Raj hesitates and briefly debates how to tackle this situation. His training never included an undead-stallion-ridden-by-demon-silverfish scenario. He had the element of surprise. Both Vlad and Marya had proven remarkably quick to support his play, which felt strange to rely upon.
Raj turns his head with ridiculous slowness gaining Vlad's and Marya's attention to ensure they see the heavy mace slide down into his fist in a tense combat grip. He nods to them as he quickly jumps to the right, vanishing from view.
He speaks rapidly as he sweeps the mace toward the horse's shoulder, hoping to shatter it. "Skel'ton horse n' bug! Anyone not saving my ass block the bug tunnel on the left!"
MODS: sneak
Rajuna's mace isn't swung with precision or with a lot of power, but it gets the job done as it collides with the skeletal frame of the undead horse. Dozens of bones fly off of the horse, but it still seems to stay upright, though just barely.
The front hoof of the creature lashes back at Rajuna, but it is poorly executed and Rajuna dodges it easily.
Slipping past the lashing hooves, Rajuna swings the mace at the horse's - hopefully fragile - neck. Compensating for his previous poor swing, this one carries more weight behind it.
MODS:
AoO: MW Heavy Mace B (crit: 20/2x)
MODS:
Rajuna's mace shatters the remainder of the horse skeleton, sending the bug falling to the ground and dozens of bones flying in all directions.
Marya takes a step up towards the door as she hears the smash of mace on bone. She sighs at the sight of the bug, then begins doing her display of swordswomanship.
Vlad's heavy flail crushes the ostovite, injuring the tiny creature. If it was a larger bug it likely would have had more damage due to a larger surface area, its tiny size helping minimize the amount of damage received.
Feena was surprised at the sudden and vicious attack on the skeleton and equally surprised it went down so quickly. She could just barely see the bug thing as it was smashed and so quickly cast a spell of her own sending a tiny arc of electricity out at the thing.
Feena's electrical arc touches down on the ground near the ostovite, but doesn't quite extend to the creature itself.
Varryk can't get the angle that he wants and delays until he can get a clean shot.
The osotovite uses that opportunity to climb up the leg of the creature closest to it, Vlad. The tiny creature moves under his feet and tries to bite the calf of the fighter. Vlad shakes his leg and knocks the creature back to the floor before the parasite can do any damage.
If it weren't sickening, Raj would almost grin at the strange creature mounting Vlad's leg. "Looks like love."
The Varisian doesn't want to risk smashing his ally's leg with a clumsy mace blow and the wee beastie fared well against a flail. Maybe precision is needed?
He lets the mace fall to the floor with a clang and steps closer to the beast. Pulling the dagger from his belt, he tries to stab it right in the center of what passes for its head.
MODS: Inspired Sword
crit?
Yes?
Unsurprisingly, Rajuna once again deals the killing blow after Vlad's unfortunately double-miss on the ostovite. With his blade hitting the soft underside of the parasite, the combat comes to an end.
The bug dead, Marya follows the others in and begins taking a look around. ”Good job, everyone. Like the hustle and efficiency!”
Raj kicks the bug corpse away and wipes the abyssal goo off his blade before re-sheathing it and picking up the mace. He nods to the others, "Thanks for coverin' my back."
Damian is eager to move on, but it seems that Rajuna and Vlad found something in the chamber to the south. Damian cranes his neck trying to see, when Rajuna suddenly disappears from view and bones start flying everywhere. Then... a bug? climbs on Vlad, who starts flailing wildly at it.
I hope I don't hit him instead, thinks Damian as he nocks an arrow and takes aim carefully.
"Drat! Sorry, sorry!" Damian calls out as his arrow skitters across the floor, knocking into some bones and failing entirely to hit anything of consequence. Fortunately, by then Rajuna had ended the menace of...
"What is that?"
On the floor in the room to the south, scattered among Abdell’s bones are silver and jade adornments from the decayed bridle that might be worth a couple of coins.
Varryk merely blinked. It had all been over far too quickly for him to shoot. Frankly, these confines were not really the best place for him to be using a hornbow, but he would make do.
"Well struck," he said simply.
Raj places the horse's skull on its crypt. It seemed the least he could do to honor the steed. He looks at the decayed bridle goods and has no idea how much they'd sell for. He asks cautiously, "Should we take these? They're probably worth somethin' and we may have need of coin depending on what waits us outside this tomb."
