Zsofia sighs, rolls her eyes, and glides into the room, taking care to phase through as many people and mites as possible before stopping a few steps past the doorway.
"Booooooo! Barpple smells like dwarf beards! Down with Barpple!"
Barpple looks at his two minions desperately; they look back at him and shrug. Face purple with rage, Barpple looks right on the verge of attacking you all...then seems to deflate, slumping in the saddle like a defeated general. "Rudgib am cappan...again..." the crowned mite sighs. Cheers and jeers come from the other mites, and an impromptu ceremony takes place, Barpple descending from atop the shelf to turn over the banded spider mount and beetle-horn crown. Once restored to his rightful(?) place, Rudgib stands up in the stirrups of the spider-saddle and addresses the gathered mites.
"Warriors of Mag Tureah, we have been treated most cruelly! The Witches of Hollownest have played a vicious trick upon us, one that cost the lives of many of our number! I say we will not play their games! We will not return to them their diamond of death--if they desire it so badly, let them claim it themselves!
"Instead, let us follow these Big Folk up, up to the world above! We will replenish the ranks of our crawling comrades, and carve out a place for ourselves! With no Witches to send us on suicide missions! As my trusted lieutenant, I am sending Barpple Sto--Barpple, to inform the witches that their treachery has only kind of worked!"
The speech is followed by some perfunctory cheers and a look of dread from Barpple. Hooting and prodding, the other mites herd the unfortunate deposed leader to the crack in the wall. With one last hateful glance at Rudgib, Barpple disappears into the dark.
"Ha!" Rudgib declares as things grow quiet again. "Now what?"
|
"I think it is time we honored our word and made our way to the exit," Wallace suggests. "If what the Celedon said is true, all we need to do is appease the other guardians and we'll be able to leave safely."
Giving the room a once over, he prepares to begin leading the way upwards. "Nice work there Garret, peaceful resolutions are always the best way forward," he says with a smile and an amicable hand on the Halfling's shoulder. I should learn from him. If I can't do it myself, I should at least know how to help.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Now you come with us, Rudgib," Silvia says. "You seem like a smart lad, you could be the founding captain of the Coffer's very own Mite Militia."
”Exactly. Let’s get out of here and leave these Pharasmans to their tombs,” contributed Garret.
Ketra whispers to Sanduro "Hold on, they're coming with us!? I don't want to be a babysitter for a bunch of bloodthirsty goblins."
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
”Rudgib, may I have a word?” asks Garret. Assuming the answer is yes, he moves to talk with the Captain alone.
Quietly, the halfling speaks with the mite leader, ”So, you know the big folk can be clumsy and not able to take the good way out of here through that crack because they are just too big, right? We will have to go up the slow way and deal with the ill-tempered constructs, but there is no reason you have to. Can you lead your team out of here the quick way, then I can guide the big folk the slow way, then we can try and meet on the surface later?”
Ketra whispers to Sanduro "Hold on, they're coming with us!? I don't want to be a babysitter for a bunch of bloodthirsty goblins."
"I'm with you - I don't think they'd get along well in town, that's for certain. If Garret can talk them into going back the way they came, maybe that will solve the problem."
Rudgib cocks his head, confused. "Eh? Crack's how us got here...from Mag Tureah? Not go to up-top us think. 'Sides, Witches back that way!"
"Really, there is no way to the surface through the crack without encountering the witches? That is unfortunate. Are you sure there isn't some secret, hidden way that can get you to the surface? I mean, you are welcome to come with us, but the guardians on the next level up will probably attack us," reasons the halfling, hoping to avoid that eventuality.
"Trust me, Garret knows what he's talking about. Mag whatsits is definitely the way you want to be going FIRST, then after that you can spin yourself right topwise and you'll rejoin us in no time at all. Witches are a way away, anyway, right?" Ketra puts on a confident smile.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Rudgib's skeptical expression doesn't abate as Garret suggests alternate tunnels, but Ketra's confidence seems to assuage his worries. "There is lots of tunnels, can probably find a up-top way to go without seeing Witches. An' those statues is pretty mean... Arright, us find an up-top tunnel an' Big Folk gotsa use stairs. Hurr hurr, bet Big Folk wish they had secret tunnels like us!" With some shouting and prodding, Rudgib and his followers round up their insectile minions--including the three cockroaches that had been rooting around in the corpse piles. One by one they file through the crack in the wall to whatever fate await them, pulling their unconscious brethren along behind. After a few minutes the sound of their clambering and bickering recedes, leaving the tomb still and quiet once again.
