Kayla goes along with what everyone else syas. wondering who has taken point.
You begin to go back the way you come, following the parallel path. The trail narrows and you're force to travel once again in single file. Another hour passes and the trail widens considerably.
This smaller cavern appears to have once served as a campsite or temporary lair. A torn bedroll lies next to the cold remains of a fire. A pile of bones, broken equipment, and rubble lies just past the campsite.
Slowly spinning the heavy iron weight at the end of his dorn dergar in a small, vertical circle, Barundar steps forward, eyes moving this way and that, on the lookout for anything that may've recently left those bones there.
While looking through the camp, you find a few normal items along with a curious one. In a few minutes of observation, you find a torn bedroll, three candle stubs, a bent fishhook, 10 feet of badly frayed hemp rope, and a copper brooch depicting a bat perched on a mushroom, both of the bat’s eyes are tiny amethysts.
The bones appear to be of some deformed man, long expired.
"Interesting bit of treasure, there. I winder where it came from. It seems out of place here."
Kayla stays to the shadows, not out of sight of the group. she again looks for signs of recent inhaditants, such as tracks, markings, etc.
"How long do you estimate it's been here?"
Barundar puts away his dorn dergar, approaching the treasure cautiously nonetheless. He examines the bones of the deceased man to see if they may offer some clue as to what brought the long-dead person so far underground.
Weyland squats down beside the remains of the deformed man, "What do we have here? I don't know much about these kinds of things, but these bones do not seem right. Does anyone have any insight? Lord Gwerm? Aravashnial? If either of you have any expertise in this area, it would be greatly appreciated. Any information we can glean about the challenges we might face down here would be very helpful."
Aravashnial steps forward and tries to feel the bones and see through his touch. "Interesting, I had heard rumors... For you see during the first Crusade, there were a small minority of Crusaders who conceived children while they were close to the Worldwound. The resulting children were born with deformities from the Abyssal energies. At the time they faced overwhelming prejudice and ended up leaving Kenabres because of it. Appears they may have come down here..."
You spot some tracks, they appear to be vermin or insect tracks, and a lot of them. All in this campsite.
Reinnwulf looked from the elf to the bones and back again. "Are you saying this was human? Or at least born to human parents? That's monstrous. And you think there are more here?"
Kayla stoops to the ground examining something as she was searching around.
damn, vermin
she draws her blade. and takes a stance of defense.
realizing that the others may not understand her native tounge.
Vermin, protect the non-combatants
Kayla scans the area for the source of the tacks
Putting his foster father between him and the wall, Vaelor raised his spear in preparation to strike.
As a true bodyguard should, Reinnwulf moved to within ten feet of Horgus, and readied his spear to attack. He cast a wary glance around the cavern, looking for any possible source of danger.
Enshi draws his scimitar and assumes a defensive posture between Horgus Gwer
And Anevia Tirabade.
Moving on from the skeleton, Barundar picks up the brooch to investigate it, hoping his dwarven heritage will make it easier for him to notice anything special or unique about it.
After examining the trinket, he hears the rest of them suddenly mention vermin nearby. For the moment stowing the brooch, he takes up his dorn dergar again, swinging it in a tight circle above his head, ready to heave it at the first hostile creature he notices.
The pile of refuge finally rumbles and falls apart. Four giant nasty looking and disturbed cockroaches burst out of the pile and chitter in annoyance.
Despite what he said earlier, Vaelor was not moving and leaving his father defenseless. Putting one hand forward, he said, "Pahhilya Szlyiva." A glowing dart of white and purple energy streaked towards the nearest roach.
"Filthy vermin!" cries the dwarf as he swings his dorn dergar down at the nearest cockroach, hoping to finally prove his mettle in combat since Reinnwulf handled the entirety of it the first time.
Kayla tries to manuver herself to best advatage possible hoping to throw off the insect's defenses and strike at the creatures weakes link.
seeing an opening behind one of the bugs will put her in just the right spot she is seeking...
Kayla manages to leap to the cavern wall and using that as a sping board, she twirls off and lands behind the insect into a flanking postion.
Enshi calls forth a burst of flame to crisp the nearest of the bugs.
"Vermin!! Lord Gwerm. Aravashnial. Fall back while we deal with these nuisances."
Move between the bugs and the civilians and draw sword.
Weyland was shouting the appropriate orders to their charge, so Reinnwulf didn't waste his breath. He moved in on the cockroaches, spear sweeping out in light flicks of the blade on the end.
Move to position myself for as many AoOs as possible if/when the bugs close, staying at least 10 feet away for my ranseur's reach. Attack the nearest cockroach.
Rolling AoOs, just in case
Reinnwulf skewers one of the roaches, while the other three swarm the nearest targets. One jumps on Kayla while the other two hiss and attack Weyland.
The cockroaches swarm over their targets, but don't land any proper hits.
Growling in frustration at his ineffectiveness to this point, Barundar winds up his dorn dergar once more, sweeping it horizontally near the ground to try and catch one roaches that way.
Wanting to reserve as much mystical power as possible, Vaelor moved to assist the little one.
Enshi aims for one of the roaches attacking Weyland. "Fire coming, Weyland." He lets loose with the bolt.
"Back, vile beasts!"
Weyland swings wildly, but between the insects swarming him and Enshi's fire blazing in, he fails to connect with his target.
The roach leaps at Kayla but Kayla dodged out of the way. taking advantage of the miss Kayla swings her sword at it.
Reinnwulf flicked the roach viscera from his spear and lunged once more. "If you continue to talk, instead of fighting, you will never defeat this enemy, Weyland."
Engage, and try and get in a position to do AoOs (Reinnwulf gets up to 3 AoO/rnd)
Potential AoO's
Barundar's weapon smashes into one of the cockroaches, but doesn't fell the creature. It turns and hisses at the dwarf before becoming roasted by Enshi's fire blast. Reinnwulf skewers another cockroach on Weyland sending it to the abyss with his great strike.
One roach remains alive as it continues to swarm Kayla.
But it can't seem to bite into the nimble gnome.
Moving into a position that placed the giant bug between him and the Gnome, Vaelor stabbed again.
Kayla does her best to not vomit at the stench of the giant bug. a normal cockroach was bad enough but this was ridiculious.
She tries once more to postion herself to strike true as she avoids the slimy pincers on the bug.
Kayla stabs through the abdomen of the nasty bug, and her blade quickly becomes slick from the blood and guts of the creature.
"Is everyone all right? Anybody hurt?" Enshi sheathes his scimitar and moves to assist any injured parties.
Enshi will take a look at the bones that were being examined previously. "Do you think those things were what killed this one?"
Reinnwulf laughed into the air, head thrown back as he shook roach guts from his spear once more. "Now there was a bit of fun,yes? Working together, felling enemies, saving fair damsels" He mugged a face at Weyland, letting the man know that he was just ribbing him.
"As for that, I do not know how long these things live, but that body is all bones. Do you really think they could have stripped it and then hung around?"
"I am unharmed, masell. Does it really maiter how he died? he haes passed; naught mair kin be dane tae hulp him. Ah say we focus oan th' living."
Getting back to his father, Vaelor asked, "Where to from here?"