Drip... drip... drip... The drop of water echoes periodically, incessantly, through the caverns of Last Hill. You've grown very familiar with the sound during your time here. In addition, you've grown accustomed to shrieking. Cinder, the juvenile red dragon, tried to kill Lucian Aldor. From the sound of splashing and shrieks coming from the second flooded chamber, you can tell it didn't go well for him. Over the sound of his whimpering, you hear a steely, calm voice intone "Step one hair out of line again and you'll serve me as a zombie."
The dark-haired ruler of the dungeon stalks out of the flooded chamber and begins pointing at monsters who were standing around listening. "Ooze! Go drip in the pit. It's running low on acid" she directs to Bob. "Nixie. Don't heal Cinder yet. Wait a few hours then go patch him up." She continues walking along without waiting to see that her instructions are understood or carried out. "Draugr, a turtle ended up in the first flooded chamber. Kill it and give it to Sevren." She turns to Cindy and the young ice dragon. "Be outside my study in two minutes." Then she turns to Piedmontina who is hovering nigh-invisibly nearby and sighs. "Go into the woods with the other atomie. There are some troublemakers heading this way and I can't be bothered to scry on them." With that, she whisks off back toward her study.
Cindy smiles to herself as she hears Mommy yelling at the lizard. Ooooooooo...Someone got in trooouuuble, and it wasn't me!
As Lucian walks out and speaks to her she feels a jolt of pride for being recognized and spoken to by what she views as the center of her universe, barely even noticing that the others were addressed as well. She stands tall, quickly straightens her dress and replies "Yes Ma'am."
She starts heading towards her master's study as fast as she can. Two minutes isn't much time for someone with such short legs and she wants to keep Mommy proud of her.
[color=#336699]"I used run this cave, have whole armies, kings and gods alike feared my name."[/color], the 3 inch tall Piedmontina Mumblethunder mutters in her squeaky-high, yet uncannily gravelly voice, [color=#336699]"But no, that stupid holy warrior got a lucky strike in, and now I'm stuck in my great-great-granddaughter's stupid tiny body."[/color] She takes her time wandering out of the cave. [color=#336699]"Still, it does have its uses,"[/color] she thinks, as she flies low to the ground, barely disturbing the weeds and grasses that rise over her head, obscuring her flight. Once she is a ways from the cave's entrance, she rises higher into the air, heading above even the tallest of the trees, but always with one eye to the sky. [color=#336699]"It's not that being grabbed by a bird is bad, or even painful (Haven't felt pain in thousands of years) but dang if it isn't startling. They're almost as quiet as I am. Plus, the last time it happened, the stupid bird didn't let go after I killed it. Fell all the way to dang ground."[/color] Piedmontina begins a patrol loop around the cave, looking for intruders. If found, she will cast invisibility, and investigate closely.
"Excuse me, um...Gorthug, isn't it?" the little nixie addresses the big draugr. "If you'd like, I can probably save you some time and effort from chasing that turtle down. I'll bring it to you, and you can do the rest."
Back in the first flooded chamber, Goldslip dives into the water to search out the turtle. Once found, she approaches it and does her best to communicate with it (spinning around in the water, bobbing in a rocking motion forward and backward, etc.) and tries to draw it in closer.
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Master smart. Master good. Master like Bob. Bob is her uncle. That means Bob is very important. Bob fix things.
The ooze designed to be a handy dandy trap plops down from his cubby above the east door to the Crystal Chamber and slowly slides further to the east. He goes about 5 feet and stops.
Bob never go this far before. Bob, you sure must be important to the Master to be put on this job. The acid pit. The acid pit be very important. The Master is important and Bob is her uncle. Bob fix the acid pit. Uh... acid pit be this way. Bob thinks.
Bob is a small little blob, about the size of a really big apple. He is a clear, nearly invisible bit of slime and goo. Bob bob bob bob. Master likes bob. Hmmmm... which way now? Maybe straight. Straight straight straight.
