Abdara also moves forward into the cavern, taking the time to start up a witty bit of oratory as she does. Much like Janira's from earlier, it's strangely inspiring!
______________
Felix
Pelagos
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Red
Blue
Green
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Solomon
Gnoda
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Orange
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Abdara
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Water Squares = Shallow Bog
Felix & Pelagos are UP!
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As he manages to dodge out of the way of the centipede's lunging bite, Felix feels the weight of the strange blue creature's gaze on him. Normally not intimidated by the stare-down of a foe, this one nevertheless seems to instill a sense of nervousness and unease in the fighter.
"Watch out for those little ones; something unnatural about their stare! Feels like ice down my spine..."
He nevertheless executes a quick sliding maneuver around the centipede, putting it between him and the creepy little blue things and creating possible openings for his companions. He then brings his spear to bear, though his form feels somewhat lacking thanks to a certain onlooker.
Wanting to wait and see how the battle unfolds Pelagos moves down closer to the river, ready to draw out a weapon of his own if need be. Felix feels strangely unnerved by the Red Mite's weird glare but does his best to ignore it as he deftly steps around the oversized centipede. He tries to put his spear to good use against the creature but it proves harder to land a blow on than he anticipated.
Green Mite continues moving forward and manages to finish wading across the river. Blue splashes into the river and gets maybe halfway across before pausing to throw his dart at Felix...
...and though it'd normally be a pretty good throw, the centipede impedes Blue's aim and the dart misses!
______________
Felix
Pelagos
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Red
Blue
Green
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Solomon
Gnoda
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Orange
==============
Abdara
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Water Squares = Shallow Bog
Solomon & Gnoda are UP!
Solomon pulls out a spear and sort of...flings it sideways at the Red Mite across the river. Though the distance isn't optimal Solomon manages to clock the little fey across the face...and after swaying on his feet for a moment, the mite does a slow fall backwards! Looks like the mite's out cold and with a broken nose to boot.
Still...Solomon gets the feeling that his spear really should've done even more damage than it did. Wonder why it didn't?
______________
Felix
Pelagos
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Blue
Green
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Solomon
Gnoda
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Orange
==============
Abdara
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Water Squares = Shallow Bog
Gnoda is UP!
Gnoda moves up and fires his crossbow at Orange...and manages to hit it even with it being engaged in combat with Felix! The centipede makes one last lunge at Felix...
...and then the strain of its injuries becomes too much and it collapses, curling in on itself.
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Felix
Pelagos
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Blue
Green
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Solomon
Gnoda
Abdara
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Water Squares = Shallow Bog
Abdara is UP at the bottom of Round 2 and Felix and Pelagos are UP at the top of Round 3!
Pelagos enters the fray at last, moving up to support Felix and using the wand borrowed from Janira's stash to blast the Blue Mite as he tries to cross the river. Unfortunately, the mite does manage to avoid part of the blast - albeit only just. On the bright side, even that small bit of fire is enough to leave Blue looking extra crispy...and then Gnoda's hoodoo kicks in and the mite grimaces with pain! Looks like a stiff breeze would knock him over.
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Felix
Pelagos
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Blue
Green
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Solomon
Gnoda
Abdara
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Water Squares = Shallow Bog
Abdara is UP at the bottom of Round 2 and Felix is UP at the top of Round 3!
Abdara continues her oratory as she decides to switch up her weapons, moving and flinging a dagger at Blue...but her aim is off and the weapon *tinks* off of the small boulder behind it.
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Felix
Pelagos
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Blue
Green
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Solomon
Gnoda
Abdara
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Water Squares = Shallow Bog
Felix is UP!
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"Nice shot, Gnoda!"
As he begins to move forward to engage the last of the little creatures, the Oracle joins him and unleashes his tongue of flames, bringing a nod of approval from the fighter.
"That should make them think twice about messing with you... things might get a little too hot for them!"
Smiling at the enjoyment of fighting with reliable companions, he finishes his quick step over to the little creature, once more sending his spear through its paces. The lingering chill of the other's gaze is still upon him, however...