The mites had piled together several pounds of silver, ivory, and gold-leaf decorations throughout the tomb; together with a jasper figurine of a horse it's probably worth about 280gp combined .
Furthermore, up on one of the higher shelves is a finely made leather bandolier with four more potions with a deep blue fluid in them.
These are four potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
Sanduro starts looking around the room while Garret and Ketra cajole the mites into the crack in the wall.
He gets distracted by some tracks in the dust on the floor and doesn’t see anything else of interest.
Letting out a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding, Garret looks at Ketra and smiles, saying, ”Thank you.”
Realizing he hasn’t looked through the room yet, Garret casts Detect Magic and looks around...
”Well, it looks like the mites have already done some tomb robbing,” says Garret, gesturing towards the pile of treasure left behind. ”Do you suppose we should take it to the guardian to see if he can effect repairs with it? Oh, and there are four magical potions on that high shelf if someone can get them down for me—they are giving of a Conjuration/Healing aura of the second order...” he adds.
Likewise, Silvia spends some time poking through what's left of the room. Once the mites are gone, though, she stops and turns to face the others.
"I don't like the way we handled that," she says with a troubled look on her face. "They might be little weirdos, but they trusted us and we may have just sent them to their deaths."
Ketra waves as the mites leave. Once they're well out of earshot, she shrugs "They were the ones breaking in to rob tombs for a bunch of witches that wanted a gem with a trapped evil shadow creature. I'm not going to get bent out of shape 'bout it." She scoops up the treasure. "And maybe we will see them up top."
"As for all the things they stole, you're talking sense Garret. Let's see if the caledon knows where they took all this from." She also retrieves the four potions at the same time.
|
|
Wallace nods his agreement to Garret's idea of presenting the items to the Celedon.
"It leaves me unease too, Silvia. I hope it was worth the risk though. Having them with us might have disturbed the guardians enough to attack us, potentially killing us or the Mites anyways. Only the Gods will know what the best way is," he adds solemnly. All we can do is try our best, final judgement fall where it may.
"Giving them a chance to live and lead a life of freedom if they are clever enough to avoid the witches is the best we can do, I think," says Garret, "As I expect they would have eventually tried to kill us or provoke whomever we met if they had stayed with us."
"In any case, Ketra, let's follow your lead with the Caledon," offers the halfling, ready to move on as well.
Sanduro nods. "They were tomb robbers, Ketra. I think getting them out of here without the Caledon killing any more of them was probably the best we could do, wasn't it? But yes, let's bring the grave goods back to the Caledon. The healing potions look like they were placed here for the living again, though, don't you think?"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Ketra takes a look around the north-eastern room for any movable but heavy shelves that could be taken out to block the passageway to wherever the mites came from. She gets the others to help her move it into place, if they're willing.
Third does not appear to have moved an inch since you left before, but their eyes track you all as you file into the room. The accept the pile of silver, ivory, and gold decorations with a sigh. "Your resolution was loud, and I fear the vandals will return--but I suppose your respect for life is admirable. This will take quiet some time to repair."
Stepping out of your way, Third inclines their head towards the stairwell. "You have kept your word, you may precede. Be cautious of the horned wriggling...thing. It was aggressive, and seems to have claimed the gorgon for itself."
The celedon starts to turn away, then pauses. "Thank you, strangers. We are now able to continue our task."
As you ascend the stairs, you find yourselves in a room room with a single thick wooden frame bolted against the eastern wall. Several plates of gleaming metal are bound together with thin posts and wire--it resembles nothing so much as ornate barding in the shape of a fearsome bull. The
plates twist like wind chimes, creating a dull clanking. Stairs
lead steeply downward to the west, and a single door stands in the southern wall. One of the plates where the bull's neck would be is split, a gleaming longsword jammed through the buckled metal.
This is not barding at all, but rather the metallic hide of a magical beast known as a gorgon. Resembling omnivorous bulls, these monsters are notorious for their foul tempers and are rumored to exhale a petrifying vapor.