Bob goes another 10 feet. Hmmmm... Bob didn't know this place was so big. Keep going, Bob thinks. So much work being important. Bob is hungry. Food food food. Hmmm. Crunchy bits. Suck suck suck.
Bob keeps sliming on his way, sliding over tiny amphipods and centipedes along the way. Eventually he finds the acid pit.
Master says to fill acid pit. Bob guesses he can do it because Master is smart. Now, where is acid?
Bob pauses by the side of the pit for a long time, contemplating this unexpected development.
Xeria fires off a snappy salute, "Yes ma'am!", calls to her dino, "C'mon Ripper let's go find them," and flies out of the cave with Piedmontina. She's glad to be out and about when Lucian is in a bad mood, that never ends well for someone.
They start to scout around the area, the dino snuffling around in the underbrush trying to get the scent of interlopers while the fey flies up and scans from above.
"Yes, mommy!" Snowball mewls with glee. She never did like that useless Cinder. Cindy is much better.
I knew I was mommy's favorite! She even invited my best friend! Snowball thinks to herself as she flies above Cindy towards the study's entrance.
Hmph. Mommy doesn't like it when I call her Mommy outside of my head. Why does the snowball lizard get to call her Mommy? I'm going to have to be better than the snowball lizard...
Lucian whirls on Snowball, her eyes burning red. She glares at the young ice dragon, an expression that often is accompanied by pain. But this time, she merely breathes quietly "Know your place, wyrmling." Then she rises off the ground and flies back over the second flooded chamber toward her study.
This flooded area poses something of a problem for Cindy since the boat is on the other side at the moment.
Bob stands with drips of acid pooling at his... base... and dribbling slowly over into the acid pit. He senses a rat skittering past.
The lost and confused snapping turtle approaches Goldslip, deciding she seems more a potential friend than meal.
Xeria and Piedmontina hear "No, I killed that bear! Not you! It died after I stabbed it!" coming from about 60 feet ahead of you through the woods.
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Gorthug has stood for gods knew how long, staring ahead. Unblinking. Never sleeping, never eating nor talking. Slowly, ever so slowly, rotting. His grasp of time and self slipped away, an unheard scream in the void. Lucian Aldor was a cruel mistress. She had preserved his mind so that his skill in life would not be lost. Mindless undead were worth little. He, on the other hand, was useful. For years he had raged. For years he had prayed for death. Now, he barely existed.
That is, until she gave him the order. He blinked, and...the world was transformed. The undead monstrosity turned to look at the wizard, and he did not see a human mage. No. An orc shaman stood before him, terrible and beautiful. His nonexistent heart beat with pure loyalty. The gods themselves spoke through her. She was his chieftain, and he would die for her.
Gorthug saluted. He *felt* the thump on his chest, even though he couldn’t truly feel. The long years of painful isolation were gone, completely forgotten. All except for a small part of his mind which still raged and screamed and pleaded for freedom. He didn’t hear it. The chieftain wanted a turtle dead. He would do so, and bring glory to himself, the tribe, and her.
Goldslip offered to help him, and he looked at the nixie with doubt. She was tiny. She was...reality flickered. He could see his hands. They were strong. Healthy. Rotten. Gray. Green. She was a...his mind failed. The magic that bound his soul asserted itself. She was a goblin. A small goblin. Part of the tribe.
”Go.” To him, his voice sounded strong, powerful, authoritative. In reality it was a hiss, something carried on stale air. ”Bring it, but remember that the kill is mine.”
He raised his axe, eager to fulfill his duty. There would be feasting soon. All of the tribe would be there. His standing would increase. Everything he ever wanted would be his. All he had to do was what the chieftain said.
When Cindy reaches the flooded chamber and sees the boat missing, she stops and thinks for a second. Before Snowball gets a chance to outdistance her she calls up to her. "Snowball!! I'm not a good swimmer and wondered if you can help. Can you carry me over the lake?"
