All wisdom escapes me in the face of this blight... lots of fire maybe? Or is there a more round about route?
At the site of the demonic vermin Roscoe seemed to shiver. "Gross."
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"Sosiel, what do you know of these demon swarms? Is it common for them to gather in such great numbers together?" Damon asked the advisor most knowledgeable about the Demons they are facing.
Considering carefully Sosiel's response, Damon mused aloud, "Could there be a way to draw them away from our path, or perhaps drive them away, depending on the reason for their grouping here? Maybe we need to scout ahead and see what we can glean from their behavior."
Scouting:
"Sosiel, what do you know of these demon swarms? Is it common for them to gather in such great numbers together?" Damon asked the advisor most knowledgeable about the Demons they are facing.
Sosiel pondered things for minute and just observed the ever-moving cloud of vermin, "I think I have an idea, but it's Aron who needs to see this." He quickly called the young scout.
Aron nodded and spat on the ground even as he shivered at the sight of the countless insects, "I've dealt with these before and was lucky enough to have served with a very wise wizard. He said that if the swarm was unusually large, it implied the presence of a vescavor queen nearby. These large monsters typically lie at the heart of an underground complex, where they spend months repeatedly spawning ravenous swarms before exiting the caves to hunt and seek a new lair."
Aron continued, "When a vescavor queen is deep in her spawning, the surrounding area becomes inundated with the swarms, as we see now."
Sosiel nodded, "That's what I thought. So if the queen can be found and slain, the swarms will quickly dissipate, allowing us to move onward toward Drezen."
tag?
A few more minutes identified several large holes in the dry riverbed from the swarms entered and exited the underground. The 'holes' became free of the vermin every few minutes as the swarms gathered above ground.
Aron pointed to a 5-foot hole about 80 feet away, "There. That seems like a way to get under this mess and see what's underneath."
tag?
Roscoe looked up with dull sarcasm, "Oh good a demon queen monster hunt. . . .We were resting on our laurels too much."
"Well lets jump into demon tunnels again." He explains to more recent allies, "Its how we met."
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"Well lets jump into demon tunnels again." He explains to more recent allies, "Its how we met."
"Huh, huh, huh!" guffawed Damon in a genuine laugh at Roscoe's reminder. "You are indeed correct, Roscoe. Let us clear the way for the army," he added, moving to dismount from Magnus.
"Magnus, lead the horses and keep them calm. Call for me if the situation changes here, and I will summon you if I have need," communicated Damon telepathically to his bonded steed.
Roscoe looked up with dull sarcasm, "Oh good a demon queen monster hunt. . . .We were resting on our laurels too much."
"Well lets jump into demon tunnels again." He explains to more recent allies, "Its how we met."
Hallvardr also laughed uproariously. Well spoken! Indeed Gorum would not want us to grow old and fat, he said wiping his face and straightening his beard. Down we go... it will be just like home.
"Why do we always end up underground..." Stella sighed as she prepared to find the Vescavor Queen. She also pondered to herself to see if she happened to know anything more about the creature's habits or if they had any weaknesses of note.
As she did so, the party would've been able to see that Stella's attire had changed somewhat since acquiring the cloak. While the sparkling cloak hung off her shoulders, she had left her leather vest and shield behind in favor of allowing her colorful clothing typically hidden underneath her vest to come to the forefront!
Roscoe looks down the hole. "If you lower me down I can get a look and you can reel me back up if there is something that might make us rethink things."
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”One moment, Roscoe, let me set an anchor for us,” said Damon. Mentally calling Magnus over to him, the Paladin pulled his lance out of its holster and set his feet at the side of the hole. With a powerful thrust, he embedded the tip deeply into the side of the hole at a steep downward angle. Pulling out his rope, Damon tied it to the embedded lance so that added weight would just embed the tip deeper into the wall of the shaft.
”Thank you, Magnus,” spoke Damon, turning to Roscoe and adding, ”You have the honors, my friend,” as he gestured towards the hole.
Roscoe nods and ties the rope around himself. He dips over the edge and signals for them to lower him down. He signals for them to pause when he can see the room and he surveys the cave well before the floor.
Hallvardr watches the hole ready to jump into action in case Roscoe needs him, concerned for the little priest.
Before Roscoe and Damon enacted their scouting plan, she went up to them and asked, "Is it dark down there? Do you need a light?"
