Charlie slumps a bit. "Well, the more you know." He looks to the others. "Unfortunately hit it harder doesn't help us a whole l..ll..lot." He looks to the others for a better plan.
Tiny asks "It's not too smart right? Can we set up some slowing terrain, maybe with magic and play keep away? Or maybe that cannon idea isn't roo bad..."
The party spends the evening coming up with a plan, debating the merits of a few plans before settling on.....
"Maybe we can l..l..lead it out of the building completely, then lose it in the woods."
Chark smiles slightly at the prospect of the circus cannon being brought to bear and at the idea of it chasing Charlie. I don't know that those are the right approach to take, she says gently. But the idea of a pit to contain it might have merit.
She turns to Dendillion. I wonder if there's a deactivation word for it. Or, maybe something harder than the stone...?
Charlie knows that it likely won't fit through the door. That also means it can't follow if you rush past it.
"If it can't fit through the door and there's nothing else dangerous near by can we just pelt it from afar?" asks Tiny
"That sounds liek a better plan. L..l..let's do that." Charlie nods not wanting to see anyone else get injured by a ton of stone.
The party, refreshed and ready, returns to the underground. With the xulgath taken care of, it's a simple trip. Outside of the room, Charlie pokes his head in to see the statue simply standing in its place.
"It's n..n..not moving." He motions into the room.
"Or it's waiting. I wonder... if we stay far enough back maybe we can hurl weapons and magic at it while outside its reach?"
"G..g..give it a try." Charlie draws his bow and gets some arrows ready, though last time they seemed to have just broken against the stone.
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"Let me try this first," Dendillion says, strumming his instrument. Music fills the air, allowing him to call forth a mitflit into the room.
If the statue doesn't move, he commands the creature to open the door.
"Well, that answers that. Ok, everyone move back."
Dendillion moves to a point where he can at least see the statue, strums his lute, and harnesses each note's latent magic to hurl a stone at the statue.
Haldan follows that up with a card.
Dendillion's stone hits and cracks the statue, but it heals the damage almost instantaneously....
Dendillion sighs. "I would suggest stealth, maybe even with the cover of invisibility, but I'm questioning the value of this whole endeavor."
The great bard strokes his beard, considering their options. "Perhaps it's time to ascend the spiral staircase in the northern part of this complex. Yes?"
We clearly need to be able to damage stone more readily, Chark says. I'm not smart enough to know what that is, but perhaps we can do some research and find out. Meanwhile, I think a trip upstairs is certainly in order.
Charlie agrees. "That s..s..sounds much better." He grabs Goliath by the tuft and urges the small sun bear back away from the dangerous statue.
The party moves to the stairwell. Stairs worn smooth by countless footsteps traverse a dizzying spiral leading to a circular stone chamber. An enormous, cracked bronze bell buckles under the weight of the partially collapsed stone ceiling. The air seems to warp and shimmer, with tangles of thick cobwebs appearing over the rubble, then vanishing upon second glance. A desiccated xulgath corpse hangs in the room, suspended in midair by the ephemeral webs. In its grip it holds a staff and a slashed, but mostly intact, piece of vellum.
Grabbing an arrow Charlie looks to cut the xulgath down. He slides the staff and vellum off to the side. "Seems something else l..ll..lingers in here."
Charlie cuts down the corpse in the middle of the room. The xulgath corpse suddenly splits open to release a cloud of tiny ectoplasmic crystals. Fortunately only he is close enough to inhale any before they disperse. Something feels off here in this room beyond the trap though. Tiny is sure there's something in the room too!
Round 1:
Tiny: Go
Charlie is Scouting
(Scout)
(Search)
(Detect Magic)
(Seek, Keen Eyes)
(Search)
Tiny drops into his stance.
"Somebody else is here!" he shouts, his new tooth gleaming in the light.
Tiny looks to the west for any tell tale signs of invisible creatures.
Tiny knows there's something in there, but can't make it out. A moment after his warning though, the creatures are revealed! A pair of horse-sized spiders phase in from some other realm to attack!
The crystals mess with your mind! and you're Stupefied 1
One spider descends on Tiny:
But the circus dwarf dances around the fangs!
The other shoots an entangling web at Charlie
and then closes in for a single bite:
for
Round 1:
Tiny: Look and move
Spiders: ATK!
Charlie (66/80): FORT + FORT + Go
Dendillion: go
Chark: Go
Haldan: Go
Chark hustles into the chamber and sends a blazing band of orange-white fire arcing through the air at Red.
Chark's spell strikes dead center and the spider-thing catches fire!
Round 1:
Tiny: Look and move
Spiders: ATK!
Charlie (66/80): FORT + FORT + Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: CRIT
Haldan: Go
Red: 54, 3d4 Persistent Fire
Dendillion hastens up the stairs, stopping behind Charlie. "Desna weeps, what are those??"
