Prism manages to get a small nick as she pushes the orb of flames into the mass of writhing insects. She burns as many as she can before making a retreat.
HP 61/63
AC 23 (+1 Shield Spell | +1 Inspire Defense and 2/- physical)
Spells: 1st 1/1
Hero Points 2/3
Vibrant Display 1/10 minutes
Reflection of Life 1/Day 1/1
Prism hops out of the mass of bugs, leaving a fiery wake behind her.
The first swarm of centipedes swarms all over Marilus!
, DC 22 basic Reflex save
, DC 22 basic Reflex save
Initiative!
Niksi
Marilus
Centipedes 2, -15 hp
Prism
Centipedes 1, -30 hp, flat-footed
Rova
HP 71/71
AC 22 (23, plus physical resistance 2, when inspired)
Fort +12, Ref +13, Will +11 (+1 to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 1; Halfling Luck []
Battle Medicine: Rova [], Thkrull [], Prism [], Niksi []; Reflection of Life []
Arrows used: 0/23; Stones used 0/7
Effects: Hunted prey (swarm 1), inspired
"Hopefully they don't have protection from the Rough Beast!" Rova calls as she throws the vial in her hand.
"Get them, Thkrull!" Rova orders as she sizes up the bugs and tosses the alchemist's fire!
HP 32/32
AC 19 (20, plus physical resistance 2, when inspired)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +6 (+1 to all when inspired)
Perception +5, Acrobatics +6, Athletics +7, Intimidation +4
Effects:
Thkrull trumpets loudly and then rears up, slamming his heavy foot down on the nearest bugs before swiping with his beautiful tusks.
Marilus does some dodging.
Marilus feels the sting of centipede venom entering his body!
Still hasted, Marilus takes another two slashes at the centipedes crawling and biting at his feet.
Aiming for the largest centipedes, Marilus stabs at his foes with gusto! "Take that you bugs!"
Then he moves back, trying to get away from the centipedes (living and dead) until he can move in and attack again.
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Niksi grants a parting slash to the swarm before backing away, continuing her song all the while.
Rova tosses an alchemist's fire that sizzles away at some centipedes!
Thkrull stomps around, but doesn't hit very many vermin in his effort not to stomp on Niksi.
Marilus's first attack easily dispatches the rest of the first swarm. He deals a small amount of damage to the second swarm, and then moves away.
Niksi deals with the centipede bites with aplomb, though she struggles to hit the centipedes with a sword.
The remaining swarm covers Rova and Thkrull!
, DC 22 basic Reflex save
, DC 22 basic Reflex save
DC 22 Fort save
Stage 1 poison damage and flat-footed
Stage 2 poison damage, clumsy 1, and flat-footed
Initiative!
Niksi
Marilus
Centipedes 2, -21 hp
Prism
Rova
Prism continues to toss small balls of fire from a safe distance away from the creepy crawlies.
HP 61/63
AC 23 (+1 Shield Spell | +1 Inspire Defense and 2/- physical)
Spells: 1st 1/1
Hero Points 2/3
Vibrant Display 1/10 minutes
Reflection of Life 1/Day 1/1
HP 71/71
AC 22 (23, plus physical resistance 2, when inspired)
Fort +12, Ref +13, Will +11 (+1 to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 1; Halfling Luck []
Battle Medicine: Rova [], Thkrull [], Prism [], Niksi []; Reflection of Life []
Arrows used: 0/23; Stones used 0/7
Effects: Hunted prey (xxx), inspired
Rova lets out a cry of alarm as the bugs cover her but barely jumps back in time, swatting them away thanks to Niksi's inspiration. Ripping her fork from its sheath, she stabs at the bugs as she backs away, yelling for Thkrull to retreat too.
HP 21/32
AC 19 (20, plus physical resistance 2, when inspired)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +6 (+1 to all when inspired)
Perception +5, Acrobatics +6, Athletics +7, Intimidation +4
Effects: flat-footed, poisoned (stage 1)
Thkrull doesn't move as quickly, the bugs swarming all over his feet, biting and stinging painfully. Stumbling slightly, he stomps on the bugs before retreating as his halfling suggested.
Marilus tries to fight off the poison.
Feeling a little better.
He then rushes back in and starts stabbing at the centipedes.