Tina signals Xeria for stealth, and slips into the familiar comfort of invisibility. She flies quietly towards the argument. "Bad discipline, Overly loud, argumentative. Probably independent adventurers." She thinks back on some of the more interesting bands that have invaded her home over the ages. These are not one of them. "Feeling pride over killing a bear. A strong animal, but only a danger to unskilled warriors. Still they killed it, so they are capable, but still a young band. They probably don't know what they're headed into."
She flies invisibly towards the group, staying in the trees if possible, but following alongside them, listening to their conversation, observing their path, determining their destination.
If any of them are a race that doesn't have darkvision, she'll also ready a Darkness to drop on them if they show signs that they've detected her or Xeria.
Nodding at the dead fey's signal, Xeria motions for Ripper to hang back. She turns invisible herself, flies closer, and trails them to determine how many, what the composition is, and whether or not they are heading toward her home.
--- back under the hill ---
Having roughly matched Cindy's speed on the way to the study (in order to find it without getting lost), Snowball is only slightly ahead of Cindy after the doll stops at the water's edge.
Snowball quickly turns around and alights on the ground next to Cindy. Having forgotten the last hundred attempts, the wyrmling yet again fails to get under the tiny construct without knocking her over.
"Cindy fat." Snowball complains. She rests her head on the dirt with a slight growl, even though she's the one being clumsy.
Cindy waits patiently as Snowball yet again fails to figure out how to get under her. When the wyrmling insults her figure though she gets frustrated. "I'm not fat. You're just clumsy." ...and stupid. Dumb lizard thing. She claps her hands together and starts to rise into the air. "Just push me. It's easier."
Once they are in motion her frustration lessens. OK maybe she's useful, and nice...still dumb"
"Yay! Not fat!" Snowball eagerly grabs one of Cindy's hands with both of her forelimbs and begins flying at top speed across the watery room, clearing it in under ten seconds. Within the next ten seconds, Snowball lands at the entrance to the food storage room, having already forgotten where she was going (and feeling a bit peckish).
"Ma'am say eat?" Snowball asks Cindy hopefully with her tail wagging.
"Good job Snowball! Thank you!" Cindy gestures again and starts floating back to the ground. "Sorry, she didn't say eat. She said go to her study. Over here."
Cindy starts toddling to the northwest, hoping that Snowball will follow her. When she arrives at the study she pauses, unsure what to do. Should we knock or just go in? Which one would make Mommy more proud of us?
"Um...Ma'am? Number 23 and Snowball are here"
Snowball drags her feet somewhat as she follows behind the doll. She snaps up a passing cockroach as they wait outside the study.
"Snowball good. Snowball here." she says with a modicum of enthusiasm.
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Cindy sees Snowball not looking very excited and sneakily scratches her behind an ear while they wait, stopping the second Lucian appears or calls out.
Not a bad snowball lizard. Should keep her happy. Happy workers make a happy Mommy.
The lost and confused snapping turtle approaches Goldslip, deciding she seems more a potential friend than meal.
”Go.” To him, his voice sounded strong, powerful, authoritative. In reality it was a hiss, something carried on stale air. ”Bring it, but remember that the kill is mine.”
He raised his axe, eager to fulfill his duty.
In the water, Goldslip is pleased to see the turtle responding well. "Yes, that's it, just follow me this way, over here, now." The nixie helps the turtle out of the water and onto the solid floor of the dungeon and begins walking toward Gorthug with the turtle following behind. As she sees the undead orc begin to move forward with his upraised axe, she cringes, closes her eyes, and turns away from the draugr and the turtle.
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Gorthug watched as the goblin brought the turtle. This was good. Goldslip was a good goblin. She served the tribe. She served the chieftain. The chieftain said that the turtle must die. His eyes blazed with unholy light as he brought his axe down, and them proceeded to slam his feet into the remains. She said that it must die. The feast awaited. She said that it must die. There would be glory. She said that it must die. Die. Die. Die. Die!
