Thayer and Snow charge into combat alongside Dawn!
Three brutal blows later and the giant yells in incoherent rage before lashing out with his chains!
Both fighters take hefty blows! The giant's chains are extremely long and whirl around at dangerous speed, sending chunks of wrecked house flying!
Casia drops a patch of slick ground right under the giant's feet.
Dawn strikes again!
Dawn brings the giant down with a mighty blow that cuts right through his leg! The giant howls, crashes down into the burning house and falls still.
The glow leaves Dawn’s eyes as she stands triumphantly over the fallen giant. She takes several seconds to catch her breath before gesturing to the crack in the rock. ”We follow. Let’s go!”
Casia turns to check on Poppy. Finding the halfling uninjured, she takes her hand and races after Dawn.
Thayer takes a moment to congratulate Dawn, slapping her on the back and declaring "Well struck!"
Looking down at the injuries the chain cause, he asks "Anyone fix this by chance?"
After looking over at the dwarf's injuries, he waves it off. "Nevermind. Help Dawn first." he suggests, noting her injuries were far worse.
Dawn grins and slaps Thayer on the butt. "We'll celebrate later. And I'm not hurt. That blow must have jostled your brain, big guy!"
Poppy yells for Prim to follow and joins Casia, racing after Thayer, racing after Dawn.
Thayer smacks the side of his head and looks again. "Oh. All that blood. I figured it was yours. Good on you." he says with a grin, rubbing his eyes.
Pressing on and into the hillside the intrepid heroes find gossamer cobwebs hanging from the ceiling of this rough tunnel, and the misty spray from the Hopespring’s waterfall outside glimmers faintly on strands of spider silk. Chunks of rubble lie scattered on the floor amid piles of dirt. The tunnel twists and turns deep into the hill before emerging into a wide cavern. The air is humid but cool, and a thin sheen of condensation coats its rocky walls. A narrow passage exits the cavern to the west. To the south, the floor drops away into darkness, while a bridge of stone leads to another cavern to the east. The sound of trickling water echoes through the cavern.
Dawn points to the left. "This way first."
Finding it harder and harder to see in the darkness of the cavern, Casia summons her spell of light again on the end of her staff.
"Whatever you say," she replies to Dawn's direction. "I don't know anything about caves."
Tangles of thick white webbing fill a ravine at the eastern end of
this cavern, some of it nearly imperceptible in the gloom of the caverns. A thick, flat slab of dark gray stone forms a bridge across the ravine.
Your attempts at stealth were going well until Dawn kicks a large rock and lets out a stream of dwarven curse words. Attracted by the noise two stork like creatures bound from the shadows as spider descend from above...
"Spider!" Casia literally shrieks as the creature approaches.
With a frantic wave of her hands, she sends a blast of cold towards it.
Thayer switches from his halberd to his greatsword when they enter the cavern. At the call of a spider, he pivots to try and attack it.
Thayer turns a spider into paste while Casia covers one in pretty white frosting.
"Oh, Gods! There are more of them!" Casia calls out, her voice taking on a shrill tone.
Prim lumbers forward to protect Casia from eight legged monsters, while Poppy calls out. "Dawn, watch out for the bird thing!"
The remaining spiders skitter forwards as the storks come charging out of the shadows.
Dawn curses and swings her sword in a broad arc, missing the bird.
Thayer misses as well, joining Dawn in her spider-missing-technique.
Prim, still continuing to protect Casia, unleashes her natural rage at the spider.
Poppy yells out again, "Attack its torso, maybe you'll hit it better!"
Prim lumbers back towards Casia, although this spider proves more difficult to hit. Dawn meanwhile lands a hit and cleaves the bird in two
Poppy offers some good advice but it still isn't enough to help Thayer connect.
Beginning to panic, Casia flails ineffectively at the eight-legged nightmare with her staff as a scream builds within her.
The spiders and the stork-creature fight with great vigor, but only Dawn takes any damage - a nasty bite on the ankle!
Her fear ruling her, Casia continues to futilely swing her staff at the huge spider.
Poppy reflexively glances over at Prim to check she is fine and sees Casia's terror upon her face. Poppy rushes over to her friend and aids her with soothing words, trying to calm her.
Prim continues trying to eat the spiders.
Dawn resists the poison but missed the spider.