"Surely these *stab* things are *stab* dead by... wait, are they dead?"
Backs away a few steps to see if the centipedes keep attacking.
Rova and Marilus cross weapons to take down the rest of the swarm with two more crits!
Relief washes over Marilus' face as the last centipedes stop squirming.
"Great job everyone, and thanks for the help, boss," he says to Niksi. "And we didn't burn the place down, either!"
"Yeah," Rova says, "but we should look around in case they weren't just here normally."
Prism sighs in relief, "Afterdemons, thatwas..abreeze!" She fistpumps the air. "Whatelse..dowe..haveto..doto..getready..aroundhere?" Her fast speech blending the words as she ponders.
Niksi nods thoughtfully at Marilus and his strong showing. "You did well, dear. Please, no need to call me 'boss.' In fact, I would prefer it if you did not."
You follow an overgrown hunting path ends at a small glade with a spring‑fed pool beneath the boughs of a huge oak tree. While on the path, you notice old bear tracks. Marilus also notices paw prints of an enormous wolflike creature. The clearing contains the savaged corpse of a grizzly bear.
Rova spots a knot in the oak tree’s trunk carved with the initials JW.
Prims puts both of her hands in the wolf's paw print on the ground. "Whoa!" She then skips over and traces her fingers along the JW carving while the rest investigate the bear. "What do you think it means?" She glances around the clearing for any signs of tracks leading away.
Marilus walks up to the bear's corpse and kneels beside it, looking at the damage inflicted. He tries his best to figure out what caused the injuries, though he bets it might have something to do with enormous wolf paw prints.
"I'm guessing it means whatever made those wolf tracks got this bear, and not to much hunts bears, right? I'm liking our real estate less and less."
Niksi leans in, switching to her “serious” face. She rests her knuckle against her chin as she carefully examines the initials. ”Jenny Waterfordscire. Just Watch. Jelly Within. Jerks and Women. Jolly Witness. Joyous Wilburforce. Jon W.. Jokes for Wives. Journeyman Worker. J. Who? Jay Dubyu. Jemma Wemma.” She straightens her back and claps her hands. ”Any other takers?”
"Maybe it was just a couple of kids who snuck out here?" Rova asks, with a shrug.
She turns her attention to the tracks, wondering if they might belong to a grim. They often heralded death, so it was possible. Or a hellhound. They'd already fought demons, so perhaps something else was coming like that?
"The poor bear," she says, trying to tell if whatever killed it had fed on it at all or just killed and abandoned it, then turning her attention to the tracks.
"Do we want to follow them, to make sure whatever it was isn't still nearby?"
Marilus and Rova examine the bear. It has obvious injuries, probably caused by bites from a large creature.
Niksi examines the tree. The knot’s bark crumbles away easily, revealing a shallow niche. The cache in the tree consists of a chime of opening, a moderate darkvision elixir, and 10 pp.
Rova examines the tracks as well. They might be from a dire wolf, but they seem even too big for that.
Prism pulls out a small sickle. "Wecan't..haveit..stalking aroundthe..show." She looks to the others. "Can't haveit..getnear..thekids!"
The tracks seem to go toward the cave.
Niksi passes out the darkvision elixir to anyone lacking her own natural senses. She holds onto the chime of opening for the time being, as musical instruments are one of her areas of expertise.
"Well then, let us take care. Perhaps Rova can convince the animal to leave peacefully?"
Marilus nods in thanks as Niksi hands him the darkvision elixer.
"Thanks. And just in case Rova's coaxing doesn't work..." he trails off as he draws his rapier and dagger again. "Should I go in first or wait for Rova's signal to move in?"
"I can try," Rova says. "Maybe we should all go in together, but stay behind me."
Leaving Thkrull outside for the moment, she leads the way in, trying to move as stealthily as possible , hoping she can find the other beast. She has her bow in hand, just in case she can't persuade it to leave.
The forest ends abruptly where a sheer slab of quartz-studded granite looms over the treetops. A cave mouth yawns open in its side. The cave is dark, and its mossy walls are studded with patches of ghostly white fungus. A narrow tunnel at the back of the cave leads deeper into the hill, forking into paths leading north and southeast.
This cave is only 6 feet high, making it wide but low. The passage north has several rusty caltrops scattered on the floor.
