Ilistra charges up her fire blast hoping she can help bring down one before they're overwhelmed. She targets the one already injured.
The chimera lights on fire as Ilistra melts its faces off, horribly immolating it. The creature appears to be in extreme pain, and shifts from an offensive posture to one of flight.
Cica stands there, jaw tense, feeling the acid burn into the bruises and cuts he got fighting the bat.
Is this it? The end for me? Nothing to bring home to my family? No great name?
Then, within moments, Ilistra sears the one assaulting her, and Garland comes over to sooth his wounds with divine magic.
"Hey man, I won't lie, wearing that mask for all these weeks is weird. But you prolly just saved my life there, so I'm good with weird, OK? Thanks."
She drops her bow into her magic sheath and draws her longsword in the same swift action, swinging it at the wounded chimera (hoping to take it down, or else seal its intention to get out of here).
Cica's blade scrapes along the monster's matted fur and scales, but doesn't really penetrate.
The wounded chimera whirls and launches back in the air, trying to get away from the humanoids before it dies. In its panic it leaves Cica an opening and she stabs up straight through its side and into a kidney. The flaming beast takes off, flaps a couple of times, and then falls in a shower of blood and smoke to ricochet off the cliff below and smash into the surf-blasted rocks cresting the waves.
The larger chimera screams in rage as Cica murders its mate.
"Fall back, Luna! I'll handle this monster," Garland proclaimed.
The noble wolf nodded, though before retreating, she snapped at one of the chimera's legs. Alas, Her attack ultimately proved to be more of a feint. Hopefully, thought, it allowed Garland's scythe to hit instead.
Garland's scythe hits the beast, but only manages to dent its scales, leaving a superficial mark. The thing rears back and unleashes a giant wave of fire over Ilistra, Luna and Cica, before hopping back a bit.
================================
Ilistra dodges the worst of the fire and her native resistance help further, but what gets through is still too much and she passes out again.
Cica draws her bow, focuses herself--moving beside Ilistra as she does so--and then fires an arrow...but it barely glances off the chimera's draconic scales.
Right as the chimera's fiery breath is about to reach her, Luna hits the deck, causing the flames to sail harmlessly over her. She then feigns a retreat.
Garland carefully maneuvers himself in front of Ilistra and once again heals her. He then steels himself for a likely brutal melee fight with the chimera.
The huge chimera rushes right past Garland, ignoring him.
It hisses "ឃាតករ! ស្លាប់! before chomping down at Ilistra on the ground.
She manages to roll out of the way, and the thing bites into the dirt instead!
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Cica again draws and attempts to take down the new, larger chimera.
Garland reflexively swings his scythe at the chimera as it rushes past him. He then follows his first strike with a second one of similar power. After Garland makes his second attack, Luna hustles over to his side and bites at the chimera's leg.
Ilistra rises to her feet cautiously, trying to avoid the snapping jaws of the monster while her body suddenly becomes painfully hot to the touch!
The beast lashes out in fury at everyone around it!
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Garland lets out a whistle, which spurs Luna to carefully move away from the chimera. The wolf then quickly skirts around the edge of the battlefield, careful to stay out of the chimera's reach as she moves. Once she is back in attack range, Garland takes a step ensure that the chimera is surrounded. Together, Garland and Luna attack the beast.
The scythe hits, but Luna is unable to pierce the Chimera's hide.
Ilistra flings a ball of flame at the chimera.
Cica dodges a bit back from the chimera while steadying an arrow at it, and then looses it with everything she's got.
Cica's arrow blasts the dragon head open as it streaks right through, ending the chimera's life.
Cica flops down on the ground, hard.
Eyes closed, she groans and says, "F+&* f%#+ f!## f@#% f~~#. That was way too f#@&ing close. Never should've come to this island, as beat up as we were...and I think I saw the nest of a third one in there. If that one'd been home too, I doubt we'd've made it out alive. As was, Garland had to run around keeping our asses conscious.
"Thanks for that, by the way."
"Glad to be of assistance," Garland said with a theatrical bow (after catching his breath first). "That being said, we should call it a day. We have fought several opponents today, and I only have three light healing spells left now..."
Ilistra shudders as the monster lights from her fire and finally falls to Cica's deadly arrows.
"Resting, healing would be good."
"Before we leave, let's take a quick look around the area. Those creatures were likely apex predators, so it strikes as... unlikely that there is still anything too dangerous around here," Garland suggested. "Still, perhaps our little fiery friend could take the first round of scouting, Ilistra?"
