Of all the ways he could have expected this to go, getting a f~+*ing dinosaur to the face was the furthest from Iuwlas's mind. He somehow manages to dodge the beast's enormous jaws, but all that did was put him into a vulnerable position for its foreclaws to tear his flesh. It hurts a lot.
Tink (96/96 hp)
Loiosh (90/90 hp, -2 AC [1 round])
Randall (93/93 hp)
Astrid (93/93 hp)
Veldanis (125/125 hp)
Iuwlas (33 damage)
Bold may act.
Astrid sighs and begins plucking her bowstring, sending out curiously musical tones as she sings a wordless tune in accompaniment. The tones are fierce, and draw out mental images of bloody hordes clashing in glorious battle.
She then fires off a single quick shot from her bow.
Point-Blank Shot (+1 to attack and damage with ranged weapons within 30 ft)
Controlled Inspired Rage (+2 Str, +2 Dex, no Will bonus, no AC penalty)
AC 28 | T 17 | FF 22
F +9 | R +10 | W +8
+2 adaptive seeking composite longbow +16/+11, 1d8+12 P, 20/x3, Rg 110
Letting the song flow through him and rouse his blood, Rand slips into Snake Stance and then leaps into action, springing off the wall and dashing toward Iuwlas in an apparent charge. At the last second, however, he digs his heel down and pivots hard, banking right and using the wall behind the morlock as a spring-board as he whips his hand forward in a darting strike like a viper head.
Combat Expertise (-3 attack, +3 dodge to AC)
Controlled Inspired Rage (+2 Str, +2 Dex, no Will bonus, no AC penalty)
AC 30 | T 30 | FF 20
Unarmed Strike +16/+16/+11/+6, 1d10+8 plus 2d6 Sneak Attack and 1d6 Electricity
Veldanis doesn't have any fancy moves. He rushes forward, massive greatsword whipping off his back impossibly fast as he moves, and takes one heavy overhand chop at the morlock.
Power Attack (-3 Atk, +6 Dmg 1H / +9 Dmg 2H / +4 Dmg light)
Furious Focus (No atk penalty on first attack with PA)
Controlled Inspired Rage (+2 Str, +2 Dex, no Will bonus, no AC penalty)
AC 28 | 17 Tch | 23 FF
F +13* | R +15* | W +10* (* +2 vs enchantments, +4 vs hot/cold env. effects)
Hoblopper +18, 2d6+21 S, 17-20/x2
Iuwlas didn't think this through. In the matter of seconds, he has been torn to shreds by a dinosaur, nearly decapitated by an enormous man with an enormous sword, and gotten himself completely surrounded, all before he could utter a single incantation. The woman's arrow missed completely and he managed to swat away the tiefling's punch, but it's not looking good for him.
Still, he does have a few tricks up his sleeve. He turns and tries to scoot between all the various weapons, talons, and fists surrounding him. He fails spectacularly and everyone gets a free shot at him as he climbs straight up the wall .
Loiosh has never heard anything like the sound that Astrid makes with her bow, but he loves the way it makes him feel. Plus, his new friend Rand is across from him, distracting this angry little man. It's almost too easy to sink a talon into him.
So Loiosh is quite surprised when he misses completely and shatters a stone floor tile.
Iuwlas is having a very, very bad day. He is finally out of reach of those that were surrounding him, but at what cost? He clings to the wall fifteen feet off the floor, spilling blood like rain on the stone below. Grimacing in pain, he utters a few words and points at the floor where he had been standing a few seconds earlier. Ghostly figures vaguely resembling morlocks emerge from the floor and tear into Loiosh, Rand, and V.
Loiosh screeches in pain as the spirits tear his hide into shreds . Rand and V are also affected, but to a lesser extent . And then, just as suddenly as they appeared, the spirits evaporate.
The damage done, Iuwlas looks around the room. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he was searching for an escape route.
Tink (96/96 hp)
Loiosh (63/90 hp, -2 AC [1 round], inspired rage)
Randall (80/93 hp, inspired rage)
Astrid (93/93 hp, inspired rage)
Veldanis (112/125 hp, inspired rage)
Iuwlas (111 damage, climbing [15'])
Bold may act.
