Gunnarrex is shaken by the hissing but ignores the feeling of fear. He steps aside to make room for another of his companions and then swings his hammer at the coackroaches with a roar.
Seeing the tight space ahead, Taalik drops his lance and draws his sword as he closes on the closest monstrous bug and attacks.
Davlaran lunges at the bug, biting at it viciously
Ixen takes aim and fires with his crossbow.
Dra'zaak isn't able to get a good shot considering the cramped quarters, and in the interest of not wanting to hit an ally, he instead holds position at the rear of the group and watches for danger and waiting for a clear shot.
_______________________________
Gunnarrex and Taalik both deal grievous wounds to the giant cockroach, but fail to put it down, and Ixen's shot fails to find its mark as the other kobolds dodge and weave in combat with the monstrous insect.
The second cockroach is now able to attack Gunnarrex, and the attention of the first is drawn to Taalik, as he had just stabbed it with a sword, but the two kobolds nimbly dodge the giant cockroaches' snapping mandibles. Their unceasing hissing continues to affect the group, but they can do little more right now.
Deftly dodging the cockroaches bite, Taalik swings at the beast again, following up with a bite of his own.
Davlaran as well lashes out with his vicious fangs.
Gunnarrex swings at the wounded roach again, trying to finish it off.
Aardiac, lacking any better option, attempts to distract the creatures from talik, while still doing her insane, strange pantomime.
Ixen moves closer but without s clear shot just waits for the time being.
Dra'zaak swears to himself in Draconic, hating the cramped conditions; He knew that kobolds tended to live in cramped quarters underground, but he himself was never fond of such conditions, having grown up on the surface, with plenty of space to maneuver and shoot. With so many other bodies in his way, he wouldn't risk imbedding an arrow into an ally's back trying to shoot the vermin.
Taalik swings his sword again and easily dispatches the first giant cockroach, allowing Davlaran to ride up and over the corpse of the dead insect to lunge forward and bite the second creature. Gunnarrex then bludgeons the cockroach with a mighty blow from his earth breaker, staggering it as an entire section of carapace caves inward.
As if completely unaware or uncaring of the extent of its own injuries, or consumed with a primitive bloodlust, the cockroach attacks again, biting at Gunnarrex and getting its mandibles around the gold-skinned kobold's arm to apply pressure through his scale mail. The exertion tears at the wound left by Gunnarrex's earth breaker, however, ripping open a hole through which the creatures innards begin spilling out onto the cave floor as it collapses, lifeless.
The two creatures make moving into the cavern somewhat difficult, as their corpses are large and difficult to scramble over, but you can see now that there's a tunnel leading east just beyond where they had been hiding in the junk pile, which is now spread across much of the cavern floor. Now that they're dead, you all recover quickly from the effects of their dreadful hissing, feeling much better now that quiet has returned.
Ixen carefully looks the area over for anything of interest. Now that the vermin were taken care, a part of him wanted to rush but he ignored it. They would not be coming back and anything that would come to feed on the dead would not do so quickly. They had time to salvage.
Cleaning his blade, Taalik keeps his eyes on the dying form of the second giant roach. Concentrating for a moment, he stares into it's soul, seeking the taint of Abyssal evil.
Satisfied that the creatures harbor no contaminating essence, Taalik speaks. "Harvest what we can for meat from these beasts, they may prove to be our last reliable source of food. Ixan, any luck finding supplies of worth?"
- "We should just snap off the legs, and carry what parts of the exoskeletons are intact. The meat inside them is liquidy. Best if you crack the shell, and suck it out like a straw. We used to get these back home sometimes," Gunnarrex suggests. "If we're going to be traveling together perhaps we should start practicing fighting together in tight spaces."
"well, that's over."
anyone hurt too badly?
Aardiac squeezes out into the larger part of the cavern, hopefully letting everyone behind her through.
As Ixen takes his time in sifting through all the junk, every now and then turning up something that could theoretically be of some use, Anevia lights one of the torches and hands it to Horgus, allowing him to lead the way as she limps along behind the fat man while guiding the blind elf by the hand. While Horgus doesn't see the significance of the long-abandoned campsite, Anevia clearly does, saying, "This looks, and smells, like it's been abandoned for days, possibly weeks. There was someone living down here long before we all fell through the earth." This excites the elf, and Aravashnial muses out loud, "I had heard stories of people warped by the powers of the Abyss hiding deep beneath Kenabres and trying to eke out a living here, but actual proof would be incredible!"
Despite the elf's reference to Abyssal taint, the cockroaches seem quite untainted, and you find nothing that would outright suggest demonic worship, though Ixen does manage to find three candle stubs which could perhaps burn for half an hour each, and a brooch made of copper which depicts a bat perched atop a mushroom, with amethysts for eyes. None of you recognize this as a symbol of any known demon lord, however, and it seems entirely free of evil. Ixen also manages to find a musty old bedroll, a fishhook, and about 10 feet worth of hemp rope, frayed at either end. Nothing else seems of any actual use, and Horgus is quick to ask once all the searching is done, "Do you suppose the way forward is safe past here, or will we keep running into creatures like these?"
Aardiac looks to horagus.
"I can't be sure, but it's not too unlikely they'll be more of these things."
Following Gunnarrex's words, Taalik hacks off several legs (and any other easily retrievable parts) and throws them into Davlaran's saddlebag. Turning toward the heavyset human, "I am certain we will face more troubles on the long road ahead, but trust that together, with the guidance and blessing of Apsu, we will make safely the surface and reunite with the Crusade."