Finding his groove, Felix steps up to the Green Mite and effortlessly skewers it with the first thrust of his spear! While he does notice that the weapon seems to encounter a small bit of resistance as it pierces the creature's skin, the attack is powerful enough to finish the mite right then and there.
Upon seeing Green hanging limply from Felix's longspear and realizing that he's now quite alone and SOL, Blue utters a fearful squeak and turns to flee...but is so injured that he can't move more than a few steps through the water.
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“… and when Nanny told Cousin Ralph he didn’t have worms anymore, that was the happiest day of his life.”
Abdara ends her performance with a little light comedy, ignoring the fleeing Blue Boy as she reclaims her weapons and trawls through the mites’ gear.
She is particularly interested in healing tinctures.
“Nobody is hurt? Is my assertion correct? Then let Felix wipe the mite from his longarm, and let us head ever onwards and upwards in pursuit of our thrice-worthy mentor!”
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I feel no obligation to aid this Mite as it flees, but it has taken to running in the direction we wish to go... It'd be overly cruel to leave it running free while following it, injured. Pelagos sighs, casts a spell and jogs after the hobbling Mite.
Missing the first swipe, he tags the little guy on the second and returns to the others. "I, uh, we're all going the same way. Didn't seem right. The indignity..." he shares. "...I'm ready."
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Gnoda nods in acknowledgement of Felix's praise, but purses his lips and shakes his head at the antics of Pelagos and Solomon. He turns to the spearman:
"Mmmmm. I fear we have become saddled with a group of pacifists, Felix. Not that I am a great warrior. War does not make anyone great. But the profession of the pathfinder, not peaceful it is."
Abdara seems content to ignore the fleeing mite altogether but Solomon moves to give it a gentle push the rest of the way across the river and Pelagos inexplicably chases after it long enough to give it a healing touch...after which it seems to regain some pep and speeds off down the tunnel at a much quicker pace. The other mite, unconscious Red, remains so next to the river but doesn't seem to be in any danger of bleeding out or drowning. He'll probably wake up on his own later. Probably.
While you discuss what to do next, Abdara rifles through the possessions of the one mite you managed to slay...but doesn't find much. Just a small dagger and some equally small darts.
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“Being a NON-pacifist is fine, Solomon.”
The sister of two paladins wears a patient expression. “But if you pull punches in order to ‘keep your record intact’, I predict somebody will be joining the Lady of Graves’ queue.”
Abdara points across the shallow bog with her buckler hand. “I suggest pursuing the quickest path to Janira, but will conform with the view of the majority.”
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He nods to the gnome, glancing over at the others for a moment.
"It isn't right to kill with abandon, certainly... but I won't hesitate to strike down a foe who's intending on ending my own life. It's what I've been trained to do."
He gives a little shrug at the question of which path to take, though his gaze moves to the tunnel across the way.
"Probably best to continue on this way, if for no other reason than we've already begun and it wouldn't do to leave the rest of it at our back unexplored. Especially after the racket we made in here to alert anything down there to our presence."
With everyone in agreement to press on across the river and towards a probable exit, you proceed to do just that. You find that this new tunnel is lengthy, with numerous twists and turns as well as steep ascents and short climbs. As you travel, everyone begins to pick up the sound of a distance voice echoing through the caverns. The further you go, the louder it becomes until you recognize it...it's Janira! You can't yet make out the words, but it's definitely her!
Realizing that she (and the surface) must be close, you pick up the pace. But as you all round a curve in the tunnel, those up front - Solomon, Felix, and Pelagos - come to a halt as they lay their eyes on something quite strange. About 30 feet ahead, they can see the Blue Mite standing frozen in mid-run, still as a statue.
Yet there doesn't seem to be anyone or anything else around.
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After checking she has a spare acid flask tucked away, Abdara advances and unslings her backpack to give her more speed.
“Has it like been skewered by a stake, or what?”