When the deed was done, the illusion began to lift. Gorthug blinked, and he was no longer among his tribe. No longer did a goblin stand before him, but rather Goldslip was there in her actual form, eyes averted. Why did she avert her eyes? Why was there a dead turtle at his feet? He had been...it felt like a dream. The undead orc slowly looked around, its axe resting against the floor. He had been at the...no. He hadn’t been under water in some time. Where had he been? He remembered something about being told to guard a hallway. A small spark of rebelliousness told him to walk away. That without orders to the contrary he could. But that only led to the nightmares. The unending torment of the mind. Months of standing motionless, all the while trapped within himself, not knowing what was real. Gorthug’s captive soul cringed at the thought, even if his rotted form showed no sign. In the end he slowly turned and began walking back to the hallway that he dimly remembered. There he would stand until called upon again. A small part of him hoped that if he stood there long enough the mistress would allow him to be lost into madness, or perhaps his body would eventually crumble to dust. One could only hope.
You see four humanoids walking through the woods. One is and old and gray elf wearing long blue robes while another is a stocky dwarf in armor with a holy symbol (K rel to ID) displayed prominently about his neck. Walking in front is a halfling spinning a dagger in his hand and a human wearing heavy armor with a greatsword slung in his back. He is the one arguing with the elf, who retorts "My magic slew that beast, you fool! My acid hit it before your blade! Tell him, Tormyn." The dwarf nods in agreement but the human waves him off. "Aww who cares what Tormyn thinks? He's just hear to keep me healed up."
You wait outside Lucian's study for a little while then the door opens. You see Lucian standing over parchments spread on her desk inside. "Well? Come in." she states coolly. Her study is just as you've seen it before, shelves full of arcane instruments and books with titles in bizarre languages (including draconic). A heavy scent of alchemical reagents hangs in the air and the jars of pickled creature parts on the walls attest to the many experiments Lucian has conducted. Set on a table in the center of the study is a strange object. It appears to be a brass stand holding a blue crystal in a center setting with several rotatable arms keeping four other, smaller crystals in contact with the main blue crystal. The smaller crystals are one red, one blue, one brown, and one transparent.
Lucian Aldor looks to the two of you. "I am conducting an experiment. When I say go, Snowball will blast the apparatus" she points to the middle of the table "as hard as he can. Do not freeze any other part of my study. Doll 23 will carefully keep the arms in place while applying very light sonic energy, with the frequency of a bird call, to the crystal. Very well. GO!" Her eyes close and she begins muttering arcane words under her breath.
Gorthug kills the turtle with ease and stands at his post, not moving. After fifteen minutes or so, a lanky teenager with a downcast face walks into the chamber. "Um... my mom said you were going to bring me a turtle to cook but nothing came."
Xeria watches them long enough to tell if they are indeed heading towards her home and then flies back to the caves to tell Lucian and help to organize the defense. On her way, she signals Ripper to retreat back to the caves for safety.
Less gleeful at Cinder's injuries, Snowball manages an eager nod before the word GO.
Snowball good! Snowball blow!
Getting close and aiming to avoid things that aren't her target, Snowball huffs, puffs, and blows cold air at the contraption.
Gorthug slowly looked at the teenager, the dully glowing lights where his eyes used to be were focused on the youth. Who was this again? It was...turtle? What turtle? He tried to think. It was hard to focus. The mistress had said “Draugr, a turtle ended up in the first flooded chamber. Kill it and give it to Sevren.”
Gorthug grinned. His body didn’t reflect it, of course. But he thought that it did. ”Haaaaa...” He laughed, in a way that he thought was boisterously. ”Wait, young one.” Gorthug the fearless stalked through the halls of his tribe. The stone walls were...Dwarven ruins. Yes. That was what they were. Had to be. Nothing else would have made sense. The chieftain has told him to give the remains of the turtle to the orc Sevrn. Was it for the feast? Yes. The feast. Turtle. Feast. He moved with a purpose. When he came to the crushed remains, the draugr scooped up the shattered remnants. It was for the feast. For his glory. For the chieftain. The chieftain ordered it. He had to hurry. When the undead orc returned, he thrust the remains of the turtle at Sevrn. The orc would take it. Take it for the feas-...
