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"We are still on a hunt. Wouldn't it be better for Andover to wait here patiently for another hour or two, then come back and get him on our return? I mean, it's not like this library media disc is going to get more overdue, is it?"
Karyn has no problems helping the undead vesk, but she isn't keen on dragging him around like a toddler on a Winterfair sled.
"Fair point. I'd hate for your chance at redemption to be stolen from you because a stridermander ate you while we were hunting its brethren."
”Very well. I will wait here until you return,” Adrovor says. ”Thank you for your help.”
The south doors lead to a ransacked armory that contains a pair of stridermander nests. Each nest is a mound of ragged furs and skins circled by bones, gore, and random objects. Buried in the stridermander nest are 4 mk 1 web grenades, a serum of enhancement (commando), and a spell ampoule of spider climb. Another set of doors are set in the south wall.
Skrivix grabs a pair of grenades. "Anyone else want one of these? I can definitely use this some of these boom boom rocks."
A filthy mound of debris, fabric, and broken furniture dominates the center of this vast chamber, reaching halfway to the thirtyfoot-high ceiling. The floor is littered with bones, refuse, and half-eaten corpses. The east wall is decorated with framed photographs, mostly shattered, while the west is plastered with paper rotten by time and filth. The south wall bears a mural, its paint faded and crumbling.
A stridermander, slightly bigger than the others, is perched atop the mound. Two others lurk about the room. They screech as they prepare to attack!
Seeing Talc's weapon glowing, the stridermanders rush forward to attack him. Two of them miss, but one scores a hit, grappling the soldier and pulling him into the room!
Skrivix almost hits Talc with a shot flying right past him and hitting nothing but wall. "I'll save you Talc, just stay still!"
Skrivvix and Karyn miss with their attacks, but Harrac stabs the stridermander holding Talc, then the soldier fires his supercharged pistol into its gut! The creature releases Talc as it falls to the floor, smoke rising from the fatal wound.
"Jomp! My tactical rotating pistol!" Brigadier Teshgari calls. The skittermander obediently hands over the weapon, and the vesk shoots one of the remaining stridermanders.
Suddenly, an enormous stridermander, easily 12 feet tall, leaps down from its perch above the entry door. Its fur changes colors from the metallic gray it had been using to camouflage itself as it lands with a thud beside Harrac. Wearing vesk brigandine armor, the giant stridermander screeches and swings a doshko at the solarian--
--but misses by a wide margin! "Excellent! Now that is a worthy foe!" Brigadier Teshgari declares.
The two smaller stridermanders bite at Talc, tearing at the soldier with their teeth.
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"Thanks!" The soldier says once freed, turnng to face the furry giant. Looking up from a crouched position, he does his best Keanu Reeves impression "Whoa."
The pain from the bites snap him back to reality and he growls at the pests. He fires his pistol twice in annoyance, but the little pains in the ass move too quickly and he misses.
"Hang in there Talc! Only a few more magazines till you finally hit it with that kind of aim! My bet is still that old age will get it first, but you're a strong contender!"
Skrivix shouts an inspiring message to his comrades as he comes closer to assist his teammates.
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Rei scans the battlefield, taking full account into the new unwanted player that joined this game.
"I will focus on the smaller ones first, to thin out the crowd" she states calmly, as her newly summoned Protean swipes at [Red if alive, otherwise Yellow] from the back and attempts to latch on.
Piercing, + Grab
Rei then lines up her blaster, taking aim at the same creature her protean is fighting.
Electric
CN Tiny outsider (chaotic, extraplanar, protean)
Init +1; Senses blindsense (hearing) 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3
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Defense HP 6
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EAC 10; KAC 12
Fort +3; Ref +1; Will +0
Immunities acid, entangled, grappled, paralyzed, pinned
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, perfect)
Melee bite +5 (1d6+3 P plus grab)
Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
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Statistics
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Str +3; Dex +1; Con +0; Int -3; Wis +0; Cha +0
Skills Acrobatics +3 (+11 when flying), Athletics +3, Bluff +3
Languages Common
Talc and Brigadier Teshgari miss with their attacks, as does the summoned protean. But Harrac slices up the giant stridermander, and Rei lands a blast on one of the smaller ones. Karyn and Skrivvix focus on patching up Talc.
The big stridermander bashes Harrac with its doshko while the smaller ones bite at Talc but fail to hit him.
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Harrac's yells over to Talc, "get out of the way little buddy!" He takes a guarded step forward as he clenches his hands and begins to glow a bit.