You can see a shape wriggling around inside the barding, just visible through the gaps between the plates.
"'The world is a great mirror,'" Silvia mutters to herself, before going to help Ketra set up her makeshift barricade.
-----
Upstairs, Silvia finds her attention drawn to the sword embedded in the bull's neck. Remembering the celedon's warning, though, she keeps her distance.
Seeing the gleaming sword, Garret casts Detect Magic, trying to determine its properties. Yet he is wary of alerting the Otsovite that is likely in the gorgon sculpture, so his investigations are...weak.
|
|
"The Gorgon?" Wallace asks the Third. "What manner of beast is that?" Maybe there are more guardians than he let on...
"Is there anything special about that sword?" he asks the others, looking down at his own before his gaze returns to the awfully shiny one stuck in the bull. If there are more hostiles, it would do us well to be better equipped. I'm not sure if that was intentionally placed there either.
________
"Horned wriggling thing? Gorgon? Those don't sound good."
Sanduro follows the group up the stairs and into the room.
When he sees the mirrored sculpture of the bull and the sword, he stops and shudders. "Third was right. There is something wriggling inside that bull thing. Maybe don't get too close just yet." The duskwalker raises his bow and nocks an arrow.
"Is there anything special about that sword?" he asks the others, looking down at his own before his gaze returns to the awfully shiny one stuck in the bull.
Sanduro nods at Wallace's practical question. "Let's find out," he says, and casts detect magic.
The phantom starts to glide toward the the bull but stops at Sanduro's warning. "So do you want me to see what it is or not?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Something wriggling? I don't see anything from here, but I'll take your word for it. Dad always said to stay away from horny things, especially if they don't want to show their faces in polite company." She snorts, rather a bit too loudly.
"I guess is that weird sculpture then the gorgon? Hmmm, maybe the sword is part of the display. Showing how they triumphed over some mythical creature." She draws her machetes. "Or something like that. Either way, we'll have to get closer if we want to beat it up."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Ketra warily draws nearer the writhing creature stills, before suddenly squeezing itself through gaps in the armor that seem far too small for its bulk. Perhaps five feet long, this greenish wormlike creature has perhaps a dozen pairs of tiny legs and is decorated with yellow, red, and black patterns across its fuzzy hide. At it's--head, maybe?--sprout a half-dozen barbed curving horns. The creature hisses and rears up like a cobra!
This is a horn caterpillar, a juvenile vermin named for the painful bristles it uses to protect itself.
ROUND 1
Sanduro/Zsofia
Ketra (-1hp)
Horn Caterpillar
Garret
Silvia
Wallace (-4hp)
"Horn caterpillar! Garret, don't worry about being diplomatic with it - these things are mindless!"
As the caterpillar wriggles out of the strange armor, Sanduro darts across to the far side of the room to get a clear shot at it.
”Zsofia! Distract it!”
"Are you sure you want to kill it, boyo? It might make a nice pet for you."
Zsofia glides into the room until she is half in the armor herself, next to the caterpillar. The phantom waves her arms around, and yells at the mindless worm.
"Hey, look at me! I'm gonna squish you!"
Special Attacks: in addition to its bite, a horn caterpillar's barbed bristles carry a venom that saps its victims' strength. They can also spit sticky webbing to entangle foes.
Special Defenses: a horn caterpillar's bristles also protect it from attackers, who must be careful to avoid them or be damaged by the barbs. Thanks to their many legs and low center of gravity, horn caterpillars cannot be tripped.
Ketra twirls her machetes in her hands and hops in place for a moment to gauge the right time to move in. The armor she's wearing feels uncomfortable, but quite reassuring in the face of the rather grotesque worm creature. Just as Zsofia starts her distraction, she dashes in to slash down with her left-hand weapon.
Sanduro sends an arrow streaking towards the caterpillar, barely nicking it as the arrow sails past to shatter against the wall. Ketra's machete strikes a more telling blow, carving a deep slash along its flank. Unfotunately, her hand brushes against one of the man bristles clustered around its head, and the barbs dig in--Ketra feels a burning sensation spreading from the wound, but otherwise feels no ill effects.