Prim crunches up a spider, freeing Casia from the arachnoid menace! Meanwhile the epic battle of man versus stork continues!
Thayer continues his streak of mediocrity, missing yet again.
Knowing that spiders are never to be trusted, the half-elf takes no chances and continues to strike at the dead spider with her staff.
With Dawn and Thayer missing the fight continues!
The stork manages to latch onto Thayer with a claw but cannot get enough grip to do more than inconvenience him for a moment. A couple of powerful blows and Prim's assistance soon dispatch the heroes foes!
Across the ravine, after picking a way through numerous gossamer thin, but extremely awkward, spiders webs a narrow passage leads south, until it emerges into a wide-open, high-ceilinged natural cavern. Embedded in a fifteen-foot-tall spire of centuries-old bones stands the skeleton of a massive armored warrior. Though its flesh has long since rotted off its frame, the skeleton still stands proud and regal amid the trappings of battle and mounds of gleaming treasure. The skeleton’s battered halfplate
and scarred helmet hint at its many battles, and the warlord’s hands are clenched around a massive stone hammer. Beneath the helmet, a thick, round rock has been embedded in one of the skeleton’s otherwise empty eye sockets.
On the far side of the cavern is a half orc, a pair of wolves trotting at his heels. "Where is it?" You can hear him yelling, "Where is the map?!"
Casia calms a bit once the battle has been won, but her eyes continue to search the darkness and she flinches at any perceived movement.
She seems almost relieved that at the end of their journey they find a half-orc. Happy to have something she can vent her anxiety upon, she immediately sends a bolt of cold towards the figure.
Dawn enters a trance as she begins to rush across the distance!
When Dawn takes off, Thayer charges in right behind her shouting "FOR TRUNAU!"
Poppy's colour leaves her face when confronted with the skeleton.
Just as Dawn and Thayer start to move, Poppy quickly casts a protection upon her ally.
"Casia, what map?" She asks, frantically trying to work out what this undead creature could want. "Prim, stay close." Poppy commands, before running after Dawn and Thayer.
Prim and Poppy, start bounding after the foe, Prim ignoring Poppy's command to stay close in her wound up state and charging in closely behind Dawn and Thayer.
"I don't know what map he's looking for, but we should follow them," the half-elf replies, she continues to hold Poppy's hand, but the halfling can feel her trembling as she pulls her after the two warriors.
Thayer and Dawn set off to bring the foul orc to justice!
It's going to take them a while to get there...
Meanwhile Casia tests the range of her magic and finds it severely lacking. Only Poppy achieves anything useful. The spellcasters, being encumbered only by brains and not by armor are swifter to react and close on the fighters before the orc reacts.
Hearing the thundering behind him the orc turns around and whistles sharply before downing a vial. His wolves turn and stalk forwards, their huge forms taking up most of the space between the giant statue and the cavern walls.
Casia pauses enough to chant words of magic and then points her hand at the half-orc. More of the green acid flies towards him.
In her frenzy, Prim charges in to face the threats as Poppy casts to support her friends.
Thayer continues to move towards the orc, swinging his blade when (if) he gets there.
Dawn charges alongside Thayer, attacking a big wolf!
Thayer and Dawn combine to brutally down a wolf! Prim goes snout to snout with the other one and lands a painful bite. Casia meanwhile hits the half-orc with a vivid green arrow which splashes acid green over green skin for a truly horrible contrast of colours!
The wolf counter attacks, biting at Thayer! To no effect...
The orc meanwhile winds up and hurls a bomb, which sails towards you all.
It lands between Thayer's legs and then explodes, somehow not touching the wolf but bathing Dand and Thayer in fiery liquid!
Casia repeats her spell, sending another gout of acid at the enemy.
Dawn grunts as the flames scorch her, but she remains focused on the wolf!
The heroes find themselves doing less well as both Casia and Dawn miss their targets! It's up to the thoroughly burned heroes to redeem the battle for their team!
Prim takes another bite at the wolf as Poppy rushes forwards to aid her companion, as she stays very wide from the fiery explosion afflicting Dawn and Thayer, not able to bring herself to go and help them in the middle of the smoke and flames.
Prim savages the wolf in front of her, refusing to be cowed by a larger predator! Unfortunately for Dawn however bad luck seems to really mean bad luck and she is unable to finish the beast off.