Once the deed was done, the train of thought was lost. Why was he giving the dead turtle to the lanky youth? It had been clear a moment ago. Gorthug tried to hold onto the memory. The draugr slowly shook its head. There was something it was supposed to be doing. It didn’t want the nightmares. Did it do it’s job? Gorthug stood there, the fiery lights staring blankly at Severn. In absolute silence he waited to see what would happen.
Cindy stands straight and proudly looks back at Lucian until she hears the word 'GO'. Here it is. My chance to show her how good I am.
She concentrates and tries to both hold the arms in place with mage hand while focusing the sound of a bird call on the crystal using ghost sound
As the cold blasts against crystal, Cindy starts to feel fatigue. When her last spells fizzle she starts to slump in fearful failure, until she glances up and realizes that she had just barely kept the effects going long enough. Fighting the urge to smile, she stands still watching for Lucian's response.
Yep. That's right. Cindy is the best! Snowball did good too. C'mon Mommy, tell us you're proud of us.
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Think think think think think. How to fill up pit? Master is smart. What did Master say again? Drip in it. That is funny. Master is smart and funny. Does Bob drip?
A little rat runs by, not seeing the clear apple sized blob of transparent Bob, and Bob hops on its head to engulf it. Food food food food. Dissolve with Bob's juices and then suck suck suck the juices back. Hmmmm... does acid dissolve? Are Bob's juices acid? Did Master know that? Ah! Master so smart.
Gelatinous orbs have the uncanny ability to jump up and land on a Medium-sized or smaller creature’s head, completely engulfing it as a standard action. It cannot make a slam attack during a round in which it engulfs. Opponents can either make an attack of opportunity against the ooze, or a saving throw versus the attack, but not both. If the target forgoes the opportunity attack, it may instead make a DC 13 Reflex save to avoid having its head engulfed. If the save fails, or the target instead opted to make an opportunity attack, the target takes 1d4 acid damage, is blinded, deafened, nauseated, and is in danger of suffocating every round that its head is engulfed. Any attack against a gelatinous orb that has engulfed an opponent’s head has a 50% chance of targeting the engulfed opponent instead.
Sevren accepts the remains of the turtle with an exasperated shrug and heads back toward his quarters with slumped shoulders. "Shouldn't be out here... Mom said there was an attack coming soon... not like she cares if something happens to me..."
Snowball blasts a prodigious amount of cold energy while Cindy manages to keep the apparatus in place while supplying the bird song perfectly. Lucian finishes her chanting, waves her hand and throws a pinch of purple dust into the air. There is a flash and bang. Then she scoops up the blue crystal and looks deeply inside it. To herself, she comments "Excellent. It will work flawlessly." She turns to her two helpers. "You may leave."
You fly swiftly and silently back to the mouth of the cave. There you are met by Noxious, Lucian's familiar. "Well? What do you report?" After collecting your information, Noxious hovers quietly for a moment then nods, as if listening to some message. "Lucian says they aren't worth wasting time or onyx on. Kill them before they even reach the undead pit. I will delegate a few more to come help you."
The quasit flies back through the cave system and calls out to each of you "To the entrance. The master wishes the intruders dead before they injure any of her disposable undead."
To Bob, it states "Yes yes, hurry up. You're done. To the entrance with you!"
To Goldslip, it comments "You can heal Cinder afterward. He won't be needed for this."
