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Suddenly, one of the tiny sparking things races behind the bear, broken glass tinkling as it runs. At first, it seems to be taking cover, but then it channels a bolt of lightning from the sky with one hand and redirects it with the other in a straight line directly through the bear, aimed at Drazzel!
The blast of lightning painfully sparks through the red-scaled kobold and the odd stuffed creature with wings behind him, scorching the both. Oddly enough, the growling bear seems to not mind the charge, though its fur hisses and pops with static.
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A second troll-like creature races behind the first (and the bear), beady and mischievous eyes on Darlann and Drazzel. It also calls downs a bolt of lightning and flings it out at the champion and the red-scaled kobold.
The two combatants’ hair stands on end after suffering the glancing shock. The bear, on the other hand, appears to be kinetically twitching in an odd way. It drops to all fours and races at Darlann, sparks flying from its fur!
The bear pulls up right in front of Darlann, unleashing a terrifying roar.
The twitchy and hyperkinetic-appearing bear then slashes out at Darlann with a cruel claw!
The bear tosses the champion to the ground with ease. If there’s any bright lining, it’s that Darlann’s efforts likely prevented Drazzel from suffering a similar fate.
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Hearing his friends engaging in combat, Haechi runs up the stairs to see what all the ruckus is about.
He reaches the top just in time to see what seems to be a large crackling gray bear swatting Darlann into the next world with a single swipe of its paw. "Oh dearie me. That cannot be good." He automatically glances down the stairs to make sure he can escape, and once again berates himself for his cowardice. "Well, this is as good a day to die as any I suppose."
Not seeing the tiny troll-like creatures in the enclosure behind the bear, he casts a spell. With the flick of a wrist and a "Ursus vadit vale vale" he magically flings a piece of broken glass at the crackling bear looming over the fallen champion.
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Haechi's slashing projectile draws a line of blood across the bear's torso, raising a growl of anger. The late-to-the-party small foe takes to the air, flying an unsteady five feet up to position itself behind the raging bear. Predictably, it channels a bolt of lightning through its hand, and back through the bear at Drazzel!
The weak electrical bolt zaps Drazzel a little bit, but it seems to cause the raging bear to twitch and jitter with electrical energy that sparks and pops along its fur.
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The bear seems only to twitch further, and more rapidly, at Kornel's attack, suffering no visible damage. The two small sparking things on the ground take to the air, flying a short distance to put themselves in line with each other, just behind the massive bear. As per previous, they call down electricity and shoot it through the ursine foe at Erathiel!
Erathiel crumbles at the combined charge from two separate lightning blasts. The bear growls and gnashes its jaws at Kurvok!
The bear lopes over the fallen bodies, eager to continue its bloodlust as it lashes out at Drazzel with a bloody claw!
Drazzel dodges, but the twitchy bear attacks again!
Displaying excellent kobold survival skills, the spellscale sorcerer dodges again!
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Haechi watches on in stunned horror as Erathiel goes down under a barrage of lightning bolts and the bear takes out Kurvok with one crackling bite. He looks over at Darlann and for an instant tries to figure out how to get to his fallen comrade and put him back in the fight. As he's about to act though, the bear moves forward, blocks his view and looms over him roaring menacingly.
Something in Haechi cracks, and his base kobold instincts take over. He screams in abject fear. Then turning, he flies down the stairs two or three steps at a time. "Aaaaaaarrrrrgh!"
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Not even seeing his companions downed and beaten changes Kornel's ever-present grin and relaxed posture. Surely this level of phlegmatism borders on lunatic apathy.
"Hazards of the occupation, eh?" he says mostly to himself, seeing how Drazzel is busy making a last stand. Still grinning, he backs away slowly and then makes an about-face and starts running for his life down the stairs and back to the museum entrance.
When and if he catches up to Haechi, he laughs like a madman. "AH HAH HAH! It was not the demon lord of storms, but, ah, a close equivalent!"
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A small contingent of assorted armed and armoured sorts pass the kobolds and Kornel as they flee the fracas with the bear. One of them calls out to no one in particular, "Survivors incoming!" As the three Pathfinders hit the ground floor, a bearded halfling in white tabard hustles towards you.
"Eldereth Blossingtail, Envoy's Alliance!" he announces with a wide smile showing more than one metallic tooth. The halfling gestures towards the ceiling with a free hand as he proffers a tankard at you in the other. "My squad is your backup, methinks! Now get close - you're hurt."
With a burst of healing energy, Eldereth quickly assesses you all for any persistent illness before rushing up the stairs. Soon, the sounds of further electrical crackling, bear growls, and indeterminate shouts sound out. A few more Pathfinders wearing wayfinders filter past you before one directs you through the main doors of the museum, reassuring you that the storm has passed. Outside, the aftermath of the storm lies evident all around as multiple teams work to extinguish the fires in the garden, triage the injured, and calm the panicked throng. You catch the eyes of the dwarf tended to by Darlann as he speaks to a female elf who scribbles notes. When he doesn't see the champion, Algrid gives you a concerned look.
