Just in case:
Vinas, still injured and tired, moves into the room and puts his back to Atium, "I grow tired of how deadly eternal rest is supposed to be."
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Vinas and Tessenarin move into position as one of the beetles bites back at Atium.
Atium swats it away with his hand as the beetle near the stairs spreads its wings and flutters up the darkened stairs. It's luminescent glow makes it look like a glowing orb bobbing in the darkness as it disappears around the bend.
Aishe
Atium (12/14; raging 14/16)
Vanyan
Vinas (9/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
-------------------------------------
Fire Beetle
-------------------------------------
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Round: 2
Conditions = None
Weapon Equipped = Crossbow
Silver Blanch, Cold Iron Bolts = 6/10
Normal Bolts = 8/10
Crossbow: Attack: BAB +1, Dex +3, Masterwork +1 Damage: +0 (crit 19-20 x2)
Melee: Attack: BAB +1, Str +0 Damage: +0
Grit = 1/2
Aishe slides forwards, just until he can see the creature, and he takes his next shot.
(point blank, cover) (point blank)
He's not surprised as it misses, through cover, and without Abadar's blessing. He is, after all, only mortal and, apparently, has poor aim.
• At the start of each day I get my pool back (2, based on Wisdom).
• Each time I confirm a critical hit with a crossbow attack while in the heat of combat, I regain 1 grit point. Confirming a critical hit on a helpless or unaware creature or on a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the my character level does not restore grit.
• When I reduces a creature to 0 or fewer hit points with a crossbow attack while in the heat of combat, I regain 1 grit point. Destroying an unattended object, reducing a helpless or unaware creature to 0 or fewer hit points, or reducing a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half my characters level to 0 or fewer hit points does not restore any grit.
I presume most creatures we fight will be more than half our hit dice, but how do you want me to deal with it? I’m happy to ask each time it’s relevant, which will be a lot I hope. But whatever scheme you desire to keep things moving along is fine with me. Just let me know.
Oh, and let me know if these things are at least 1/2 HD as I killed one last round. Thanks!
- - -
Vinas gently places his shield on the back of Actium's shoulder and pivots into position before snapping the shield back into place. He then swings with his morningstar, a slight twinge of pain in the battle cry:
for
Vanyan hears what seems to be a satisfying crunch and then waits to hear if the combat is over.
”Are they all dead now?”
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Abadar only gives Aishe a few seconds of his time it seems as the bolt is wide off of its mark. Vinas gives a helping hand and splatters the remaining beetle against the floor as the fourth beetle seems to have flown up the stairs.
Aishe
Atium (12/14; raging 14/16)
Vanyan
Vinas (9/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Catching his breath, Vinas looks around. Not feeling pressure, he takes his time
"I remember reading once that adventurers of yore treated stairs like gateways to a more dangerous world. I fear what these stairs bring, but I'm NOT about to stay here. When you're ready, I'm ready."
Before anyone in the group touches the stairs though, Vinas checks the stairs for tracks, hoping that a boot scuff might give a mundane explanation for what's going on here.
"Well, at least these insects seem less dangerous than the others. Forward then?"
Atium calms down quickly, no longer seeing red. He also looked on and was amazed at how squishy those bugs seemed.
He probably didn't need to dive so deep into his bull totem.
”Agreed, let’s move on,” Vanyan says, suddenly realizing that he’s much more used to hanging around in crypts and dangerous spots than the others. Of course, usually he’s entering them to explore and loot, not breaking out.
”Let’s see if this leads us outside. We won’t know unless we look.”
Aishe reloads his crossbow, and nods, "I like stairs. Always a sense of a destination found."
He's eager to climb, as he adjusts his rubbing pack. He is however, happy to wait for the others to search the chamber first, though his eyes remain fixed on the stairs, lest they disappear.
"Vinas, do you want to take the lead?"
"I'm a bit banged up, but I suppose I'm as good a choice as any."
While he's been using his morningstar, he's more comfortable with his longsword. He switches weapons, checks his shield for dents, and then heads up stairs.... slowly and carefully.
Atium moves in behind Vinas.
He liked the light that the fire beetles supplied. He didn't have to squint to see far. Now, with the dim and dimming light, he's glad someone with better depth perception takes the lead.
Right behind you.
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This room contains a row of four marble busts with a strong family resemblance. Each bust rests atop a narrow stone pillar. The bust farthest to the north—of a proud man with a wide mustache—wears an elegant wig of actual hair. An archway opens into another room to the north, while a set of stairs descends to the west.
These busts depict Roslar and his immediate family: his sister, mother, and father. Small plaques beneath them read, from west to east, “Fallist Roslar, Father,” “Emmillisa Roslar, Mother,” “Annilisa Roslar, Sister,” and “Ervin Roslar, Hero.”
