up their sneaky sleeves, but is prepared to fight. "Clear the path!" he tries to be assertive.
|
|
Three goblins can be seen before you, and another three behind. Those behind are a bit farther away, about thirty feet. No others are spotted on the steep (but not vertical) mountain face, but goblins are known for being sneaky.
They don't respond to your questions or commands, but rather stand there, ready to attack. The one in the middle of the fore group snickers.
Wrathe glances into the cave, and the movement in there is strange, like some shadow within the shadow. But only for a moment. The shadow is hundreds, thousands, of quickly moving spiders. each the size of a small coin! They move to swarm all over the two in the middle of the party, Wrathe and Ssilax, biting them with little poisonous fangs. The goblins start laughing gleefully.
(Wrathe and Ssilax may first make an attack of opportunity as the swarm moves into their area)
Assuming the spiders survive any AOOs, they bite Wrathe and Ssilax, who are subject to poison (Fort save, DC 11), and distraction (also Fort save, DC 11). Distracted creatures (failing the save) are nauseated (Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.).
Simplistic map
(North is up. Upslope is on the left, downslope is on the right).
After the spiders' attack, your actions again.
Slashing in wide arcs, the young wizard attempts to cut a swath through the approaching swarm, but he is taken completely unawares and he only finds air with his blade.
Wrathe (12/14 hit points, 4/4 mana, 1/1 conjuration, 1/1 shadow)
(nauseated)
(distracted)
All he can think of is to retreat, so that is what he does while making a noise like "GLARRRGH!"
Daxniss groans and says " Fantastic, I'll focus on these ones behind us. " Daxniss wanted to help Wrathe but had a feeling that throwing a jar of Alchemist fire wouldn't help.
Daxniss draws her rapier as she moves forward and lunges her blade in a standard fencing routine.
Struggling to get out of the swarm, Ssilax moves behind Argon, attempting to angle himself out of the 8-legged flood.
Argon lets Ssilax run past him and then he pulls out an alchemist's fire, throwing it at the spiders where he can see the most. His axe hangs by a weapon cord.
The order of the day is "GLARRRGH!", and Wrathe does it well, throwing great swaths of arachnids around as he moves frantically about with no thought to decorum.
In latter days this moment would prove seminal, for it was the start of his hatred of all things spider.
Seeing the spellcasters apparently unable to cast spells, and noting the size of the swarm, Argon takes a (5') step closer to them to keep them from getting to Ssilax. He steps on any that are there.
"I'm going to burn them all! You take care of the Goblins!" he calls out, in Common.
|
|
Things happen so fast. The blanket of spiders spreads over a few of you, getting inside clothes and on your faces, biting you. Ssilax and Wrathe run and almost feel sick, the crawlies all over their bodies. Getting away from most of them, they shake and slap until they have gotten rid of most of the tiny beasts. Wrathe can feel the venom in his blood. (Distraction ended. Wrathe please make another poison save. 2 STR damage so far).
Daxniss fairly charges the first goblin in the rear guard, catching its armor but not its flesh.
Argon pulls out a flask of fire, and proceeds to drop it down the slope. It hits the rocks and bursts into flames next to him (1 splash damage, but Argon is resistant to fire).
The goblins are howling with laughter at all this, making it that much worse.
When speaking goblin sees Ssilax run toward him, he fires a crossbow bolt at him.
Then the one behind him, a bigger goblin with a large, stupid grin, runs forward past the speaker and attacks Ssilax...
The spiders find a victim next to them, and move to snack on Argon.
(requires two fort saves, DC11, one for poison and one for distraction)
At the other side, only one goblin can get to Daxniss currently. He is ugly, with a huge pustule on his nose. He jabs at her with his rusty shortsword.
Argon tries to ignore the spiders, and hopes they don't have poison.
Saves, both vs DC11.
He reaches into his pouch and finds another Alchemists' fire, dropping it on the most densely packed spot next to him.
Daxniss smiles as her armor and her scales cath the blow, stopping it solidly and jabs the her rapier blade again towards the goblin.
" Roasted spiders for a snack you shouldn't have. " She says as inhales the scent of charred arcanids.
Snarling she slides her left hand around her back and draws her dagger deciding to fight with bath her rapier and dagger as soon as she gets a chance.
Hissing at the sudden pain that added to the the spider bites, Ssilax glares at the goblin that just shot him. He retailiates with the Weighted Spear in his hand.
Poisons lance their way through the wizard's body, stealing his vitality and making him feel nauseous.