The quasit spoke. Reality remained. It had the authority of the mistress, but he did not have her command. Gorthug remained what he was. Dead. But the quasit was her familiar, and he had to obey. His mind cleared now that there was a task for him to do. The mistress wanted someone dead. If he failed then the nightmares would begin. Time had no meaning. A minute. A day. An eternity. It was all the same. He had to do what the mistress wanted. Any sense of self had been crushed by the long years. Like the corpse his soul was tethered to, Gorthug shambled. He was by the lightning trap, near Sevren’s quarters. With practiced ease he avoided the trap. Many years had made the path easy to walk. Through the flooded chamber he went. He walked into the water and...kept walking. His axe was heavy. He had no need to breathe. Many a month he had spent there, staring into the cold water, before the mistress remembered that she had left him there. The water and him might as well have been one. When he got to the other side he swam up, dragging the axe with him. His muscles felt no fatigue, for his could they? He squeezed through the tiny tunnel, uncaring when the rocks slid across his exposed flesh. The darkmantle roost came next. Every generation he had to fight those who did not learn the lessons from the last. Past the zombie pit, where the mindless undead, such as what he so longed to be, were. And to the door.
He stood there, axe planted before him. Water still dripping. Staring with balefire eyes. Waiting to see what it was he would kill. He would stand there, like a statue, until the time of violence came or a new order found him. He couldn’t bring himself to care which one came first.
Excellent!!!!
Cindy turns to leave quietly, not wanting to disturb her omnipotent God parent. As she exits she whispers to Snowball "Did you hear? Excellent. We did excellent!"
Almost giddy, she toddles back towards the east, intending to avoid the flooded chambers until she remembers that the boat is on this side. After a toilsome and zigzaggy trip crossing the chamber having to row one oar, step to the other to row, and repeat waaaay too many times, she is glad to be on dry ground on the other side.
She heads south through the not-so-tiny-to-her tunnel, passes through the dark room and waving up at the stalactites that she knows aren't stalactites. Marching along like a trooper, not even out of breath (actually, she forgot to pretend to breathe) she passes by the undead and finally reaches the lair entrance.
She gives a big smile and wave to all of her friends and waits patiently for instructions. Better to just follow directions. Those little flying ladies always want to be in charge, and I don't feel like arguing right now, cuz Mommy said I'm EXCELLENT!!!!
Snowball purrs with pride as the wizard says 'excellent' and, after freezing and consuming a few more bugs, hears her new orders from the quasit.
"Snowball good! Snowball go!" she replies, before flying to the tiny tunnel that could take her to the entrance.
Splashing down right outside of it and then swimming her way in, she follows it all the way to the room with the fake stalactites. Burrowing under both that room and the next, she pops out of the ground not too far from the dungeon entrance. She shakes off the dirt like a wet dog and then stretches, waiting for further orders.
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Halfway through digesting a rat, Bob hears the command.
But... Bob just got here. Bob is eating. The pit is still needing of the acid.
Something flickers across Bob's pea-sized brain of ooze. Bob's first true emotion... annoyance?
Bob can't do it all. Does Master think Bob is a super Bob? No, Bob is just a normal Bob. But... Master is very smart. Master is good. Master is great. Bob is not good or great. So. Where is entrance? Back, back back? Forward? Forward forward forward. Bob bob bob.
Bob slimes east at a speed he didn't even know he had. Until he reaches the door to the Heated Room.
Bob knows this. It is a door! Just like Bob's door Bob saw so long ago, way back when, before Bob ate the rat and didn't fill the acid pit. Ah...Bob misses his door. Now, how to get this door out of Bob's way? Others have done that. Think think think. Think.
Bob thinks really hard at the door. It doesn't move.
Think harder?
"I must remember to heal Cinder afterward..." Goldslip mutters to herself as she leaves the hallway near Sevren's quarters.
Gingerly she steps around the lightning trap, and then she dives into the water of the second flooded chamber, as swift as a fish. She leaves the water near the heated chamber, but she takes advantage of the shortcut tunnel which runs from there to the darkmantle roost. The darkmantles are used to her by now, and she grabs a couple mushrooms on her way through. Oh, these are my favorite!
