Ykka is thinking so hard about what she knows that she forgets how to actually shoot rocks and instead stumbles a few feet farther away.
Rick steps to the side to get a clear shot at the horse. "Guess you guys got that rat, I'll help the big boy over here!" He claps his hands together and spreads his palms outward toward the stone horse, unleashing a torrent of water that blasts into the creature.
Dahros ignores the chatter and strives to finish the task he started, swinging his warhammer as powerfully as he can at the creature in an attempt to end it. Afterwards, he follows that up with a regular strike that isn't nearly as powerful, or accurate.
Dahros reared back and struck the horse with his hammer, as hard as he could. His arms went numb as warhammer met stone, and for a moment, he worried that his blow hadn't done anything. Then, the horse lurched to the side, chunks of stone falling to the ground as it shattered. The beast wasn't completely out of the fight, though, and rick sent a torrent of water that finished blasting it apart. Skittles throws another flask of fire onto the remaining rat, burning it badly and leaving it open to a nasty strike from d'Log. The rat died swiftly, and the yard was quiet again. As yet, nothing had come out of the southern pen, which had a cave to the back of it. To the north was another cave entrance.
Rick took walk around the periphery, ostensibly examining the area and the corpses of the dead combatants. Pointing over on the other side of the yard he said, "Hey - is that where the horse monster came from??" As the compatriots turned to look he took the opportunity to perform a thorough scratching of the hind-quarters.
Ykka continues playing while the others search. She stays away from the pen entrances but tries to get a look inside.
Ykka sees nothing in the pen from where she is at. Nor in the cave entrance to the north.
Dahros leads the group into the pen. "What are there, dogs ahead? Don't goblins eat dogs? Or hate dogs? D'log, you aren't afraid of dogs, are you?"
Ykka keeps playing, leaving the scouting to someone more capable.
Scanning the sky, d'Log is unable to find tracks of any kind.
"Who's afraid of pudding?! It's a food? Why would I be afraid of a pudding. That's dumb."
Dahros moves to the southern pens.
Rick follows along, hushing his fellow pen-mates. "Unless you scout things with your mouth then you should keep it down children. We have no idea what or who else is waiting for us here."
The pen is empty, though the cave at the back could hold anything. From where Dahros stood, the interior was too dark to see any details. The cave could be 10 feet deep or 10 miles for all he could tell.
Ykka says a few words and Dancing Lights dart forward into the cave. "uhh, you guys ready if something comes out?"
Ykka's lights go into the cave for about twenty feet until they hit the far wall. The tunnel looked as if it might curve off towards the west a bit.
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"Yahooo!" skittles cheers. "I hit one! Did you all see that!
Ha, I guess this alchemy stuff has its uses after all."
She then wanders aimlessly for a bit, until she follows up with Ykka watching his light go into the cave. "Well, I think that is our cue to go in right? Come on now, don't all chip up at once."
Skittles ushers everyone into the cave, pushing Dahros to the front of the line. "Come on. Get moving before I heal you again" she jokes to Dahros.
"Ok, we're going in. Stay behind me, children."
Once the lights move up, Dahros will advance with his hammer ready.
Everyone moved in, eyes peeled for any signs of danger And there it was. Crouched in the shadows of the cave was the form of a large cat. Smoke covered its form and hung thick on the ceiling of the cave. As you approached, the creature snarled and backed away further. Its body flamed up, burning with fire, and the snarl turned to a plaintive yowl.
The leopard is another of the mutated beasts, though not nearly as successful as the horse and rats. It's flaming body seems to be causing it a lot of pain.
Ykka keeps playing her song, staying out of everyone else's way.
Rick stares at the creature. "Nice kitty?" He backs out slowly to grab a dead ice rat and tosses it to the cat-thing.
Tehe fiery leopard flunched from teh rat at first, then approached the still glacial body. It sniffed it once, then carefully dragged it back into the shadows of its own smoke. As it ate, you could see the fires banking back as the cold of the rat gave some surcease to the tormented creature.
"Get it? I'm on it."
Dahros "gets it".
Rick shouts "Stop! The other ones attacked us. This one doesn't seem so interested. Maybe its just hungry. Wait a second, unless you want to get scratched up and subject yourself to Skittles's tender care again."