The light of the lone beetle in the corner illuminates the face of a squat, puffy blue face. Darts come flying out from behind the pillars! One whizzes past Vinas, but the other three stick painfully into his body. The creatures that were hiding behind them emerge--squat humanoids with big heads and ugly, puffy blue faces!
Descended from even smaller fey, the mites are among the most pitiful and craven dwellers of the dark. Hideously ugly, even goblins have been known to mock mites for their homely appearances, mockery most mites take to heart and nurture for weeks, months, or even years in their tiny homes, until their distress and anger finally overcome their natural cowardice and impel them forth on short-lived bouts of bloody vengeance from the doubtful safety of a spider’s back.
Mites, once closer to the strange realm of the fey, have grown larger and stockier after countless generations spent on the Material Plane. Yet still, their stature places them at the bottom of the pile in the dangerous caverns in which they live. Their traditional enemies are dwarves and gnomes, particularly the svirfneblin of the deep underground caves. The one thing that gives them a significant edge over an enemy in a fight is their natural ability to empathize with normally mindless vermin—mites are particularly fond of spiders, centipedes, and cave fishers, and a mite colony usually has a few of these far more dangerous monsters on hand to defend the group.
Although they have lost the supernatural ability to tinker with magic items, luck, or mechanical objects possessed by their more sinister and dangerous gremlin kin, mites retain the ability to perform minor magical tricks with prestidigitation, and often use these tricks to annoy their enemies. When faced with dangerous foes, a mite uses its doom ability to hex a foe—a mite’s eyes bulge hideously open when it uses this spell-like ability.
A mite is 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds.
------------------------------
Fire Beetle
------------------------------
Atium (12/14; raging 14/16)
Aishe
------------------------------
Blue People
------------------------------
Vanyan
Vinas (6/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Round: 1
Conditions = None
Weapon Equipped = Crossbow
Silver Blanch, Cold Iron Bolts = 6/10
Normal Bolts = 8/10
Crossbow: Attack: BAB +1, Dex +3, Masterwork +1 Damage: +0 (crit 19-20 x2)
Melee: Attack: BAB +1, Str +0 Damage: +0
Grit = 1/2
Disappointed, but not surprised, Aishe levels his crossbow on the pink critter and prays again to Abadar for an even hand and smooth action* as he tries not to hit his allies.
(cover, point blank) (point blank)
You picked the wrong place and time to be standing between the exit to this tomb and us! You blue people need to give up now- before there's a slaughter.
Atium moves forward and slices at one of the blue faced pleebs.
And missing. He advances farther into the room. Thinking how it was really more important to create space for the others to be able to enter the room to support. Actually hitting something wasn't *really* on his "Must Do" list. Yeah, Yeah, that's the ticket. He meant to miss and was just moving forward.
Distracted by pain, Vinas struggles to focus on the nature of the foe. He advances, shield up, trying to pin one of the creatures into place: but the attack is poor at best.
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Aishe's bolt snaps free and finds a home in between the blue puffy eyes of one of the creatures. Atium moves into place while the blue man group begins to taunt and call out in a strange language. They don't seem to understand Atium at all.
A pair draw daggers, stabbing at Atium as he begins to have a feeling of dread.
Atium gets a small nick from the dagger across the back of his arm.
------------------------------
Fire Beetle
------------------------------
Atium (11/14; raging 13/16)
Aishe
------------------------------
Blue People
------------------------------
Vanyan
Vinas (6/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Round 1
Vanyan moves into the room, longspear ready to spear something. With a powerful warcry, he stabs at the beetle!
ranged to hit;
cold iron damage
hp: 9/9
AC: 16/14/12
Saves: F1/R2/F5
Eyes: bugged
Smite: unused
Panache: unused
Save vs Doom
And failed. The sense of dread rising in his throat.
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Atium begins to shake as Vanyan stabs into the beetle. His spear pokes a clean hole through the hard outer shell, releasing a small bit of the red luminescent goo within. The tip of his spear glows like a dim torch.
------------------------------
Fire Beetle (-2)
------------------------------
Atium (11/14; raging 13/16; Shaken 1 min)
Aishe
------------------------------
Blue People
------------------------------
Vanyan
Vinas (6/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Vinas looks about, not liking the odds. He utters a prayer to no god in particular and swings his longsword down on the blue creature:
THREAT
for
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Vinas cleaves the head right off of the blue creature. Tess is close behind. Standing in the doorway he lines up a single arrow and plucks it into the creature's throat.
The fire beetle flits through the air at Vanyan.
The beetle strikes the wall and falls back to the ground.
