Brax falls into step behind Arianna, doing his best to move quietly through the tunnel. His battleaxe ever at the ready, the dwarven warrior keeps his eyes open, raising his free hand to brush aside the loose strands of webbing that brush against his face.
"I've been thru betta tunalls 'n this," he grumbled softly as the smell of stagnant water and mildew wafts through the tunnel, but in fairness, he'd crawled through worse tunnels, one of which had been chest high in excrement.
Eyes peeled for danger, Brax's focus became so intent that he didn't realize his chain shirt was scraping along the sides of the tunnel walls as he moved back and forth to watch for threats and hazards.
Eska does her best to remain stealth but her efforts are hindered by the need to avoid as much of the filth as possible.
Navarre gladly lets others take the lead - he operates best from range and is hardly the hardiest or best armored of the group.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Arianna leads the party into the narrow tunnel, with the others not far behind her. She carves through webbing on her way through, keeping her eyes peeled on the ground and on the walls around her. The first fifty feet are free of any real danger, but Arianna doesn't notice that her next step will place her foot directly in the center of a nest of rats. The creatures swarm up her ankle and begin to chew through her pants.
_________________
|
Orion manages to hold back a snicker as the un-reality of the situation threatens to overwhelm him. They're in a stinking, festering sewer trying to save stranglers who would be left alive, and apparently...they've been beset by pants-eating rats.
"Disgusting creatures," is what he actually says as OrcDoom thrums out a heavy bolt so fast it borders on precognition.
Arianna kicks her way free of the swarm and slashes at the rats before retreating back.
"Somebody kill them, quick!"
"Oy! Get offa 'er!" Brax roared. As Arianna dropped back, Brax stepped forward and swung his battleaxe toward the seething mass of rat bodies.
Several of the rats scatter as the axehead whistles down and strikes the stone foundation of the tunnel. Brax felt the axe rebound in his hands, followed by a jarring sensation in his arms.
Rats -5
Orion is quick to aim his bow and loose a bolt, which carves through a few of the rats surrounding Arianna. She jumps back, and the rats try to chomp into her flesh as she does, but she manages to shake her leg free of all vermin without enduring any wounds.
The rats swarm ahead, crawling up Brax's armor. The dwarf feels bite after bite tear into his flesh as the rats begin their feeding frenzy.
_________________
Brax growls at his missed chance and then notices several pairs of beady, hungry eyes staring at him before the rat swarm attacks en masse. Taking a stance to make sure the horde can't get past him, he makes one desperate swing of the axe as he is snowed under by a wave of teeth, claws, and squeaks.
Although his swing slices through several of the rats, there are two more to take the place of each one slain. "OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!" he yells out as he takes bite after bite, still refusing to give an inch to the swarm.
Eska rains acid down on the swarm of rats.
Arianna sees Brax step up and get swarmed himself. Not wanting him to suffer through this any longer than needed, she takes her blade up in both hands and begins stabbing into the swarm while avoiding the dwarf's legs.
Raakuzedu'lon'ros steps forward as the rats swarm Arianna and then Brax. Shield still in hand he lets go of the grip on his and raises the long blade above his head and then cuts a wide arc into the horde of rats hoping to make them scatter.
As he cuts down Raakuzedu'lon'ros aims too high and finds only air.
"Are ye th' hard up fer food th' ye'd chew on me whet-leather'd hide?" Brax questions as the rats crawl up his legs, stomach and chest, looking for exposed areas of flesh to sink their teeth into. Turning his axe toward himself, he swung as close to his front as he dared, trying to carve the rats off the front of his body and legs.
-19
Even with his body covered in bloody wounds, Brax swings his battleaxe with purpose and carves through another half-dozen rats. Eska conjures up a swath of acid and tosses it overhead, the rats' bodies writhing and twisting in pain as their flesh is burnt through. Arianna skewers several more with an underhand grip to avoid Brax, but both Orion and Raakuze find their aim is off. Luckily, it seems not much of the rat swarm exists after so many attacks, and Brax manages to shake the rest off his legs as soon as he feels their teeth touch his skin.