She bombards the mite corpse with ✨dancing lights, before migrating the mini-lanterns outwards in the cardinal directions looking for traps and their source.
While Gnoda makes sure that his crossbow is loaded and ready, Pelagos and Abdara try looking for any traps - or any other traps, as the case may be. Abdara even scoots up a little, moving past Solomon and Felix to shine some light on the subject. And while Pelagos doesn't see anything out of the ordinary...
As your lights swarm around the mite they shine and shimmer off of...thin air? Wait, no...it's some sort of translucent cube. The mite seems to be stuck inside of it.
Oh.
Oh dear.
The mite isn't just stuck, but...seems to be slowly dissolving, the faint hissing and sizzling you now hear reminiscent of cooking bacon.
Haven't you heard a story about this sort of thing?
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Abdara ponders the cubic critter’s special attacks.
“I think we are interrupting a translucent cubic ooze’s mite meal, chaps. Its correct name and special attacks are on the tip of my tongue.”
She backs away slowly into a side passage, drawing a flask of acid. “Do you want to fight it, or run away and try the undead passage?”
“We’re quite close to the surface now. I vote fight FRY IT, Pelagos!”
Abdara carefully backs away, pointing out the translucent cube for the rest of you to see. She remembers that this thing is known as a gelatinous cube, which is able to engulf potential prey by simply rolling over it. They also secrete a paralyzing slime whenever they engulf said prey or strike with a slam attack. All that said, she also notes that this cube seems smaller than the average specimen - it's probably still growing.
Although it moves slowly, a gelatinous cube can simply engulf Large or smaller creatures in its path as a standard action. It cannot make a slam attack during a round in which it engulfs. The gelatinous cube merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as it can cover. Opponents can make attacks of opportunity against the cube, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity can attempt a DC 12 Reflex save to avoid being engulfed—on a success, they are pushed back or aside (opponent’s choice) as the cube moves forward. Engulfed creatures are subject to the cube’s paralysis and acid, gain the pinned condition, are in danger of suffocating, and are trapped within its body until they are no longer pinned. The save DC is Strength-based.
A gelatinous cube secretes an anesthetizing slime. A target hit by a cube’s melee or engulf attack must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 3d6 rounds. The cube can automatically engulf a paralyzed opponent. The save DC is Constitution-based.
With no other good way to get to Janira except by dealing with the cube, Pelagos steps up and blasts it with the borrowed wand! Some of the cube's mass melts away but it somehow seems to avoid the worst of the flames...and is now ready to defend itself against its attacker!
The sounds of another battle loom close, echoing through the tunnels - Janira's battle with the minotaur. And her words of inspiration reach you, even here...
"And it was Selmius Foster’s race against a marid and efreeti on the isle of Jalmeray, which taught us that nothing is truly impossible and every situation can end in victory!"
...granting you all a renewed feeling of courage!
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Abdara
Solomon
Gnoda
Felix
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Young Gelatinous Cube
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Pelagos
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions:
Abdara, Solomon, Gnoda and Felix are UP!
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Abdara moves fifteen feet back into the main cavern and readies an action to enter a bardic performance if the cube is still alive after Felix, Gnoda and Solomon have acted.
Her intention is not to compete with Janira , but rather to allow her saving finale spell to immediately activate, should one of her companions require it.
"But it was Relas the Optimistic’s maiden ton against pace and near-unplayable spin on the isle of Jalmeray’s home pitch, which *ahem* Confirmed that nothing is truly impossible and every assault can end in diplomatic victory!"
("Even if he did have to hold the bat in his teeth!")
Solomon decides that in this case, doing some killing damage might just be acceptable. Though he envisions charging the cube, Pelagos is unfortunately in his way so the best he can do is simply move up and strike the cube with his spear, sloughing off more of its' mass as he does so.
Weighing the situation - especially given that Solomon's spear attack seemed perfectly effective - Abdara falls back and readies to fire up her own performance should her companions fail to fell the cube in a timely manner.
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Abdara
Solomon
Gnoda
Felix
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Young Gelatinous Cube
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Pelagos
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions:
Gnoda and Felix are UP!