While looking upon on the seething swarm of demon-spawn, Kokam could not help but glance at her friend Stella, her new cloak draped over her shoulders. Remembering the ceremony re-sancitifying the temple, such and achievement in repudiating the influence of the Demon, Kokam smiles in the face of the swarm, nodding at the inevitable conclusion to return below the ground!
One foot on the edge of the hole, Kokam stood coiled, ready to jump down in aid of her smaller friend.
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Once Roscoe had given the all-clear for at least the first room, Damon waited for his friend to untie himself from the rope, then he lowered himself down into the shaft, using the walls of the shaft and the rope to steady himself. Climbing down the shaft, he braced himself and slowly transitioned all his weight onto the rope. When it held, he then lowered himself further through the open space to get the rest of the way to the ground.
Seeing the disturbing texture and color of the walls and hearing the incessant buzzing of the demon swarm, Damon attempted to calm his mind and focus on the task ahead. Standing at the bottom of the rope, he prepared to steady the end of it and/or break the fall of anyone who struggled to descend.
Roscoe is lowered into the cave. The look of the cave and its unsettling look shook him. His intellect knew he was in a cave. His feet touched down he shivered at the visceral thoughts of being inside the demon queen herself.
"Its . . . its all clear." His voice shook and stuttered he waved the others down disheartedly.
Hallvardr climbed down next... the overall effect of the blood and organic texture of the walls didn't phase him much, in fact he seemed content and grounded within this environment, like a wolf or a hound on the trail of his prey.
Stella slowly made her way down the opening towards the cavern below, disconcerted with the noises she heard wailing further ahead. While at first she visibly shivered and carried a slightly concerned look on her face, after remembering all they had been through so far, she was able to shake off the sensation and mentally steel herself from the horrors around her, prepared to venture ahead.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, pass
Kokam easily makes her way down into the hole, eschewing the rope as her training allowed her to take a fall of some distance without harm.
Once at the bottom, she looked about unperturbed by the fleshy innards of the cave. Seeing the new born spawn, she realized that they'd have to be careful.
She moves to a nearby wall, and uses her hand to scrape some of the moisture off....then applies it to her clothing, hoping the scent from the walls and floor would help disguise her and her friend's presence.
The Viking watches Kokam carefully and copies her, also rubbing himself against the walls to smear himself with the local scents.
Seeing the others begin to smear themselves with the odd resin of the cavern, Stella grimaced but eventually did the same. While her clothes were properly stained red, the resin slide off her cloak despite her best efforts; staying as impeccable as she first found it. Eventually giving up, she just hoped that ichor on the rest of her clothes would be enough to mask her. Just to be on the safe side, she whispered a few words in Sylvan and quietly conjured a spectral butterfly for each of her friends that would help them stay extra quiet as they moved ahead.
Roscoe gulped owning his fear, "The humidity and moisture give the idea that we are inside a monster. . . but this is stone beneath us." He kneels and thumps the ground. Whether he said this for the benefit of others or himself is a mystery.
Only for combat is 1 a fail unless there are house rules
Only for combat is 1 a fail unless there are house rules
Hey guys, sorry for the disappearance act. :(
However, as you have noted, things have slowed down a bit, and it's my fault.
I need to take a break and recharge and come back to posting once per day. Slower posting just does not seem to engage me.
Let me take a few weeks off. I have vacations coming up during the summer that may not be conducive to starting things up again but you never know. You'll hear from me no later than August, maybe earlier.
Thanks for hanging in there and this is not a 'goodbye' but a 'I'll see later'.
Fabian
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Hey guys, sorry for the disappearance act. :(
However, as you have noted, things have slowed down a bit, and it's my fault.
I need to take a break and recharge and come back to posting once per day. Slower posting just does not seem to engage me.
Let me take a few weeks off. I have vacations coming up during the summer that may not be conducive to starting things up again but you never know. You'll hear from me no later than August, maybe earlier.
Thanks for hanging in there and this is not a 'goodbye' but a 'I'll see later'.
Fabian
Likewise! Hope everyone enjoyed their Summers!
Ditto. I really enjoyed both of Fabian's games
Likewise, this was a very fun game/ group while it lasted. Happy Holidays everyone and I'm hopefully I'll get to play in a another game with some/ all of you at another time!
Indeed. All the best wishes of the season to you all.