Knowing that the danger is real and speed is of the essence, Dendillion picks a trio of rapid arpeggios filled with bardic magic. He directs the notes to Tiny, quickening his limbs.
Charlie is trapped by the horse-sized spider as it's immense weight descends down upon him. He quickly hunts the one immobilizing him and sets it in his sights.
HP 54/68
AC 22 (24 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Snarecraft Snares Used: Biting Snare x3
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 1/3
Goliath
HP 48/48
AC 20
Charlie resists the initial cloud of crystals, but he's immediately weakened by the bite. It costs him what would have been a hit with an arrow too.
Dendillion's magic gives Tiny a boost, hopefully so he can come at the spiders like he was shot out of a canon.
Round 1:
Tiny (Haste): Look and move
Spiders: ATK!
Charlie (64/80, Poisoned): Miss
Dendillion: Haste
Chark: CRIT
Haldan: Go
Red: 54, 3d4 Persistent Fire
Haldan strides up the stairs and sees the spiders.
"AH!! Kill them! KILL THEM WITH FIRE!"
Fireball centered at the back of the room to catch both of them and none of us.
PASS
PASS
Haldan adds more fire to the mix, though the spiders avoid the worst of it.
Round 2:
Tiny (Haste): Go
Spiders: TBD
Charlie (64/80, Poisoned): TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Chark: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Red: 66, 3d4 Persistent Fire
Black 12
Tiny unleashes a vicious swipe with both hands.
Tiny knocks back the spider with the force of his attack. He follows up with a hasty claw vs Red.
Tiny then calls Þóðᛞrekkr in to join the assault on black.
Tiny and Þóðᛞrekkr gang up on a spider to severely wound it!
In their nest, there is no retreat, so the spiders attack viciously. One goes after Þóðᛞrekkr in primal retaliation:
But its no match for the wolf!
The other focuses on Charlie whilst burning
MISS
for
MISS
OUT
Round 2:
Tiny (Haste): Hit
Spiders: ATK
Charlie (42/80, Poisoned): Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Haldan: Go
Red: 74
Black 42
Dendillion keeps the music going, shifting into an inspirational lick to bolster his allies.
He then directs his magical music to pick up a nearby stone, hurling it at the nearest spider.
Charlie continues to fire arrow after arrow as he looks for an exit to retreat out of this room.
HP 25/68 (Clumsy 1)
AC 22 (24 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Snarecraft Snares Used: Biting Snare x3
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 1/3
Goliath
HP 48/48
AC 20
None of Charlie's arrows connect as the poison continues to race through his veins. His exertion makes it worse, much worse. .
Dendillion boosts the party and slays the nearest spider with his spell!
Round 2:
Tiny (Haste): Hit
Spiders: ATK
Charlie (31/80, Poisoned): Uh-oh
Dendillion: Kill
Chark: Go
Haldan: Go
Black 42
Charlier Poison: Stage 3, 2/6
Chark grabs her healer's tools from her bandolier and works feverishly on Charlie, her hands a blur.
Chark squeezes the entry wound for the poison and applies an astringent. It's quite painful to Charlie, but she can see the venom begin to leach into the compress.
Lastly, she conjures up a disk of force for protection.
Chark tends to the unfortunate Charlie as best she can!
Round 2:
Tiny (Haste): Hit
Spiders: ATK
Charlie (42/80, Poisoned): Uh-oh
Dendillion: Kill
Chark: So much First Aid for 4 seconds
Haldan: Go
Black 42
Charlier Poison: Stage 3, 2/6
Stride and throw a card:
The card nearly severs one of the spider's legs!
Round 3:
Tiny (Haste): Go
Spiders: TBD
Charlie (42/80, Poisoned): TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Chark: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Black 54
Charlier Poison: Stage 3, 2/6
Þóðᛞrekkr opens with a bite.
Tiny then follows up with another massive 2 handed claw.
Tiny follows up, taking advantage of haste to strike again.
Finally Tiny gets his shield up.
Tiny's two-handed claw tears the spider's head clean off!
Round 3:
Tiny (Haste): Kill
Charlie (42/80, Poisoned): Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Haldan: Go
Black 54
Charlie Poison: Stage 3, 2/6
Dendillion is no medic, but he sees injuries on Charlie. So he strums his lute, filling the sounds with a soothing magic that helps close the man's wounds.
The party's attention quickly turns to their own.
Round 3:
Tiny (Haste): Kill
Charlie (54/80, Poisoned): Go
Dendillion: Soothe
Chark: Go
Haldan: Go
Black 54
Charlie Poison: Stage 3, 2/6
"Chark, can you tend to poor Charlie? He's looking a little worse for wear."
Dendillion uses the time to hum a tune and search the chamber thoroughly.
Search the area and search the bodies and search the door.
Tiny pets his doggo while Haldan and Dendillion take care of searching the room.