While Polyphemous is scouting (or if the group opts to simply leave), Garland hands out his final round of healing to his comrades.
"And that is everything for the day," Garland remarked with a tired sigh.
Ilistra cocks her head as if she's listening to someone, then agrees. "Yes, he's brave. He'll take a look around." Her eyes glow red for a moment, then a flaming moth appears in front of her face. Polyphemous then flutters off to explore the island.
The chimeras’ collected hoard is in the ruins; it consists of gloves of arrow snaring, a potion of delay poison, a potion of water breathing, a gold goblet studded with turquoise worth 700gp, a flawless red glass orb worth 100 gp, seven silver rings worth 50 gp each, four amethysts worth 100 gp each, five bloodstones worth 50 gp each, 15 pieces of malachite worth 10 gp each, 44 pp, 1,281 gp, 2,373 sp, and 5,172 cp.
There is also an acid-burned skeleton wearing a handy haversack containing
4 scrolls of fly, 3 of heroism, 2 of major image, 4 of air breathing, 5 of beast shape, and a wand of daze monster (11 charges).
"Woah. That's some serious loot. Let's grab it fast, cuz I'm pretty sure there are three nests in there, and we only saw two of those bastards so far."
Ilistra wakes up the next morning still sore from the previous day's battles. "What do we do today?" she asks. She had checked on Athrya making sure she was all right staying and watching over their camp.
Cica groans with pain in the morning, but forces herself to her feet. "If we're gonna do this, I need something to get me back on my feat. You clearly need one too, Ilistra."
Cica hands a healing potion to her fiery companion, and then drinks one herself.
After that, she says, "Hmmmm. Lemme try something else too"...and cautiously dips her fingertip into a vial of acid, feeling the power in the acid awaken her own Earthen nature enough to melt away some of her remaining injuries.
"Alright. Now some tea, and then it's time for business. Yall up for a bit more swimming? I"m itching to head out along that busted bridge we saw--or under it--and see what's on that island in the middle of the lake."
Garland packed up his gear while he listened to Cica speak.
"I like your suggestion, Cica. Let us see if there-" Garland said right before two well-crafted wands fell from his bags. The masked man stared at the trinkets for a long moment before picking them up and studying them. "...Two Wands of Cure Light Wounds! ...I forgot that I had these."
Just as she's about to lift the potion to her lips, Garland pulls out the wand, and Cica stops dead and groans.
"Woulda been good to remember those before we moved on yesterday, eh? I guess the pressure's getting to all of us.
"Maybe you and I should both carry one of those, from now on."
Cica puts away her potion--saving it for a time of more urgent need--and taps herself four times with the wand instead.
Ilistra indicates a few lingering injuries when the wands are discovered.
"Wait, those are for... Very well," Garland says as Cica picks up one of the wands. "I shall save my own for later, though. My own healing is much more cost effective."
"I can clear the gaps," Ilistra ventures. "I could maybe bring some rope along with me and tie it off for the rest of you to swing across."
"Perhaps we could look for an alternative way across the bridges? Some of us cannot swing on ropes very easily!" Garland said as he gestured toward Luna. "I don't think there's anything else of note in the commercial district, so how about we start heading east instead?"
"I was thinking that we won't know for sure until we get there, but okay."
This district is notable for its dearth of ornamentation. The buildings here lack the artistic flourishes present in other regions of the city, with structures tending to be utilitarian in design.
A five-hundred-foot-long fortress sits atop a fifty-foot-high bluff. The bluff’s sides are sheer cliffs draped with vines, but a long, narrow pathway winds up to the fortress from the ruins below.
This flat-topped island is barren of significant vegetation. The top seems to have been excavated, as if some huge object was only recently buried here.
An immense plaza, its stone slabs filthy with excrement and littered with bones and other bits of waste, sprawls at the edge of the city’s central lake. Four stone pillars rise from the plaza, each of which displays what appear to be the hanging bodies of serpentine humanoids.
This one-hundred-foot-high ziggurat is capped by a hundred foot-tall spire of stone. The sides of the ziggurat’s tiers are carved with images of battle, warfare, and military supremacy, depicting countless clashes between strangely armored humans and serpentfolk. A twenty-foot-tall statue of a horned, bat-winged gorilla stands on the ziggurat’s roof at the base of the spire, its massive arms raised up in anger.
"Should we check to see if the fortress is occupied? If it's clear, it would be the best place for General Havilar to bring his soldiers."
"I agree, Ilistra," Garland said with a nod. "I think securing that fortress for our comrades would be a good, if not the optimal use of our time."