Wrathe (12/14 hit points, 4 STR damage, 4/4 mana, 1/1 conjuration, 0/1 shadow) snarls and moves next to Daxniss as best as possible and aims a spell at those beyond her (Colour Spray, DC 17 Will Save to negate, 15' range, DC 2 or less - unconscious, blind, and stun for 2D4 rounds and blinded and stunned for 1D4 rounds after and then stunned for 1 round afterward, DC 3 or 4 - blinded and stunned for 1D4 rounds and then stunned for 1 round, DC 5 or more - stunned for 1 round).
|
|
Daxniss and Ssilax fight off the goblins without too much success as yet (both miss), leaving Argon to handle the spiders. Argon doesn't drop the vial this time, but it doesn't go quite where intended.
It splashes on the rocks next to the cave, affecting the spider swarm a bit (1 damage) as a several of the little buggers curl up and burn to black; and it splashes Argon too.
The goblin in front of Ssilax fights back, laughing with certainty that he will destroy his puny enemy (who is much bigger than he is). He seems a bit slower than the other goblins too, but his short sword bites into Ssilax's side.
The speaker, a bit back from Ssilax, calls out his own Goblin Truth: "The Plateau belongs to the Death Ghoulers, let it be known to all! Ha, the spiders are eating you! Ha ha!"
Indeed, the spiders continue their meal; Argon's thick skin seems to hinder them not at all.
Meanwhile, the poison in Wrathe has run its course (no further saves or damage)...
(post in progress, pending clarification from Wrathe)
Seeing that his original plan was not feasible, Wrathe instead covers the area in front of Daxniss with magical grease instead.
|
|
Wrathe covers the ground under two goblins in very slippery magical grease. The cliff next to them is also covered, lest they try to climb it there.
The goblin facing Daxniss falls hard on the ground and slips off the edge. He reaches up to grab the rock to save himself, but it is coated in grease and he goes over.
He almost stops about 20 feet down, but somehow keeps tumbling down the steep slope, lifeless.
The second one manages to stay up on its feet, but is afraid to move. It is 10 feet from Daxniss.
Dog stays safely between Ssilax and the spiders.
(You're up)
He would not look over the edge, for the did not wish to see the shattered body of the lead goblin.
At least the others had stopped jeering.
Wrathe's skin seeps short lines of the poisonous necrotic brew that each spider brewed especially for him. It is all he can do to keep from collapsing into a ball, to clutch the contents of his stomach in before it spills forth from his mouth.
Instead he focuses his energies on the goblin behind the one that appears to be frozen in fear.
Magical words fill the air as he seeks to make a friend out of an enemy (12/14 hit points, 4 STR damage, 4/4 mana, 0/1 conjuration, 0/1 shadow. Charm person: Will save vs. DC 17, gains a +5 to its roll due to being threatened/attacked by the group).
They had spoken in the common tongue, though heavily accented it might have been, so he follows suit with a surprisingly friendly tone, "Run forth and grab your companion. Draw them from this needless battle. Begone from this place, lest we slaughter you all."
Daxniss stabs again at the goblin, trying to work though his defenses. Muttering at the foolishness of not attacking the before the spider swarm showing up.
After watching Ssilax get hit several times, Dog ignores his training and leaps into the fray with a deep, snarling growl. As the dragonkin steadies himself. Dog bites into the foul smelling short thing that attacked his friend.
Muttering about his own incompetence, Ssilax grips the weighted spear tightly in both hands. With a snarl of his own, he stabs at the goblin's jeering frame.
Wrathe's hand snakes forth and grabs Daxniss' shoulder as he warns her of the magical grease in front of her.
Argon feels the spiders all over, and tries not to succumb to the fear or the poison. He jumps and stomps his feet, hoping he'll shake some off and stomp on others. He moves a bit (5' step) away from Ssilax, then he desperately tries to burn them. Pulling out a flask of oil (move action), he hurls it again at the largest concentration of spiders where the previous flask is burning (std action).
Attack:
Saves, both vs DC11:
|
|
The last goblin, a female with some kind of red ..... stuff.. on her head, looks at Wrathe and sees that he is trying to help her (failed Will save). She starts tugging the shirt of the one in front of her, saying something in the ugly Goblin tongue. Though one of the goblins, the speaker, could speak common well enough, apparently not all of them do. She continues to tug the shirt of her ally, and speak in urgent tones; and since Daxniss is still out of reach, and her ally is worried about slipping, he grabs the female goblin's hand and lets her pull him back. The female goblin starts moving farther back while the other tries to regain his footing on the non-slippery slope, unsure what to do.