_________________
Eska molds another more powerful orb of acid in her hand, sure to dissolve these pesky troublemakers and flings it at the vicious rat swarm.
Arianna continues stabbing at the rats, but has to pull in her stomach to avoid the ball of acid Eska sends sailing into what's left of the swarm.
"Rats.... why does it always have to be rats...."
He fires off an eldritch blast.
From a casual observer's point of view, it almost looks like Brax is trying to create a new dance step called 'The Rat Pack Shuffle' as he tries to shake off the pesky vermin clinging to his body while simultaneously trying to avoid the spell effects and attacks launched at the swarm. As the combat grew to ludicrous proprotions, so did Brax's anger.
Fer Clan Dougan!" he cried out as he swung his battleaxe with angry force.
Raakuzedu'lon'ros swings again hoping that they it causes the rats to disperse.
Brax's axe plows through another few rats, and the combined attacks of the rest of the party are enough to finish off the last remaining few vermin.
The tunnel continues another forty feet before the party begins to hear the movement of water. Light flickers off the flames of burning buildings outside the tunnel, and the party comes upon what looks like the exit grate. The lock is corroded and the key Escobert provided only partially turns before being resisted by years of rust and corrosion.
Glad to be past the rats, Arianna offers to try the lock after it sticks before completing its turn.
Brax steps to the side and leans against the wall, feeling extremely light-headed after the fight with the rat swarm.
"Would na make any sense fer anythin' to come at us from behind, but jest in case..." he trails off as he moves to the rear of the group to watch their backs while they attempt to bypass the grate and lock.
Arianna twists and turn the key in the lock, shards of rotten metal flicking off at each attempt. The grate stubbornly resists her attempts until Orion advances and adds his own technique. The two manage to jam the key in at an angle that finally gives purchase, and the lock clicks open.
The grate opens out of the stream bank outside. The first of the party to emerge from the tunnel watches as a group of cultists and kobolds combing through the the stream bed to the east in search of something.
"No one here, keep going," a man instructs, and the kobolds turn, moving along the stream - towards the tunnel exit - to continue their search. They haven't noticed the party.
Raakuzedu’lon’ros looks at the others and whispers, "IF...they seek something...WE...should find it...Move...THEM...from this entrance especially...NOW...that it cannot be locked."
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Orion nods at the odd dragon-man, gripping OrcDoom and crouching low. "Aye. We'll attack them using what I call the "Stalking Horse" technique.
I'll go right, up the bank a bit, but still quite far from them. I'll start peppering them with accurate fire, and they'll have no reply but to advance on me.
You lot go left, and just wait until you here them screaming and dying. Then attack them on their flank as they come at me.
Caught between your STEEL and my bolts, we'll slay them without hope of any getting away.
And, yes, Arianna, I know there's no keeping you tied down, so if you want to come with me, then alright. But otherwise everyone else can hit them as they get close."
That said, Orion takes off, looking for a good firing position.
Once he's as far away as he thinks he can be and still get a good shot off at a cultist, he turns and attacks.
No need to worry about them reporting back if they're all dead.
Raakuzedu’lon’ros nods at Orion's plan and waits until Orion and Arianna head off before leaving with the others to flank the flame wyrm's minions.
Arianna just grins and follows Orion to keep an eye out for his safety.
Brax starts to put away his axe in favor his crossbow. As his right hand gripped the hilt, he remembered that he'd have to put away his shield, too. Not wishing to alter or diminish the group's light source, Brax positioned himself to the rear of the main group.
Together with Arianna, Orion quietly stalks out of the stream bank as the group of raiders fans out. He circles to the right and approaches the stream from the opposite side of the group. After finding an advantageous position as the kobolds begin searching through more brush, Orion ducks and aims his crossbow. He looses a bolt that tears through the air and hits the cultist with such force that he's thrown off his feet and into the river, splashing the nearby kobolds.
The foes turn on Orion...