Then she moves very carefully along the ledge skirting around the zombie pit. That pile of zombies probably wouldn't hesitate to rip her apart if she fell down in there.
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This door is a fine door. It is very tall and pretty. But door, you are in the way of Bob obeying the Master! Could you move, please?
The door does not move.
Hmmm. Bob is not happy with door. It is not a nice door. It is very ugly door, Bob thinks, and a very stupid door for not hearing Bob’s mind. Bob melt you, door!
Bob starts to push against the door and uses his acid droppings to burn a hole through it. But in the process, Bob senses the huge gap underneath it and decides to simply slide under.
He proudly proceeds through the Heated Room and on toward what he can only imagine is the entrance. It takes a while.
The assigned monsters take up their posts near the mouth of the cave except for the blob, which is inconspicuously absent.
Xeria he's outside the cave and stands in the woods nearby.
You hear the human and the halfling arguing now. "No I get to go in first!" protests the halfling. "If there are more bears in there, I want to stab them before your clanking ass wakes them up!" Soon they get close enough to see you. "What? Who are you and what are you doing here?" the halfling asks.
Xeria disguises herself as a small girl. She's obviously been crying, her face is blotchy and tear-streaked, her hair is matted with what appears to be bat guano with probably the remains of a couple of maggots in it, she has a dirty face, there's a big snot bubble in one nostril, and her torn clothes are also covered in what appears to be more bat guano.
She dejectedly walks out of the cave hoarsely yelling, "Mommy! I want my mommy!"
When she emerges into the sunlight and sees the arguing PCs, her face brightens with a big smile and she gushes, "Mommy and Daddy sent a dashing knight to find me!"
She looks sad again, her eyes wrinkle up, and she starts to cry, "It wasn't my fault! Honest! <sob> We were out here playing and Timmy and Jonny took my dollie <sob> I want my dollie! <sob> And they took her in the cave and wouldn't give her back <sob> <sob> And they led me around in there until I was [u]lost[/u]!" she wails.
Sobbing, "And there were bats and maggots," she shudders, "and bugs all over the place <sob> and Timmy pushed me down into the poo and tore my dress!" she wails again as she holds up the torn dress covered in poo.
"Then Jonny and Timmy ran away with my dollie and left me all alone in there!" she sobs some more.
"And I <sob> and I <sob> and I spent [u]days[/u] and [u]days[/u] and [u]hours[/u] just [u]forever[/u] trying to get out." she describes in that child-like way that indicates it was probably more like an hour or two.
"And I fell <sob> and got poo and maggots in my hair!" she cries and sniffs in really loudly, the snot bubble going most of the way in, but comes out again in a particularly gross and horrifying manner.
She brightens up a bit looking at the fighter, "But Mommy and Daddy sent a knight to rescue me!"
Looking down at her dress and sobs, "And Mommy just made me this dress! I don't want to be in trouble!"
She stands there looking expectantly at them. She is still occasionally sobbing, crying, or sniffling.
She puts out her hand to stop them and firmly says, "Mommy and Daddy told me to never let strangers touch me. Especially down there" she ends in a whisper.
"You weren't going to touch me down there were you?" she asks looking skeptical.
The fighter sheathes his greatsword and strikes a dramatic pose. "While your parents didn't send me, I can indeed solve all of your problems." The halfling rolls his eyes. "Ignore him. This cave near here? Is that what you mean? We were coming here anyway. Heard something was happening here. Guess nothing serious." The halfling also puts his dagger away. The cleric is the only one who comes up to Xeria though he's careful not to touch you, as requested. "There, there, lass. Yer alright. We'll take care of it." The elven wizard shrugs. "Fine. Why not." The group heads into the entrace of the cave while the halfling hangs back and says to Xeria
"So. Where are you from?"
The fighter, wizard, and cleric walk into the chamber, not seeing nor expecting an ambush.