------------------------------
Fire Beetle (-2)
------------------------------
Atium (11/14; raging 13/16; Shaken 1 min)
Aishe
------------------------------
Blue People
------------------------------
Vanyan
Vinas (6/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Round: 2
Conditions = None
Weapon Equipped = Crossbow
Silver Blanch, Cold Iron Bolts = 6/10
Normal Bolts = 8/10
Crossbow: Attack: BAB +1, Dex +3, Masterwork +1 Damage: +0 (crit 19-20 x2)
Melee: Attack: BAB +1, Str +0 Damage: +0
Grit = 2/2
Aishe can’t quite see the fire beetle, so he struggles up the stairs until he can, then he takes a shot at it, trying hard not to hit his allies.
(cover, point blank) (point blank)
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Atium finds his legs shaking. He is apprehensive about this battle. A heavy pall weighs on his heart and mind. He doesn't want to move forward, but the others are pushing him forward. Vinas's presence and sword swinging is an influencing source. Atium had better keep moving or else he might get caught in friendly fire.
stop pushing. Stop pushing.
But his training kicks in a bit as he moves forward and swings a hesitant swing.
Doom/shaken attack Yellow.
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Atium's axe cleaves right into the blue man's chest, dragging into it's heart while Aishe's bolt plops into the beetle's face ending both lives prematurely.
the remaining puffy faced one draws a dagger and charges at Atium, screaming.
The creature trips, falling flat on his face.
Atium (11/14; raging 13/16; Shaken 1 min)
Aishe
------------------------------
Blue People
------------------------------
Vanyan
Vinas (6/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Vinas wastes no time. He closes distance, spinning the blade with his wrist in his signature move. He swings at the remaining creature
for
He tries to make up for the pour swing, "If you speak the language of men, drop it and we'll spare you!"
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The blue puffy face doesn't even get a chance to speak as Vinas skewers the creature. It gurgles as its eyes roll back into its head. As the creature falls it falls into the pillar for Emmillisa’s bust as it rocks back and forth knocking it over. Her wigs falls loosely to the ground.
Atium (11/14; raging 13/16; Shaken 1 min)
Aishe
Vanyan
Vinas (6/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
With this combat over, but unsure what the little blue creature was yelling about, Vanyan keeps his eyes on the doorway. He shakes the beetle blood of his longspear, as if that might help him fight better.
"One of you help me watch this door," he asks, worried about more blue creature.
"That was not nearly as bad as I had envisioned." Tessenarin heaves a sigh of relief. "Sadly I was not terribly helpful. Does anyone see anything useful here? Other than what appears to be an exit from the room."
Aishe reloads his crossbow, and then helps the others search the room.
"Is it not strange there are so many creatures down here? I wonder how deep we are?" He doesn't seem worried, just wondering. After all, they had a wand of create water, so all they needed was food. Insects might not be tasty, but they are protein filled...
Shaking his head, and hoping it won't come to that, he'll line up by the door, raise his crossbow, and wait.
Vanyan eventually relaxes a bit from his door vigil now that others are helping. He had expected a horde of the little blue scamps to come swarming out, and he is pleased when they do no.
He moves back and unslumps his backpack from his shoulders, taking a look therein.
"Looks like I have some food left in here from my travels, not much mind you, just some day rations and hard tack, but we could take a break if we wanted," Vanyan says, not mentioning the slab of cheese that he covets for his own.
"We don't know how long we slept, do we? Heck, we're not even sure when we are now? Could have been weeks in those coffins, huh?" Vanyan asks, looking at his cheese to see if it's molded.
"You think those beetles will cook up good? Almost went on this one trip to the Mwangi, and I think they eat big beetles down there."
Anyone know what the heck those things were?
Atium says, as he leans down and grabs the wig. He looks at it.
straightens the statue that had fallen and then puts the wig on the statue.
This doesn't look normal right? This wig is totally out of place on a woman's head statue. Right?
so, he takes the wig off the statue head again and tosses it to Tessarin . What you make of it?
Tessenarin grabs the wig and looks at it, wondering if he knows anything about it.
He looks at Vanyan. "Are you interested in resting here? It may be a safe place behind the door. If not, perhaps someone stronger can try to open that door? It does not seem anyone is going to come through it."
"Are you interested in resting here?"
”I dunno, don’t ask me. Ask them,” Vanyan shrugs back at Atium’s scratches and then pointing at the leaking wounds that Vinas still has. ”I dunno. I think giving him some time to rest might be good. He seems to find every way to get hurt that you can find. I dunno.”
He looks to Vinas for an opinion.
"A rest might make me a little less sore, but otherwise, I'll be no different in the morning. If we barricade a room and set a watch maybe?"
He looks over the others, "Look, we don't know what led to ...this, but if anyone has any special skills they haven't used yet, it's time to speak up."
"Look, we don't know what led to ...this, but if anyone has any special skills they haven't used yet, it's time to speak up."
Special skills? Like what? Digging our asses out of here?