Though Gnoda's not familiar with carnivorous jelly he's still able to stick it with a bolt from his crossbow, even with several of his allies in the way. Seems like trying to hit this thing really is like trying to hit the broad side of a barn!
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Abdara
Solomon
Gnoda
Felix
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Young Gelatinous Cube
==============
Pelagos
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions:
Felix is UP!
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"A cubic ooze... all kinds of strange creatures in this cavern."
Moving forward, he comes to stand behind Solomon and utilizes his spear's reach to try and get in a shot at the ooze. It's a very strange feeling, stabbing at what appears to be practically nothing; today's a day for new experiences, it seems.
Marveling at the variety of foes the group has encountered Felix steps up behind Solomon and gives the cubic ooze a good jab with his longspear. As before, the weapon slides into the goop and more bits of the creature drop away but the cube doesn't die...and so Abdara launches into a performance of her own, ready to use her magic to help if it becomes necessary.
The cube, having been interrupted in the middle of a meal, quivers and then attempts to roll over Solomon and engulf him!
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Solomon
Gnoda
Felix
Abdara
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Young Gelatinous Cube
==============
Pelagos
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions:
Pelagos is UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Solomon, Gnoda, Felix, Abdara are UP at the top of Round 2!r
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Rather alarmed by the cube's attempt to eat Solomon Pelagos quickly fires off a bolt from his crossbow before stepping down another side tunnel. Under normal circumstances it'd be a pretty bad shot but apparently not so when dealing with a gelatinous cube - the bolt hits home and now the cube is dripping and sloughing off bits of goo everywhere...
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Solomon
Gnoda
Felix
Abdara
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Young Gelatinous Cube
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Pelagos
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions:
Solomon, Gnoda, Felix, Abdara are UP!
Solomon stands tall and retaliates against the cube, wounding it terribly just before it engulfs him...and just sort of slops apart, leaving the brawler covered in nasty, translucent goop (and bits of mostly-dissolved mite) but otherwise unharmed.
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“Good Show, Solomon! Sometimes you turn over those Harrow cards and they come up ‘The Trumpet’ and ‘The Keep’, what?”
Abdara turns up patrician eyebrows and nose at the brawler’s gelatinised state. “What say we save back-thumps for later?”
The bard stows her acid flask, draws a javelin and picks up her pack, with the intention of releasing it just inside the cavern exit. “Indeed, Master Gnoda.”
"That woman has no right to monopolize the prime beef market."
Knowing that time is of the essence you all race up the remainder of the tunnel as quickly as you can, trying not to slip on the wet ground as you go. As you close the distance with the tunnel's exit, the sound of Janira's voice grows stronger and louder - a welcome sound indeed. But just before you reach the light at the end of the tunnel, the air is split by a bone-shaking roar - the minotaur!
As you all stumble out of the tunnel and into the light of the full moon, you realize that you've exited into another clearing at the base of the Kortos Mountains. The moon's light illuminates a stream, the water's flow hastened by runoff from a recent storm further up in the mountains. A small log seems to have lodged itself across the stream, providing a path across, albeit a tricky one. Just to the right, you can also see a path leading up to a ledge that sits nearly level with the forest canopy.
Yet another roar splits the night air and across the stream you see Janira and the minotaur - both looking worse for the wear. The minotaur's mighty battleaxe looks to be broken and Janira seems on the verge of exhaustion. Still, her voice rings out in reply to the minotaur's roar.
Janira takes a step back and punctuates this threat with a mighty *CRACK* of her whip...
...but though the whip briefly wraps around the minotaur's axe, she's unable to pull it from his grasp. With that gambit having failed, she finishes into her pocket and pulls out a small bag...
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Janira
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Abdara
Solomon
Gnoda
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Minotaur
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Felix
Pelagos
Active Conditions: Inspire Courage +1
Environmental Conditions: Dim Light, Light Undergrowth (Green Squares)
Abdara, Solomon and Gnoda are UP!