Marya grimaces at the thought of taking things just for coin. There's enough Pharasmin in her still that she can't bring herself to that.
"We don't strictly need it, so I'd leave it."
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Varryk raises an eyebrow at Marya.
"Don't need it? That's debatable. We don't know where we are, and I've not precisely a surplus of coin on me at the moment. Seems to me that that would be better suited to our purses than moldering in the long, cold dark. That said, I am not an overly religious man, nor am I much learned in the customs of caring for the dead. If you say it should stay, I'll abide by that... but I have reservations about leaving behind anything that could potentially be of use to us. We are not exactly flush with resources."
"I would not take them. If the town is in danger, we won't have time to trade for supplies. And they belong here." Damian looks sadly at the scattered remains of what must once have been a magnificent horse. He blinks once, then seems to surface from whatever brief thoughts he's been having and straightens, striding after the others as they move to the last opening of this room.
Raj scoops up the remnants of the bridle and whatever wealth it may contain and places the pile beside the horse's skull - making it easier to either leave it with the dead or sort out the valuable bits for sale. He wipes the bone fragments and dust from his hands, offering no judgement either way.
Marya gives an exhausted sigh. "Pharasma is very particular about how she wants tombs and graves kept and she doesn't tolerate misbehavior. Believe me, I took a whole damn class on it. I'm already on Her shit list, and let me tell you, it ain't fun. Pharasma has gladly struck a man impotent for defending a necromancer in court. I also doubt The Inheritor would be happy with Her servants looting the tombs of one of Her heroes unless it was absolutely necessary." She gives Vlad a cold stare.
She begins to throw up her hands, remembers she has a sword and shield in-hand, then decides to shrug instead. "Either way, I can't stop you from doing whatever you want to do. But until these bugs start trading in gold from the Lastwall mint, I think we're fine."
Hearing Damian express his agreement and worrying she was too caustic in her response, Marya takes a deep centering breath. "Sorry for getting pissy." She marches off on ahead, mumbling something to herself. "I swear, not a day goes by I don't wish I could stab whichever acquisitive Abadaran idiot invented money."
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Vlad returns Marya's cold stare.
I'm tired of her holier than thou attitude...the same as all the clergy in Vigor!
"'Pissy' is an understatement," he says under his breath. He wasn't sure why the cleric seemed to have a dislike for him, but he could wait to give her a piece of his mind.
Iomedae provides the way, but they won't use the means she has provided. I didn't notice anyone protesting when Raj took the mace--that's more valuable than half the other things we found. If they want to leave the valuables for desecration, so be it!
Vlad stalks after Raj, just wanting to get out of this place.
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Rajuna was a lone wolf by nature and for his job. The intracies of teamwork when it came to working with differing personalities and motivations was somewhat foreign and unsteady ground. Given the danger of their situation, in-fighting was a concern. He approaches the taller half-orc, looks him in the eye, and gives him a light clap on the shoulder. "If we get out of here, we'll have some money. This mace is worth a couple hundred easy. If you need more coin after getting your share - come see me. I'll lend you what I don't need. You've got skills worth paying more." He smiles grimly, "Just make sure we get out of here alive, eh?"
Marya moves west and then southwest into the last remaining unexplored area. She passes through a room with a small alcove on the east wall that contains stone shelves with some boxes and bags. On the floor are several shiny plates of insectile exoskeleton that glimmer with a faint red glow. As she moves through the pieces, nothing much happens, so she continues on into the next room.
This wide room has a hallway leading out of the north wall and a set of stairs leading up to the east. An elaborately lifelike image carved into the south wall depicts a mustachioed knight kneeling before a slender woman with feathery wings. The woman holds a rapier above her head with one hand while the other is extended to the knight, who is kissing it. Lettering above the image reads, “Faithfulness Always to the Red Crusader.”
More importantly however, four housecat-sized beetles sit in this room and immiedatley move towards Marya as she enters it. They are dull brown in color brightened by two glowing green-yellow spots on its carapace, staring directly at her.
Marya lets out a long breath that seems to say "I just can't catch a break" in a way that words cannot quite match. "Well, shit."
Her sword in-hand and the bugs right there, she takes the opportunity to slash out at the one in reach.
She then takes a step back into the previous room. "BUGS. Lots of them."
Marya's longsword flashes quickly to the beetle in front of her, slashes clean through it and cutting it into two pieces, killing it instantly.