Rick ran out and grabbed another rat to toss to the cat. "Clearly he's hungry. Maybe he's thirsty too. Can't say I trust orcs to take proper care of an animal."
Right in front of the rat he squirts a pool of water from his waterskin, then slowly backs away.
The leopard looked at the rat and water puddle dubiously at first, then darted forward to lap at the water. At first its own body heat turned the water to steam, but then it nudged the rat's body over to the water and icy skin of the rat cooled the air enough for the leopard to get some much needed hydration. It made little mewling sounds of relief as it finished off the water and then set in on the second icy rat.
"Poor kitty."
Rick can definitely tell the leopard's condition is better, though he had no idea how a creature that is continually burning itself can possibly remain sane. Perhaps there was a long-term solution, but he couldn't think of it now.
"Anyone got anymore water to give this thing?" He pour out his waterskin and looks for a way to lock the pen back up.
"Kill it if we have to, but I'd rather not see D'log or Dahros bleeding out again this week. If we can avoid it."
d'Log managed to get into the cat's good graces, and the cat drank more of the water, keeping a bit of the rat in its mouth to cool it enough. It wasn't exactly friendly, but at least it didn't look like it was about to leap in terror or attack any more.
When d'Log left to find treats, the cat looked pensive, but didn't move. The goblin didn't find any meat or treats on the orcs, other than what he might carve from their bodies.
Dahros buries his face in his hand at d'Log's comments. He throws his hands up in the air and asks "Really? d'Cat? No one else is going to say something? Why don't we name it Catros or Kittles?"
"Hey d'Hros, do you think you could drag the horse in here for d'Cat? It sill looks hungry."
Dahros turns to Ykka and smolders.
Ykka's eyes go wide. "I'm afraid I'm taken d'Hros! Maybe you could seduce Skittles?"
Rick frowned. "My powers are all about heating things up, I'm afraid I can't make things frosty like Dahros can. Skittles can't you alchemize something here??"
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d'Log points to the decimated horse wait that's d'Horse? then d'Log points to Dahros OR IS THAT D'HROSE?
d'Log then clears some earth and pours water on it.
hey D'HROSE would you like some water?
d'Log nudges Rick
I guess it true. You can lead D'HROSE to water, but you can't makem drink
d'Log literally starts rolling on the floor laughing. And it between gasping breaths he says
we,... We should... We shoulda used pudding.
Ykka peeks around the den looking for anything of interest. Likely finding nothing, she moves back outside, "is there anywhere else we should look out here? This weird zoo is giving me the creeps. Do we want to close the pen back up?"
Ykka starts playing again as she wanders around the rest of the enclosure. She stops before leaving the area to the north, "we going this way?"
"Yes. Let's come back to this problem. Kitty doesn't look like she's about to murder us this moment, maybe she can be saved. Or we'll let Dahros get more hammer practice in if we can't fix it."
Ykka finds nothing but cat poop and stone in the cave. At the entrance to the pen, she saw a bit of twisted wire that the orcs likely used to keep the pen closed. If you wanted to close up and leave, this would be the way to do it.
Rick ushers the group out and wires the pen shut.
Ykka peers into the north cave while waiting for the others to stop playing with the kitty and join her and Rick.
Dahros does not find d'Log comical and simply turns away from the laughing goblin and remarks "Remind me why we bring him?" as Rick finishes up wiring the pen shut. He pushes past Ykka and moves into the north cave.
The bright light from outside is replaced by flickering torchlight in a narrow passageway cut deeply into the side of the hill. Beyond, even as you are trying to get your eyes to adjust to the relative dimness, the tunnel opens into a large cavern that contains several tables on the far side. A series of alchemical experiments, most bubbling and frothing as they cook, are arranged atop the work spaces. Two orcs work in this area, tending to bubbling cauldrons and measuring ingredients.
Ykka follows the rest, playing softly as she's sure the others ahead will scout the way.
Dahros spent years minutes training as a scout and puts it to work here as he stealthily approaches. "HEY!" he calls back to his companions "WE GOT ORCS IN HERE."