You don't f$$% with Tink's dinosaur. He spits curses at the morlock as his hands move in a complicated dance. He points at the wall where Iuwlas is perched, makes a fist, and yanks his arm backwards. A blast of air erupts from the wall, battering Iuwlas and threatening to toss him from the wall to the floor below.
Iuwlas barely manages to cling on to the wall as the powerful blast of air peppers him with small jagged rocks and other debris .
Tink (96/96 hp)
Loiosh (63/90 hp, -2 AC [1 round], inspired rage)
Randall (80/93 hp, inspired rage)
Astrid (93/93 hp, inspired rage)
Veldanis (112/125 hp, inspired rage)
Iuwlas (113 damage, climbing [15'])
Bold may act.
Loiosh wishes he was his normal size right now. He barely notices the injuries inflicted by the spirits as he stares up at the morlock, drooling profusely.
Without stopping her eerie twanging tune, Astrid quickly makes a gesture with her arrow hand and points at the morlock. Sickly green-black energy slithers from her fingertip, rears like a viper next to Iuwlas's face, and then jabs him in the eyes.
Rand had been standing with his hands on his hips, irritably trying to figure out what to do about the sideways enemy up on the wall. He only has so much ki to work with before he needs proper rest, and a dimensional assault seems like a bit of a waste on this guy when he's almost dead. Then the skald's spell hits the thing, and he decides he might as well try to strike while the butt is hot.
Then he remembers he forgot to replenish his store of daggers after that incident in the Fangwood with the spiders. "Dammit V," he gripes, "why didn't you remind me to get more daggers after the spider thing??"
He pulls out his crossbow and loads it.
Veldanis shakes his head in exasperation as he drops Hoblopper, pulls out his bow, and fires off a shot, Astrid's song verbalizing in his voice as supreme irritation.
"I'm not your mother, Rand," he snaps.
(only if he's blind from the spell)
"Obviously," Rand quips as he cranks the crossbow. "You stuck around."
Nothing like weaponizing your orphanhood against your friends.
Astrid almost falters in her song as she mumbles under her breath, "Damn, Buzz Killington over here."
It doesn't appear that Iuwlas even noticed that Astrid was casting a spell on him . V's arrow is on target but you see a ghostly hand (similar to those that erupted from the ground to tear at your collective flesh) swat it away at the last moment.
Now that he is out of reach and everyone seems to be having trouble affecting him, Iuwlas's panic wanes a bit, replaced by a (probably unearned) haughty bravado. He points a finger at the creatures most likely to hurt him from range -- Tink and Astrid -- and screams an incantation, punctuating it by violently whipping his arm to the side and pointing at the opening to the yawning abyss. Tink and Astrid suddenly feel as if they are being pulled toward the void.
Tink's feet stay planted where they are but Astrid cannot resist the pull; her legs are yanked from underneath her and she is thrown across the chamber like a ragdoll.
Astrid disappears over the edge. Iuwlas whoops in triumph, not realizing that he just defenestrated the one person here that could easily save herself. She doesn't panic and manages to grab the wall before she tumbles too far down the pit.
Tink (96/96 hp)
Loiosh (63/90 hp, -2 AC [1 round], inspired rage)
Randall (80/93 hp, inspired rage)
Astrid (93/93 hp, inspired rage, climbing [50' down])
Veldanis (112/125 hp, inspired rage)
Iuwlas (113 damage, climbing [15' up])
Bold may act.
Tink has seen enough of Astrid's talents to not immediately panic when she is swallowed by the darkness. In any case, there is nothing he can do for her now; this fight just became much more desperate, and they need to end it as quickly as possible. He knows Loiosh can't reach the morlock, so it's up to him. He concentrates for a brief moment, then positively erupts into a new form, growing tens of feet and thousands of pounds in an instant. In his place stands a huge earth elemental; and where 15' was plenty of distance for Iuwlas to put between himself and the others, it is not nearly enough for the monstrosity that now fills the majority of this chamber, its head scraping against the stone ceiling.
Loiosh is alarmed when Astrid gets yeeted over the edge, but Tink doesn't seem overly concerned, so he doesn't immediately panic.