Vanyan shakes his head to Vinas’ question. He was pretty ordinary.
”Too bad we don’t have any hunters or survivalists,” Vanyan thinks back to all of Tess’s and Aishe’s wild shooting, arrows hitting ceilings and clattering into walls. Mostly all of them. Vanyan wonders if either had ever seen a bow before being shoved in the coffins. ”They would know if these beetles are good for eatin’.” He pokes at the beetle again.
”We should probably rest.”
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"I fear I have nothing to cook with here, or I would be willing to try to make us a meal. However, perhaps I can help pass the time with a song."
Tessenarin begins to sing a song about the Battle against the Whispering Tyrant.
Aishe quietly agrees to rest, though he doesn't feel tired. A little fatigued from the adrenaline perhaps...
He offers to take first watch as he feels OK. He'll even help a little with the supplies. He too breaks out some rations, and has a jug of fresh water to save on the wand... just in case.
Vanyan will share his food, unroll his bedroll, and sleep and rest while he can. He wasn’t sure he slept at all last night.
In the morning, he will eat and fiddle-faddle with his lightbox, trying to get the dang thing to work.
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Barring the door shut the group spreads out to the four corners of the dusty room after clearing out the bodies. The luminescent glow from the beetle's blood leaves a nice, dim, nightlight in the room which helps everyone get to sleep right away.
A couple of hours goes by and Aishe notices the slightest twitch of movement. Looking over it stops. Looking away it starts again. Walking around the room Aishe can't find what exactly is catching his eye. That is until he goes back to sitting he notices the wig itself seems to be slowly crawling towards Tessenarin's head, trying to attach itself!
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Aishe often worked alone, but he'd also worked some of the wagon-chains and so was no stranger to watch rotations.
Boring.
Everyone curls up in various ways, and Aishe tries to remain still, at least while folks are trying to fall asleep. Once he's sure everyone is asleep though, he moves about, just a little at first, but then with more confidence as the various snores grow louder.
He looks carefully at each of his companions and their gear. Oh, he doesn't rifle through anything, not yet, but he tries to get a measure of the man sleeping before him. So trusting so early.
He wonders if he'll sleep as sound as Vanyan. He eyes the man, wondering at this Pathfinder. Tessenarin too. A decent cook, always a valuable asset on the road. As bad with his bow as Aishe with his though. Still, Aishe knows he can do better, so maybe they both can. Vinas certainly came across as an impressive figure, and such rage in Atium.
Yes, these were decent folk. They would do. With luck we'll find our way out of here in the morning, and all be laughing at this over drinks tonight. He debates whether he should buy the first round.
He wonders how much time has passed and thinks a moment. Sigh. Scarcely a couple hours...
He moves back to his spot and scans the room when he sees the twitch. He calmly walks over to the hairpiece, takes his time to line up his crossbow, and pins it to the floor, or tries to!
(point blank)
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The wig squirms a first, though after a bit slowly stops as it is pinned to the floor. It shudders a moment before dying. Kicking it over Aishe is able to examine it a bit more closely. It looks like a wig but wigs don't move.
According to legend, when exceedingly vain individuals die prematurely, their spirits may live on in the hair cut from their heads shortly before or after their deaths. Such stories might explain the existence of animate hair, a living creature composed entirely of hair. The collected strands interact like an ooze, allowing the creature to shape itself and move across surfaces. It can also form pseudopods to grab or pull itself along. Animate hair possesses an uncanny ability to make itself more appealing, and can shape itself into an attractive, and often quite complex, wig.
Animate hair is carnivorous, and can survive by hunting the small animals that inhabit urban environments.
Animate hair’s preferred prey, however, is humanoids. By disguising itself as a wig, animate hair is able to subtly influence the creature that wears it. At first, the hair merely makes its host more vain, but when the opportunity presents itself, the animate hair compels its host to murder.
Though not particularly intelligent, animate hair possesses lingering instincts that cause it to urge these murders cautiously, and usually only when its host is unobserved.
Each animate hair has a preferred type of victim, perhaps influenced by its former life. The hair of an executed criminal might target judges, while that of a murdered debutante might target young women.
The remainder of the night goes without incident.
Atium (12/14; raging 14/16)
Aishe
Vanyan
Vinas (7/15)
Tessenarin (8/8)
Vanyan barely notices Aishe’s performance art “bolt and hair in dungeon on stone”, as he wakes groggily. He soon shakes himself to wake and remembers where he is and what he is doing.
”C’mere, Vinas. Lemme see how well you healt during the night,” Vanyan begins to poke and dab at Vinas’ wounds. ”Not nearly as much as I hoped. C’mere and sit down, I’m gunna need some time...”
Heal check vs. DC 20
When others are ready to move on, he will replenish his Magic Stones and be ready to move on.