The rest of the evening blurs as adrenaline gives way to fatigue, utter exhaustion, and blissfully, rest. You all awake, unsure of where you are and what time it is, in a communal hospital room. Erathiel, Darlann, and Kurvok sport considerable bandages and plastered casts. Two figures stand nearby conversing.
"I envision that they will all recover," a female dwarf states to the familiar-looking mustachioed human with shaved sides to his head. "They were lucky, Ambrus."
"They are Pathfinders, Millicent," the Pathfinder captain grunts. "That's better than lucky. Ho there!" he calls out, catching your eyes. "You're awake; thank the sun. You were in a pretty predicament there at the Blakros Museum - not a surprise that they were wrapped in another mess that the society had to clean up." His tone at the last comment hints at his disdain.
"Never mind that. You faced considerably more opposition than I had expected, but you handled yourselves well. It's for Nigel Aldain to decide how to manage his destroyed cyclopean exhibit. I am impressed, Pathfinders. Once you've recuperated - " here, the venture-captain directs a leveled look at the female dwarf, "- I'll be certain to have more assignments for you, and soon, so rest up." He turns to leave, then pauses and turns back.
"We've found no sign of Venture-Captain Dreng," he admits, his words tinged with grave import. "Do you have anything further to report, Pathfinders?"
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Haechi comes out of his stupor and shakes his head to clear the cobwebs. On his shoulders, Haetae gives him a long-suffering look and says,
Haechi is still a little confused by all the activity around him. "I feel somewhat out of sorts. How did I get here? What's going on?" His mind starts coming together and a wash of shame and regret floods him. "Oh, nooo!" he wails. "What did I do? I abandoned them and fled." He drops his head into his hands whimpering quietly. "<sob> I don't deserve to be alive. <sob> I should have stayed with them to the end. <sob>"
When he is reassured that his friends hadn't perished and would fully recover, he hops up suddenly elated. He runs over to his bandaged colleagues and after confirming that they were still in fact to be counted among the living, he says, "You're alive! Thank the great Apsu for that." Tears of joy form in his eyes and for once, he is lost for words.
The moment passes quickly and Haechi returns to his usual garrulous self. "But, but. What happened at the museum? What happened to the bear and the nasty flying trolls after I... um, uh... left to fetch help?"
If they haven't already, Haechi will recount their recent adventures in the sewers, at the cultist shrine, and in the museum, to the venture-captain in excruciating detail, only glossing over his own exit from the final scene. "We also found no sign of Venture-Captain Dreng, though the robed creature we encountered stealing the cyclopean obelisk was almost certainly the same merged figure that resulted from the powerful battle that the Sewer Dragons witnessed."
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Kurvok tries to remain stoic, as he winces from the pain of the bear’s jaws. He remembered nothing after his ill-fated charge. Looking around, he is relieved to see that everyone survived. ”Yes, very foolish”, he mutters.
Haechi’s account fills in the gaps he was wondering about. His desperate gambit had failed; the enemy was overwhelming. ”At least we fight on for another day”, he adds.
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Ambrus Valsin frowns thoughtfully at Haechi's words. "Stole the obelisk, you say? Interesting." He mulls over things a bit further, and then as if making a decision, looks up quickly.
"Yes, don't leave town or anything. We'll have more assignments for you all soon." The venture-captain briskly walks out of the room. His footsteps echo for a bit, getting fainter. Suddenly, they begin getting louder again, and Valsin re-appears at the doorway.
"Yes, I almost forgot. For your trouble. These will make it tougher for bears to chew on you next time." The venture-captain sets down two clearly-marked potions on a side table, gives an idle salute, then walks away a second time.
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Well, we's did best we could. That was tough fight. Me's glad you's all still alive.
Drazzel gives everyone a warm smile.
Me's hopes Sewer Dragons not kick me out of clan. Maybe they think me "Drazzel the Not At All Magnificent".
Me's like adventurin' with you's all. Me hopes next time we complete mission and be excellent Passa-finders.
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Well, we's did best we could. That was tough fight. Me's glad you's all still alive.
Drazzel gives everyone a warm smile.Me's hopes Sewer Dragons not kick me out of clan. Maybe they think me "Drazzel the Not At All Magnificent".
”I’d like to see them do better”, Kurvok replies.
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Darlann wakes up in a haze, the pain of a few broken ribs pulsating in his chest. He looks around, attempting to piece together what had happened, when his surviving allies enter the room.
"So I see we made it after all," he smiles at the party. "At that moment, when the bear descended upon us, I truly thought we got in over our heads."
He tries to sit up in his hospital bed, but finds it still too painful and falls back on his back.
"Guess I've got all of you to thank for that. I save you today, you save me tomorrow."