Arathorne pulls his weapon and loads a round into it. He then takes aim at the edge of the ledge, waiting for something to show itself.
"Careful V, who knows what monstrosities lie within."
Tarot watches Vala do what she does so well from the ground, focusing exclusively on the tunnel ahead when Arathorne makes ready to cover her from range.
Tarot looks ahead as Arathorne looks up to see Vala successfully reach the small ledge. The backpack itself is in masterwork condition and contains the following:
• 10 days of trail rations
• 1 flint and steel
• 1 set of caltrops
• 2 flasks of oil
• 1 bundle of 12 arrows
• 1 potion of cure light wounds
• 1 potion of lesser restoration
The passage continues on to the northeast and splits. To the east the tunnel widens into a small chamber. Several mounds of rock lie in heaps in this cavern, recently fallen from the walls and ceiling. Now and then, bits of dust settle from cracks in the stone above.
Another passage runs back to the west. This smaller cavern appears to have once served as a campsite or temporary lair. A torn bedroll lies next to the cold remains of a fire. A pile of bones, broken equipment, and rubble lies next to the campsite.
"Good find, Vala. Let's see what's up ahead. If it is all clear we can have the survivors move up here to the ledge."
After packing away the 'loot' Vala turns her attention the the 'campsite'.
After searching she nods to Tarot and moves slowly down the 'Eastern' tunnel.
Curved blade at the ready.
The campfire is at least a day old, if not more.
Along side the torn bedroll in a pile of rubble are three candle stubs (each can burn for 30 minutes), a bent fishhook, 10 feet of badly frayed hemp rope, and a copper broach depicting a bat perched on a mushroom. Both eyes of the brooch appear to be tiny gems.
The tiny gems are amethysts. The brooch itself is worth about 200 gp.
As Vala moves nearer the campfire, the trash heap stirs and three giant cockroaches come rushing out, their antenna vibrating excitedly.
Slashing at the advancing vermin then stepping back.
"Yeck! Demons I can handle but these things, yeck!"
Tarot moves to back-up Vala and tries to keep the bugs back from the tiefling.
Vala's blade opens a deep gash in the lead cockroach's carapace. The giant insect emits a loud shriek as it seems to shake in pain. Afraid of another hit, it almost seems to back pedal slightly as Tarot's polearm waves around.
Unable to get a clear shot at the vermin, Arathorne takes up position to watch the path to the right.
Hope surged into action, once again caught between the visions in her mind and the fast pace of unfolding reality, struggling to figure out which was which.
As Arathorne and Hope take up better positions, the dog-sized vermin continues to try to get at Vala. It's filthy mandibles slip past her (and Tarot's) defenses and nip at her feet. The rest of the roaches scatter out the other end of the small cavern.
"Ow! Hey these are new boots!"
Turning the sword in her hands she stabs at the roach with the point.
However the creature being underfoot throws off her aim.
"Smush the damned things, Vala, quit playing around!" Tarot says through gritted teeth as she tries to use her polearm to crack one in the head.
Vala's blade goes wide and Tarot struggles to find an opening to slip her hammer past Vala. That is until the tiefling spares a moment to glance at her newly torn boots. Tarot's hammer smashes down, cracking the bugs carapace, yet it still manages to squirm and struggle.
Hope tossed her starknife past Vala.
Unable to get a clear shot, Arathorne attempts to get back around and maybe flank the pests. Seeing one right in front of him,
Arathorne takes a shot.
Hope's star knife plunges deep into the cockroach's carapace. It shakes violently for a moment before trying to bite Vala again. On the other side of the tunnel, Arathorne's pistol blasts a near-deafening roar as the round ricochets off the tunnel walls. The cockroach nearest Arathorne immediately turns and shuffles towards him, biting deep into his ankle.
Wincing at the pain of the bit Vala snarls bearing her fangs and she brings the curved blade down on the roach once more.
"How do you like that?" She say to the roach.
"Yeah, you've got this," Tarot says to Vala and Hope. "Hang on kid!" She rushes around the corner to stand behind Arathorne and thrusts the bec de corbin forward.
Reeling from the sting of the hit, Arathrone strikes at it with his spiked gauntlet.
Arathorne swings and misses the slippery vermin.
Vala's blade penetrates deeply in the head of the cockroach. It barely continues to move about. Tarot rushes to Arathorne's side and stabs at the cockroach in front of Arathorne but the spike misses the cockroach. Arathorne's spiked gauntlet goes wide of the giant cockroach as well, but Hope has more luck as her psychic strike brings an end to the cockroach Vala had been playing with.
The cockroach attempts to bite into Arathorne again but this time can't penetrate through the thick leather of the half-elf's boot.
Screams echo through the darkness from the west, back the way you came from.