As they begin to travel onward, Taalik looks over to the woman and the blind elf and continues in their tongue, "Anevia, you seem very in touch with your surroundings, are you a scout or guide of some sort? Arava-ash'Neel, it is quite possible their could be tainted ones below, but if they are tainted, would they not then be foe?"
Horgus looks doubtful, but accepts Aardiac's assurance all the same, then starts mumbling quietly, imagining the feast he's going to have once he's safely ensconced in his townhouse once again.
Anevia shrugs and says, "Something to that effect. I spent a long while living off the land down in the River Kingdoms, where I met Irabeth. And after following her here to Kenabres, I've tried to help out as much as I can, and that has often been in training recruits to act as scouts, sentries, and skirmishers along the border with the Worldwound."
Aravashnial looks somewhat annoyed at how Taalik mangles his name, but doesn't comment on it, instead saying, "Oh, I'm sure the Prelate would say so, but Hulrun is a bigot who would rather kill someone for having the wrong parents or believing the wrong things. Just because the body has been corrupted does not mean the mind has as well. Indeed, I would be more worried if there were more than rumors, for a truly evil society so close to Kenabres would attempt to infiltrate and spy upon us, no? At any rate, it remains exciting, even if they do prove hostile."
Riding along atop Davlaran, Taalik stands as tall as the surface dwellers. He continues to focus on them, trying to learn what he can that might aid them in the days ahead. "You strike me as very capable Anevia, if only we could get that leg mended more properly. And Master Elf, though your sight may be denied, your wealth of knowledge could prove to be very useful. Please, share more on these rumors good sir."
Turning to his kinsmen, he honestly comments, "It is strange that the surface dwellers know so little of what lies in the underlevels of their city. How can one not know who, or what, inhabits a part of their own home? It is most peculiar indeed."
With the items in hand he lays them out for everyone.
"Well not a treasure trove, but more light time is nice. A bit of rope is always handy and a bedroll is softer then stone. Don't know what use the fish hook could have."
He holds the brooch up to let it shine against the torch light.
"A strange brooch does not seem overly useful but if it keeps my cloak on more. Then no complaints from me."
He pins it on his chest.
"So anyone going to scout ahead with me?"
"I could come with you. I'm rather good at hiding."
Aardiac is fairly impressed with the recorcefulnss of her comrades.
As the group begins to talk again, Dra'zaak motions to Ixen to go scout ahead with him. "Lets get a move on so we can get back to the surface. I'm not overly fond of being stuck down here." He turns back to the rest of the group and lets them know the plan. "Ixen and I will be scouting ahead, but it might be best if the entire group keeps moving as well, otherwise we'll be down here for ages."
"I am not suited to sneaking about. At least not by the standards of our kind. I will lead the slower group from the fore. Should any threats overcome you and try to attack the rest of us, I will be there to meet them," Gunnarrex says to Dra'zaak and Aardic. He crosses his arms over his chest and waits for the inevitable further discussion. Never knew working in a group would require so much patience. I got used to doing what I wanted while I was on the road.
Aardiac actually doesn't have more to say, and gets ready to head out with the others.
Ixen keeps his crossbow out as he scouts. Taking his time to scan and listen to his surroundings as he crept forward.
As Dra'zaak and Ixen scout ahead, they come to a fork in the passageway, one route leading back to the cavern in which Dra'zaak found the backpack up on a ledge, while another leads off towards yet another small cavern. Filled with mounds of rock, the air in the cavern up ahead is still thick with dust from the recent tremors, but you don't hear any sounds that would indicate that further rocks are still falling in the room.
Aardiac attempts to keep up. She quickly realizes those two will do a better job, and slips back.
Dra'zaak and Ixen sneak their way into the cavern and see nothing of any special note inside, and it appears to be abandoned. There is an opening on the far side of the cavern leading even deeper into the system of caverns, and it seems to stretch on for quite a distance, certainly well beyond the range of your darkvision. Indeed, it would take you most of half an hour traveling down that tunnel before it widens into another cavern again, should you choose to continue scouting ahead.
Fortunately, nothing appears to snatch the rather unobservant purple-scale from the back of the line. The three soft-skins seem quite appreciative of the gesture, and if they notice how distracted she is, they keep such observations to themselves. (Not that Aravashnial could notice much of anything at all unless it made a noise or bashed him over the head.)
Drazaak nods to Ixen and points forward, before heading further into the tunnel. With nothing interesting to note yet, he figures theres no need to return to the group just yet, and continues forward, expecting his scouting companion to join him.
=> Aardiac
=> Miss!
=> Miss!
Unfortunately, it seems that while Dra'zaak and Ixen failed to spot a slumbering cave viper, their passage was so quiet as to not disturb the resting reptile. After they return to guide the party onward toward the much longer tunnel they located, the sudden activity disturbs it and it attempts to bite Aardiac! Despite taking you all by surprise and lunging out to attack Aardiac twice, the vicious 6' long albino snake fails to actually puncture her skin.
Gunnarrex swings his hammer at the viper, "Back beast!" he hisses in draconic at the reptile. Mindless beast attacks it's own scaly kin! I bet it will taste good, though...
"qglr? Gia sus.. Qglr?"
Aardiac stammers as the serpent attacks her, panicking quite a bit. Yet somehow, she retains some composure. Aardiac steps back, draws her crossbow, and takes a shot.