When Tink goes enormous, Loiosh chuckles, which is an unnerving sound to hear come out of a dinosaur. He looks up at Iuwlas. [color=maroon]"You're f&+&ed now."[/color]
Without his flanking partner, Rand's ability to harm Iuwlas is greatly diminished, but he takes comfort in the fact that the morlock is already starting to look like ground beef. Really, really pale ground beef. Like, it's been sitting out on a plate in someone's back yard for several weeks as some kind of weird experiment performed out of boredom and recorded for posterity.
Rand hops onto the wall, scrambles up a few feet, and basically stabs at the morlock with his hand.
Spider Climb (30ft climb spd, ?? mins remain)
Combat Expertise (-3 attack, +3 dodge to AC until beginning of next turn)
Controlled Inspired Rage (+2 Str, +2 Dex, no Will bonus, no AC penalty)
AC 30 | T 30 | FF 20
Unarmed Strike +16/+16/+11/+6, 1d10+8 plus 2d6 Sneak Attack and 1d6 Electricity
Veldanis feels foolish for not realizing the druid's spell was still affecting them before dropping his blade for his bow, and drops it to pluck up his sword again, then moves onto the wall.
Spider Climb (30 ft climb spd, ?? mins remain)
Power Attack (-3 Atk, +6 Dmg 1H / +9 Dmg 2H / +4 Dmg light)
Furious Focus (No atk penalty on first attack with PA)
Controlled Inspired Rage (+2 Str, +2 Dex, no Will bonus, no AC penalty)
AC 28 | 17 Tch | 23 FF
F +13* | R +15* | W +10* (* +2 vs enchantments, +4 vs hot/cold env. effects)
Hoblopper +18, 4d6+21 S, 17-20/x2
Iuwlas's eyes go wide when he sees a) Tink get swole and b) Rand and V climb up the wall. Rand's attack lands easily, partially because the morlock was already raising his hands in surrender. He points at TINK! and speaks desperately in Undercommon, looking from Rand to V and back with wild eyes. He clearly knows he has lost this fight, but neither of you can understand what he is saying.
Tink (96/96 hp, wildshaped)
Loiosh (63/90 hp, -2 AC [1 round], inspired rage)
Randall (80/93 hp, inspired rage, climbing [15' up])
Astrid (93/93 hp, inspired rage, climbing [50' down])
Veldanis (112/125 hp, inspired rage, climbing [15' up])
Iuwlas (125 damage, climbing [15' up])
Bold may act.
A booming voice erupts from TINK!; it is so loud and deep that it shakes the entire room. (If everyone on this level didn't already know you were here, they do now.) He first says a few words in Undercommon to Iuwlas, then looks at Rand and V. "He is surrendering. I told him to stay where he is while I see if he killed our friend."
It only takes a single step for him to reach the opening in the northeast corner of the room. The chamber shakes so violently that scree dislodges from the ceiling and walls and falls to the ground. TINK! stops, suddenly realizing that he weighs tens of tons. Rather than returning to his normal form, however, he simply melts into the stone floor. A split second later, you hear Astrid yelp in surprise from the chasm wall. TINK! re-emerges from the stone a few moments later, Astrid firmly grasped in one of his giant earthen hands. He places her gently on the floor, then ... well, if Rand and V hadn't ever seen an earth elemental wearing a smug grin, they can officially check it off their bucket lists.
Then he tells Loiosh to come, and though it's clear he is trying to whisper (another first for everyone!), it comes out more like The walls shake again, and TINK! manages to look self-conscious.
Loiosh shoots a disappointed look up at the morlock that it's looking less and less like he'll get to eat, then returns to Tink's side. On the way, he flashes his enormous maw of teeth at Astrid, in what passes for an allosaur smile. [color=maroon]"Hi Astrid!"[/color]
Iuwlas has dropped his quarterstaff to the ground and is currently holding his arms up in the universal gesture of surrender. He is looking expectantly at Rand and V, pointedly avoiding Astrid's gaze.