"The other survivors! They're being attacked! We must help them." She says as she heads back through the 'north' passage into the main chamber.
"Back her up, Hope!" Tarot shouts as she moves to help Arathorne. "I can tag in on this one kid. Disengage and reload. We have to get the other one away from the wounded."
"On it!" she said with a quick nod to Tarot. She pulled her starknife free of the falled cockroach before rushing after Vala. Her armor slowed her down a bit, so she wasn't as quick on her feet as the nimble tiefling, but she wasn't far behind.
Arathrone swings back at the vermin.
As Vala and Hope chase after one bug, Tarot and Arathorne go to work bashing and stabbing into the second bug. The cockroach takes another bite into Arathorne's leg, this time drawing blood.
"Do something!" echos from the west, panic clearly set in.
Focusing on the call for help Vala sees the roach. Bearing her fangs in a snarl she charges.
"GET AWAY!"She shouts to the survivors."I'll distract it."
From out of the darkness behind Vala, a glint of steel precedes a spinning blade that comes out of the black like a falling star.
"I've got this, go!" Tarot tells the paladin as she attempts to finish the overgrown bug off once and for all.
Feeling the sting of the vermin, Arathorne takes a step back and cast Cure Light Wounds upon himself.
Vala's blade barely nicks the giant cockroach but it turns around just in time for Hope's star knife to embed itself in the bug's head. It twitches one last time before it stops moving all together.
"Oh thank the gods! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have saved me!" Horgus bleats.
Meanwhile...
Tarot's hammer thumps hard into the ground causing dirt and debris to erupt in a tiny explosion. Aranthorne feels the positive energy course through his body and his wounds made whole again.
The remaining cock roach scurries around Tarot's hammer and closes in, taking a bite out of her leg.
"Oh, for...we're all going to need new boots. Ugh, and these things are filthy. Remind me to check all our wounds and clean them well tonight," Tarot says as she steps back to get some room to squish the nasty roach.
Arathorne moves back into position and takes another swing at the vermin.
Prodding the roach with her sword, to make sure it's dead. Vala raises her hand to the survivors. "Your welcome..."Hearing the others still fighting the remaining roach. "Gotta go save the day. You guys wait here." Then quickly moves off. "Let's go be heroes again." To Hope as she passes.
Hope gave the otehr survivors a friendly wave as she came to the edge of the light for a moment, then rushed back to help Tarot and Arathorne.
As soon as she was through the squeeze she lashed out with her mind.
Tarot's polearm hammer crunches down atop the cockroach and cracks exoskeleton as Arathorne's attack goes wide. Vala rushes to their aid and traps the bug in the small cavern. Hope's mind reaches out and slices through the bug's brain, but it doesn't seen to notice.
The cockroach, somehow still barely clinging to life, attempts to bite Arathorne again, but it's just to weak and comes no where close.
"Okay, bug, okay," Tarot shakes her head and raises her weapon as high as she can to deliver the fatal blow once and for all.
Arathorne takes another swing at the vermin.
Rushing forward sword ready to strike."Okay I'm here to save...." The Tiefling is interrupted by a spray of insect innards from the roach Tarot CRUSHED. "Or not. Thanks." As she wipes goo from her face. "I think that was the last of them."She removes an errant roach leg stuck to one of her horns with a flick of her long tail, gives her hair a toss and says."So what next?"
Tarot's heavy blow is enough to cause the last cockroach to finally stop moving. Arathorne smashes what's left of the bug just for good measure, and possibly to release a little frustration.
Several mounds of rock lie in heaps in the next cavern, recently fallen from the walls and ceiling. Now and then, bits of dust settle from cracks in the stone above.
The cave may look unstable, but it has weathered the disasters above quite well and is in no real danger of collapsing.
"That was a disgusting change of pace. Alright, just the one way forward so let's move."
Looking around the area as she moves to the entrance of the next cavern."It's safe to move on. Well safer than staying here."
Hope sighed in relief, and then turned around to go retrieve her starknife.
"Glad you're all ok," she smiled to the refugees. "Sorry to scare you like that. Did any of you get bitten?"
Anevia is the first to respond. "No, we're okay, but that was close."
"Close? We almost died!" Horgus whines. "We could have been killed. I mean just look at my close! Ruined I tell you!"
The elf is quick to chide the man. "Oh be quiet you pompous fool. Can't you see these people are doing what they can to assist us? Show some gratitude for once."
"Thank you for returning when you did. Your aid is most appreciated, my friend."
The next chamber is quite smaller than the previous ones have been. A single tunnel exits to the east.
"Follow me, we're going to move you up to where we just were before scouting ahead again,"
Hope let her Dancing Lights illuminate their path as they rejoined the others. "Everyone alright?" she asked her companions.