______________________________
|
|
Orion chuckles a little. "Alright," he breathes, happy that another of the town's raiders will terrorize nothing else this day. And, perhaps, he has avenged some wrong he does not even know about.
"Okay, Ari, let's hope our guys get the jump on them now that they're distracted."
Quick as breathing he loads another heavy bolt and sends it at the nearest kobold.
As the enemies turn towards him, Orion reacts quickly again, and fires his crossbow, skewering a kobold's head.
Two kobolds come splashing across the stream, while another advances to the east and pulls back a rock in its sling, aiming for Orion, but its aim is in line with its intelligence, and Orion feels a whoosh as the stone darts past his ear.
Doing his best to spring the 'trap' before Orion and Arianna are overrun, Raakuzedu’lon’ros rushes down the dirt road his boot kick up dust and pebbles along the way.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Raakuze moves off, making noise and more than likely alerting the kobolds and the cultists of their presence and the trap, Brax looks out of the tunnel and doesn't like what he sees. A majority of their foes are within striking distance of Raakuze and are in a great position to overwhelm him with numbers.
Brax starts to charge before a sudden sensation of wooziness gives him pause. Every warrior's instinct was screaming at him to rush forward and stand with Raakuze to keep him from being surrounded by enemies, but common sense told him he'd be no good to his fellows if his lifeblood was bleeding out on the ground.
Dropping his axe, he unslung his crossbow, his movements unsure. He took as long of an aim as he dared and fired a shot at one of the kobolds moving to flank Raakuze.
Eska moves up and lobs an orb of acid at any target she can see.
The orb hisses wildly
Once more they rush in. Ah well, this is the hand fate has dealt me, I must play it.
He launches a bolt of eldritch enemy at whichever enemy seems most wounded, but the shot goes wide.
Rakuuze and Eska advance on the raiders, and Eska lobs a bubbling swath of acid over the back of the nearest kobold, melting through his flesh. The creature screams in pain and rushes into the stream to cool itself off, but the damage is done, and it never comes back up for air. Brax tears through another kobold, killing it, but Navarre's blast flies off into the bushes.
The kobold and cultist turn, and rush towards Rakuuze with their blades in hand. Rakuuze twists back to avoid the kobolds dagger, but feels the brutal pain of the cultist's scimitar sinking into his flesh, causing him to fall to his knees.
"Nine 'ells an' balefire," Arianna mutters as she sees Raakuze get hammered, "he needs to learn to dodge."
She finishes regaining her footing after slipping just as the fight was starting and nocks an arrow. Taking aim at the nearest kobold, she takes in a deep breath and holds it while loosing the arrow. Before the arrow hits the kobold hard, the elf is already moving towards the stream and the melee around Raakuze.
Rakuuze falls over unconscious as pain and blood loss overtakes him. Arianna and Orion both aim their bows and kill another pair of kobolds, leaving the cultist looking back worriedly as his allies fall, one by one.
"Raakuze!"
By all the heavens, hells, and everything in between.
Navarre launches another blast, this time at the cultist.
Eska steps up in place of the fallen golden guardian.
She strikes at the remaining cultist with her twin fangs; daggers of steel.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Brax can only watch as the cultist's scimitar finds a hold in Raakuze's defenses and slides home. As his ally falls to the ground, he felt as though he'd crossed an invisible line within himself. One moment, he was woozy and light-headed from blood loss and scared to death that this plan of attack could fail.
Suddenly, Brax felt a sense of detachment. From the battle, from his wounds, from everything around him. It was as if he were watching everything from outside himself.
He watched himself move with blinding speed. The many bites on his body didn't seem to affect him the way they once did as he unslung his axe and charged straight for the cultist. Even the battle cry that burst from his throat seemed faint, distant, as if everything was on another far-reaching plane.
With Rakuuze unconscious, the party all focus their attacks on the cultist, with Navarre lobbing another eldritch blast and Eska leaning in to viciously stab him with two daggers in a flashy display. The cultist is thoroughly bloodied and wounded, and begins limping away. "Stop. Please. I'll leave."