Injured and cornered, the caterpillar thrusts its head forward, its razor-sharp mandibles biting into Ketra's calf, though her new armor blunts the worst of the damage. Thrashing about, the caterpillar's bristles scrape against Ketra's armor but the gleaming mithril holds.
ROUND 1
Sanduro/Zsofia
Ketra (-7hp)
Horn Caterpillar (-8hp)
Garret
Silvia
Wallace (-4hp)
"Watch out for --" Sanduro winces as Ketra gets scratched by one of the caterpillar's barbs -- "those pointy things, their poison will make you weak! And it can spit webs to stick you in place!"
Silvia steps up as though to strike the big caterpillar with her gloved hand, but Sanduro's shouted warning gives her pause. Instead, she draws her pistol with her other hand and tries to find a clear shot on the wriggling thing.
Garret moves up and casts a spell on the creature, trying to blast it with sound and stun it briefly!
Ear Piercing Scream: and dazed one round; DC 16 Fortitude for half damage and to negate the daze.
The retort of Silvia's pistol is staggeringly loud in the confined stone stairwell, but the effect is worth it: yellow-green blood spatters the wall as a huge chunk of flesh is torn from the caterpillar. Badly injured, the creature is slammed by Garret's psychic shrieking--and it's too much for the caterpillar, who collapses to the floor.
Examining the room, it is clean and clearly maintained but has little of interest other than the display. The long sword-breaker jammed into it is not magical, but its blade is the dark grey common to cold-forged iron.
|
|
Wallace barely has a chance to move when the combination of blade, bullet and magic strike the bug down. "Well-done," he remarks genuinely, walking towards the statue. As carefully as he can, he pulls the sword free. "This kind of metal... it is useful against certain foes, is it not? I don't want to loot this place more than we have to, but with the unknown before us, I think being better equipped is a fair trade for any disrespect we may cause." As much as it makes me uncomfortable to admit it... And with the town under attack, it'd be foolish to leave a weapon of superior quality lying in a tomb.
Silvia returns the pistol to its holster with a twirling flourish, grinning all the while. "It's a shame Black's not here to see this, he'd finally have to admit that he was wrong." Her smile falters for a moment, before she physically pushes through whatever came over her. "Let's go."
Satisfied that the caterpillar will trouble you no further, the group moves on to the next chamber. The walls of this wide room are covered with murals depicting a man performing a variety of heroic tasks: driving a sword into a fearsome metallic bull, defending a village from a scowling spectre, delivering an impassioned speech to several knights, and so on. The man has a large mustache and flowing hair, and wears a breastplate adorned with the symbol of a winged rapier. The western end of this room contains an enormous statue of the man atop a rearing horse, carrying a lance in one hand and a shield in the other. Hallways exit this room to the north and south; both immediately bend to the east. Doors stand in the north and south walls.
Silvia examines the statue, arms crossed. "I know it's his own tomb and all, but having this many statues of yourself seems excessive."
After a while she turns to look over the rest of the room.
Ketra sags, looking unhappily at her wounds. "I- I thought the breastplate was supposed to be really good. Not-" She winces in pain. "Not a magnet for spiky worm bits." She takes out a potion of cure light wounds and downs it.
"Uh, did that do anything? Did they go bad from sitting down here too long?" She looks at the others "I could go for another if someone was willing to give theirs up."
---
Ketra grins at Silvia's assessment. "Sure seems like it. But I guess once you have a whole tomb dedicated to you and your followers, you've got to fill it with something. And considerin' he was making eyes on that um, what's her name - the herald? He was pretty high up in the world."
She joins Silvia in searching the room.
Garret hands Ketra his CLW potion, saying, ”Perhaps this one will be better.”
|
|
"I agree that it seems gratuitous, but perhaps one day we'll have to make the same set of decisions after a life of greatness, then judge him for it, eh?" Wallace says with a small smirk. Gaudy for a Hero, but a little vice surely must be ok after such a life... Might have also been his supporters that did all this in his honor anyways.
He shakes out his legs. "Let's get a move on then, start at the hallway at our backs, then work our way clockwise?"
________
Silvia heads off to check out the northeast hallway, then glances back down to the south. "They both turn off in the same direction, my guess is they head to the same place. The exit, maybe?"
Garret looks carefully at the gorgon statue as he goes by, then follows the rest of the party down whichever hallway they choose.