Varryk makes his way over, and does not take the time to attempt to identify the creatures. The immediacy of combat is on him, and he fires at the first visible enemy, his ammunition audibly cutting through the air as it speeds to Varryk's target.
Raj leaps off a shelf to vault over Marya. He tumbles across the hard stone floor then rolls onto his feet next to a waiting insect. He slashes at the bug but the creature's instincts are honed. It easily skitters out of range.
STAND: Fang S/P (crit: 19+/2x)
MODS: Sneak Attack - If acting before Yellow Bug
Feena was left in something of a daze as they quickly cleared the various rooms they were near. It seemed the fights happened so quickly that she wasn't aware they were happening until it was all over. They finally came upon a group of four beetles and yet another fight ensued. This time Feena was ready to help but she was able to do little more than direct her lights to float into the rooms and help with the illumination.
Rajuna misses for the first time today, the time of his swing all wrong. Feena moves the lights around to the room to help illuminate the battlefield while Varryk lands a ranged shot and nearly kills a beetle.
Three beetles quickly surround Rajuna, flanking him and boxing him in. A fifth beetle emerges from the stairway to his east and two of the three beetles manage to bite into the man's ankles.
As he is flanked, Rajuna has a moment for quiet reflection. Oh, you fecking eejit! No No NO!
Thankfully, the mandibles carving into his flesh buries the thought beneath a wave of pain.
Damian should be staying back and covering the rear, but he's had enough of being the last one to the party. Besides, it looked like their most capable fighter could be in trouble, and he was not going to stand idly by while someone was in danger. Even if the danger did come from strangely big, strangely aggressive bugs.
Stepping up to Marya, Damian flattens himself against the wall so he could still watch their rear, extending his left arm through the doorway and pulling back on the string of his bow, arrow already nocked. "Heads up," he warns Marya before releasing the tension and sending the arrow flying.
Damian's shot lands squarely on the orange tinted beetle in the corner of the room, disabling it much like Varryk had done with his arrow. While both creatures are still alive, it likely wouldn't take but a solid kick from their foot to send them to their deaths.
Vlad moves up and swings at the beetle adjacent to Marya and Damian, but is too distracted by the arrows flying around him that he pulls his swipe short and misses.
The orange tinted beetle to Marya's south moves over and bites her right calf muscle, sinking its sharp pincers into her flesh. Shortly after doing so however, the beetle collapses to the ground from the wounds it previously sustained.
Meanwhile, the beetle that Vlad just struck at attempts to return the favor but produces the same result, missing. Just like the beetle south of Marya, the northern beetle succombs to its wounds and collapses to the ground.
A matching curved blade drops into the rogue's other hand. He turns slowly, assessing the enemy, his hard-eyed look is uncompromising and feral.
Time to dance...
Blades lash out in multiple angles of attack, focusing on the bug behind the wall, trying to break the flanking maneuver.
MODS: none
crit?
pretty please...
Marya curses at her injured foot and at the inconsiderate beetle that couldn’t be bothered to let her get revenge. Seeing Raj surrounded, Marya jumps back into the fray with him, not wanting to leave him to get dog-beetle-piled. She carefully edges around the room to get out of the way of the archers. ”Burst them down! I’ll heal us after!” She slashes out at one of the bugs flanking Raj.
Rajuna critically strikes the beetle to his east, dispatching it in a single strike once again. His followup attack on his backside isn't as lucky though, the beetle easily evading the curved blade.
Marya's longsword finds purchase in the next beetle, severely injuring it but leaving it on its feet.
Feena moved in now that the fighting had gotten far enough from the doorway that she could and the lights came with her, spreading out around the room. She quickly chanted and gestured and sent a spark of electricity out at the nearest bug.
Feena's electrical arc strikes the yellow beetle that Marya just struck, finishing it off and leaving only a single beetle still standing.
Varryk delays until he can get a better shot, holding his action for a more opportune time.
The last beetle attempts to bite Rajuna, but it doesn’t even come close as the wielded of curved blades simply lifts his leg out of the way and causes it to miss.
The Varisian sidesteps nearer the beetle then thrusts both blades, trying to skewer the quick moving beast.
MODS: none
crit?
nope!
Rajuna's first strike misses the beetle, but the second strike injures the beetle, nearly critically. Despite taking the wound from the blade, the beetle remains on its feet and threatening.
Vlad tries to followup with a powerful blow, but he puts too much strength into his attack and it flies wildly past his target.