Harrac moves diagonally so he can hit all 3.
for
Skrivix shouts encouragement at Harrac's lone wolf maneuver as he repositions.
"Bravery personified! Harrac can do it, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!"
The big stridermander and another one avoid the worst of Harrac's blast, but the most wounded one is badly burned! Karyn and Brigadier Teshgari shoot that one to finish it off!
Rei hits the smaller stridermander, but it doesn't slow it down much. The big alpha attacks Harrac again with its doshko, while the smaller one tries to snare him with its feeding tendril. It yanks the vesk towards it and tries to gorge on him, but his armor keeps its teeth at bay!
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"Harrac. My understanding is your attack is supposed to harm them, not yourself. Please adjust your strategy"
Rei's protean advances on the remaining larger stridermander, trying to grab it from behind.
Piercing, + Grab
Rei then powers herself up, as her shoulder cavities open, allowing 3 energy orbs to blast out towards the large beast.
CN Tiny outsider (chaotic, extraplanar, protean)
Init +1; Senses blindsense (hearing) 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +3
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Defense HP 6
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EAC 10; KAC 12
Fort +3; Ref +1; Will +0
Immunities acid, entangled, grappled, paralyzed, pinned
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (Su, perfect)
Melee bite +5 (1d6+3 P plus grab)
Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
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Statistics
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Str +3; Dex +1; Con +0; Int -3; Wis +0; Cha +0
Skills Acrobatics +3 (+11 when flying), Athletics +3, Bluff +3
Languages Common
Skrivix dashes into the room, ducking and dodging and weaving through imaginary obstacles before stopping in front of the big ugly stridermander. Sweet dance moves ensue as Skrivix jukes the big fella out before Skrivix slips on dismembered pieces of the first deceased stridermander in the room.
Catching his balance, he straightens up as if nobody noticed a thing.
While most of your attacks miss, Rei's magic missiles slam into the big stridermander. Then Harrac dashes under its reach and strikes out with his solar blade, impaling the creature through the chest. It lets out a keening cry, and as the vesk pulls the blade free, the creature collapses!
Jomp and Mimzy cheer while Brigadier Teshgari nods with satsifaction. "Well struck, Harrac. Well struck."
When you have a chance to look around, you see a weapon cache in the chamber. It contains a chill frosthaft doshko, recruit spark knife , rhyolite magma blade, tactical maul, tactical x-gen gun, tempest gale baton, wyrmling dragon rifle, yellow star conqueror, and a yellow star flare axe.
Photographs on the east wall show the Allsixers posing triumphantly at the site of missions well-done. The papers are mission plans, though they’ve rotted to illegibility. The faded murals, signed by Viverivim, depict the skittermanders and Veskarium living together in peace. They smile, hold hands, hug, and live in mixed family units.
Several Veskarium bullet casings can be found along this wall amid shattered glass.
Brigadier Teshgari clucks her tongue. "These bullets are centuries old. They were standard issue for a reason–they were cheap and reliable. I have no doubt many groups used them."
The general turns her attention to securing a proper trophy from the giant stridermander. "This is exactly what I was looking for. I declare this expedition a success! We may return to the surface, unless you want to look around more."
Skrivix looks around for the nearest hallway that the group has not been down. Pointing down it he says, "Shall we?"
To Harrac he telepathizes "Do you need a rest first big guy?"
After taking 10 minutes to rest up and recover your stamina, you move to explore the western part of the complex. A broken table and chairs heaped with fur, mattresses, and organic matter dominates this dusty mess hall. The mound twitches and shifts, emitting the shrill screeches of stridermander whelps. Kitchen appliances and cupboards line the east wall, while dirty, floor-to-ceiling windows in the west wall tower over an overgrown fungus garden. Two halls and two doors exit this chamber.
"Here is the stridermanders' nest! You must destroy it," Brigadier Teshgari commands. "Stridermanders in Gadraveech are a threat to the city of Ewagadravona, which must be protected."
Jomp glares at the nest and circles it, waving his polishing cloth threateningly. “I’ll help! Stridermanders love eating skittermanders and I don’t want to help them with that!”
Meanwhile, Mimzy looks ecstatic at the sight of the kitchen. She digs through cabinets and cupboards, collecting glasses, pots, and silverware, which she comically attempts to carry in her already full arms
"They're small now, but they will be big one day! I don't want to get eaten by them!" Jomp says insistently.