Prism nearly steps on a caltrop as she has a little difficulty seeing in the dark. "Giveme..alittle..lightand..Ican...clearthese." She slowly begins sweeping a path through the caltrops.
"Oh, convenient that it's the right size," Rova says happily as Prism works.
"We should probably go that way if they don't want us to, right?" She gestures to the north.
Prism carefully finds a path, and the rest of you follow.
Torches burnt out years ago jut out from crude holes in the walls of this cavern. A fire pit and the remnants of a makeshift camp stand at the center of the chamber. Chunks of granite and dirt are heaped against the rocky walls, as if someone attempted to clear the cave’s floor.
A dry patch in the western edge of the cavern is swept clean of rubble and contains a threadbare bedroll and an old, cracked waterskin near a disused fire pit. Tucked in the bedroll is an old notebook, marked with the name Juniper Winzel.
There is a shallow pit in the cave’s northeastern corner. A chest buried in the pit holds a clandestine cloak, infiltrator thieves’ tools, infiltrator picks, and eight garnets worth 10 gp each.
"It looks like they were trying to avoid Andera," Rova says. "She probably had good reason. You can never be too careful. But I guess we could tell her when we go back to Escadar. It would probably make her happy to know she was right. And we have a map!"
"But we still didn't find the wolf," she adds, ready to push on.
"JW!" Prism points at the notebook with the name Juniper Winzel. She reaches down into the chest, grabbing ahold of the set of tools, in much better condition than her own. "Whywould..someonebe...stayinghere...withthe...wolf?" Prism seems confused unless the wolf killed Juniper already.
"This Juniper may have prefered wolves to people. I can understand the feeling, at times." She thinks back to some of the more unpleasant people she had met in the Menagerie. "I do not see a reason to immediately notify the sheriff. This Juniper is likely dead, after all. I also can hardly judge a person for wanting to redistribute a little wealth."
"No reason to tell the sheriff anything," Marilus agrees. He spends a few moments leafing through the pages in the dark, thanks to the darkvision elixor.
"'Wanderer's Folly - Danger'. Let's be careful as we keep going. Could be more than just a giant wolf we have to watch out for."
When everyone is ready, Marilus will lead (or follow Rova) further into the cave system.
"I don't think she was working with the wolf either. I think we went the wrong way, or the wolf would probably have disturbed the old caltrops," Rova says, though she's not sure about keeping it from the sheriff.
If you can get in good with the authorities, that's always a help, she remembers getting as advice from one of her "uncles."
She heads back to the fork to see if she can pick up the trail, which she thinks must lead to the southeast.
You continue on. This cavern is lower than other sections of the cave system, with a 5‑foot‑high ceiling. A natural pillar in the center of the cave appears defensible, and the carpet of lichen looks like a comfortable place to rest.
A discarded cloth sack lies near the pillar. Marilus spots that on the hidden east side of the pillar, the lichen becomes dangerous yellow mold.
"Oh, one of my aunts used to use this to protect us," she said. "There's a little trick to clearing it."
"This is a tricky patch," Rova says approvingly. "Maybe because we're in a shrine? Or they just did a good job setting it up."
Rova shrugs. "Er, it's very persistent..."
Ducking to keep from hitting his head on the cave's low ceiling, Marilus watches Rova try to deal with the mold.
"'Fraid I wouldn't be much help over there, Rova. Maybe we should try to find a less moldy place?"
Seeing that Rova is having some difficulty, Niksi tries an idea of her own, holding up her hands if manipulating a puppet.
Niksi's gambit works! The cloth sack is a type I bag of holding containing a [i]dust of appearance, a lesser elixir of life, and a silver lensatic compass worth 30 gp engraved with the words “Always find your way back to me.”[/i]
Marilus looks at the compass, turning it over in his hands.
"How romantic," he says.
He checks to make sure it's pointing toward north, as best as he can tell underground.
"Oh!" Rova says. "That's much easier. And even leaves the mold, which could probably be helpful. We'll just have to warn everyone in the circus to stay away from it."
"My apologies for not trying that earlier. I had forgotten that I had recently learned how to carry more weight with that trick."
She tosses Marilus the lesser elixir of life. "Each of us already has one. If you drink that, I can make another one." She begins walking onward, pausing to make sure the others are ready before continuing.