Tink (96/96 hp, wildshaped)
Loiosh (63/90 hp, -2 AC [1 round], inspired rage)
Randall (80/93 hp, inspired rage, climbing [15' up])
Astrid (93/93 hp, inspired rage)
Veldanis (112/125 hp, inspired rage, climbing [15' up])
Iuwlas (125 damage, climbing [15' up])
Bold may act.
Astrid dusts herself off and does her best to look unruffled about having almost plummeted to her death.
Veldanis eyes Iuwlas warily, but he stows Hoblopper on his back once again. He's not worried about having time to draw it if the morlock tries anything hinky; Rand is never unarmed, and can deal a deathblow to Iuwlas before he can blink, if needs must.
"Well then," he says, planting his hands on his hips. "What do we do with him?"
Rand drops out of Cobra Stance, tail swishing casually behind him, slouching slightly with his arms crossed, but there's a dangerous tension in the planting of his feet that belies the truth of his posture: Rand can drop this morlock in an instant if he needs to.
"Well," he quips, "there's a perfectly good pit right over there." At the looks from Astrid and Veldanis, he throws his hands up defensively. "Kidding! Mostly."
He rubs the stubble on his chin thoughtfully as he studies Iuwlas. "We could take his shit, leave him with a little food, and kick him up a level. I don't entirely trust him not to ambush us later, but leaving him tied up in this place would probably be a death sentence anyway. If we're going to let him live, we should at least try to make sure he's as far from us as possible."
Astrid nods. "I think that's best."
V scowls. He does not at all like leaving the morlock alive and at their backs, but Rand's not wrong. Tying Iuwlas up to be found by the other morlocks, who seem to be in league with this... person? creature? demon? that Iuwlas is against would certainly end in his death.
"Alright. Tink, let him know we're taking his gear. We'll leave him with some food, but he better start heading that way" he points up the well they came down "and hope he never sees our faces again because if he does, it'll be the last thing he sees."
The elemental nods, begins speaking to Iuwlas, realizes again how loud he is in this form, and transforms back into a 3'2" gnome. He walks over to Iuwlas and repeats everything that was said in Undercommon.
Iuwlas's expression darkens as Tink relays the terms of his surrender, but he doesn't protest. He descends to the chamber floor and begins setting his equipment on the ground.
- +1 chain shirt
- +3 cloak of resistance
- dusty rose prism ioun stone
- pink rhomboid ioun stone
- mwk quarterstaff
The other four ioun stones that circle his head are dull grey and inert.
He gestures to the well, raising his eyebrows in a "if there is nothing else?" expression.
Tink (96/96 hp)
Loiosh (63/90 hp)
Randall (80/93 hp)
Astrid (93/93 hp)
Veldanis (112/125 hp)
Iuwlas (125 damage)
Tink takes out a wand and heals Loiosh up, then remounts him.
He holds up the wand to Rand and V. "Either of you need a hit?"
Veldanis nods. "Might as well."
He also nudges Rand forward to get a tap too. The monk didn't take any heavy hits, but it couldn't hurt to top off. No telling what lies ahead.
Astrid considers the morlock for a moment, then nods curtly and jerks her head toward the way they'd come. She checks her bowstring while watching Iuwlas leave out of the corner of her eye . "I'm good," she says to Tink's question, plucking the string once to another strangely musical note. "Shockingly, going over a cliff didn't do any damage to me."
Tink nods and distributes the good stuff.
Iuwlas slinks away, not looking back as he ascends up the well. You don't expect you'll see him again, but, even if he tried to ambush you later, at least he would be somewhat neutered without his magical items.
Distraction gone, you take a look around the chamber. A well at the eastern end breaks up the geometric architecture. Water rushes down from the hole above and into the well, coating the tile floor with rippling puddles. Candles line the surrounding walls, casting a dull glow through the chamber. A passage leads out to the southwest.
So far -- and somewhat surprisingly -- you haven't heard any reactions to Tink's booming elemental voice (and footsteps!) outside of this room, but it is a near certainty that anything else on this level heard the commotion.
Veldanis scratches at the stubble on his chin, frowning down the nearby passageway to the southwest. "Ain't it weird nobody came after all that ruckus?" he mutters to the others. "Tink was loud enough to wake the dead when he got all stony."