Wrathe reminds Daxniss of the greasy area, and Daxniss is unable to attack from ten feet away (unless she wanted to throw a dagger or something at Wrathe's 'friends').
Argon's flask of oil hits, but does not get as many spiders as he had hoped - they are super quick. The spiders continue to climb over him.. And the fire keeps burning. A fair number of them have been burnt by now.
On the other side, the path is too narrow for dog to squeeze in and attack, unless Ssilax backs up to let him in. Ssilax's attack is again poor, and he wonders if the gods have it in for them today.
The big goblin in front of Ssilax lashes out again with his rusty sword, giving him a nasty slash on his leg.
The one behind him looks and wonder what's happened to his comrades on the other side.
Argon continues to shake off spiders. Now they are in his hair, and under his chain mail
He watches as his oil continues to burn the spiders...
|
|
The poison got into Argon's system this time, and he feels weaker.
The fire burns brightly (+50% damage from area effects) and the spiders' condition is a combination of burnt to a crisp, overheated, or simply sparse enough that those still moving disperse in every direction (spiders defeated).
(You're still up. Some more than others.)
Argon looks quickly back and sees a large gap between the Goblins and Dax and Wrathe. Then he sees Ssilax, never a melee specialist, trying to hold off three goblins on his own, albeit one at a time.
He calls out (free action), "Withdraw, and heal, Ssilax, I'm free to take them and the spiders are done. Well." (OOC you can withdraw as a full round action and provoke no AOO).
(18/28 hp, 1 STR dam, hates spiders now).
Wrathe backs away (move action) to help stomp the remaining spiders to death (hates spiders now as well), whispering to Daxniss as he departs that the grease will last about 40 breaths and the goblin will be charmed for hours (free action).
Should Daxniss start running to lend assistance to the others, he simply waits for her to run a few feet, then magically's shifts (swift action) behind her.
Daxniss spins around and sees Ssilax's plight, she growls and moves back to help the thurge out. As she gets closer, Daxniss moves to flank this goblin with Dog, and stabs the goblin in the back.
"Agreed. Dog, back up," The young Theurge says through gritted teeth. "You're up," Ssilax grunts as he withdraws from holding the three goblins back.
[ooc] Per Dm's request, I'll need to spend a full round movement to get to Ssilax, so it was a good thing that I didn't hit and do damage, it looks like I'll need to tumble through the swarm and Argon and then I'll have to move in front of Ssilax as he is withdrawing. I didn't have a chance to look at the map when I was at work. [/ooc}
" Aye, I'll stand guard for you. " Daxniss calls out to Ssilax
Acrobatics check for the swarm
Wrathe does a exhausted and weak two-step on the arachnid's charred body, savouring the satisfying crunch 'neath his feet.
"Have at thee foul arachnidae!"
He casts wary glances at the cave, hoping against hope that there were not more swarms awaiting to sup upon their tender flesh, or perhaps worse denizens of the deep.
When his eyes are not sweeping back to the cave, they spend their time glancing back toward the two goblins they left behind.
Lucky he has so many eyes, for he also casts his gaze upward to make sure nothing was about to be dropped upon their pates.
...and then there is the worry about falling and joining the shattered goblin below.
It is a stressful time for those that just escaped the spiders' dinner table.
Argon rushes forward, picking up his falcata via the weapon cord he had attached to it. Past Ssilax, who looks badly injured, and straight into the first goblin standing there. He is weakened a little, but still strong, as he fights off any further poison effects.
(Axe to Grind; 18/28 hp, -1STR)
He yells at the goblins, "Your friends abandoned you and your spiders are fried! Run away now or die!"
" Wrathe, Ssilax keep an eye on the cave, somthing had to adjacent those spiders somehow I'd guess. " Daxniss says while shething her rapier. Daxniss placed the flat of her dagger into her mouth, and draws her crossbow of her back unable to get a shot of she starts the process of loading.
Barely still on his feet, Ssilax quickly chants a healing prayer, made difficult from the weakness in his body. His thoughts racing at his bodies sluggishness, he focuses on the healing prayer.
Dog keeps guard, hackles raised and a nasty growl coming from his throat.
The dragonkin's sapphire orbs glance around him to make sure he was free enough to cast his spell.
Ssilax didn't really think he could afford to screw the spell up, going through practiced motions with limbs that felt like they where somebody else's.