Astrid watches Iuwlas finally vanish from sight, and continues watching where he went for several seconds, unwilling to completely turn her back to the creature even after logic dictates he didn't seem stupid enough to try and attack again after being pummeled and relieved of his magic items.
Finally she turns back to the others, blinking. "What? Oh. Yeah, that is weird." She hefts her bow and moves to stand beside the younger man, unconsciously mirroring his frown as she also gauges the dark tunnel. "I don't like the idea of sending Randall off to scout again when everything in half a mile probably knows we're coming." She glances at the tiefling. "I can make you invisible, if you want." Once Rand agrees, she hums a nameless tune and, with a strange twisting gesture of her nimble fingers, his form begins to ripple as if a heat wave was being poured down on him like water, until he fades completely from view. "You've got a little over ten minutes. Be quick, but be quiet."
Rand makes finger guns at her, realizes she can't see the finger guns, and drops his hands awkwardly to his side. "Yeah, I got it," he grumbles, and slips down the corridor, pausing only long enough to give the passage a thorough once-over for any nasty surprises before continuing along.
Seeing now that it branches three ways, he moves west first, since that appears to end quickly.
The carved stone walls of this large chamber bear the grim, stylized faces of a half-dozen leering dwarves, all of which have been defaced with smears of foul-smelling refuse. A passage leads off to the northeast. A vertical shaft goes up through the partially collapsed ceiling of the southwest.
Rand is fairly certain he has stumbled upon the morlocks' latrine.
Tink laughs and shrugs. "Oops! Let them come, right, Loiosh?" He enthusiastically pats the allosaur on the nape of his neck.
In response, Loiosh drools all over the floor.
Scratching his head, Rand moves back to the others. "Uh. I think I found the john. It's... bad. Maybe one o' you can take a look? Maybe I'm wrong. But there's weird carvings and shit." He pauses, clears his throat, and adds, "I meant that figuratively, but it's also literally true. Hold your breath."
He starts to move, but when no one follows him, he sighs and remembers he's currently invisible. He grabs V's sleeve to lead him toward the poop room.
Astrid makes a face. "I'm good, you boys can figure it out, I'm sure."
Veldanis scowls and follows the tiefling. "Damn well better be more'n feces in here, Rand, or I'm tossing you into it."
He forces down bile as he enters the room. "Ugh. Smells like Rovagug's taint in here."
"Yeah, that shaft leads up to the living area we scattered earlier. Congratulations, you did in fact find the shitter. Next breathtaking discovery, leave me out of it." He stomps off to rejoin Tink and Astrid where it doesn't smell so heinous.
Rand grumbles under his breath, "Oh, sure, send the sneaky guy out to scout ahead, but as soon as he has to endure shit-stink, how dare he report his findings."
He goose-stomps over to the northern passage, still griping under his breath. "showyouashitteri'llshitinyourpillowcaseyoujerkassjerkfacemotherfu"
He trails off as he reaches the northern passage and starts to creep silently up it.
(+3 vs traps)
Carvings cover the curved walls of this cavern. Dimly lit candles rest underneath these carved frescoes, giving off greasy smoke and granting the carvings the illusion of movement. The images depict humanoid figures within sketchily rendered domed cities replete with spires. A wide passage leads out to the east.
This appears to be a shrine of some kind. Below the wall carving, there is a small cache of treasure, probably made in some sort of offering. Randall suddenly (and temporarily) finds himself with the ability to identify magic items and finds the following:
- 3265gp, 5464sp
- circlet of ridged silver and gold (980gp)
- spectacles of understanding
- +1 returning hunga munga
---
After gathering the loot , Randall keeps moving to the east. Two funneling paths lead to the southeast and southwest from this open cave. To the north, the chamber opens into a vast crevasse descending deep into the earth. Darts and holes pock several wooden stakes erected at the chamber's eastern end. Basins carved into the stone hold a variety of red fluids that bubble lazily.
Rand also finds something which perplexes him: no enemies. Since loudly fighting Iuwlas, this floor almost seems to have cleared out. Unless it was already empty? In any case, Rand has no idea what the red liquids are, but he does notice the particularly fine-looking rod the morlocks are using as a stirring stick. It has a button on one end. Weird.