Beau only cares for the wilderness survival guide as anything Isger is dreary by default. "You don't mind if I take this, right?" It is when he picks it up that he notices the many scattered pages, but he leaves them for Bea and the others.
"... Laslunn and the Scarlet Triad will get what’s coming to them, I swear it. I've been spending days exploring these awful tunnels. They are infested with vermin of all sorts. They twist and turn and branch off at a moment's notice. I could spend weeks here in the best of circumstances and not find Alseta's Ring and to have not only find it but figure out how to make it work in six months, before I have to start killing whatever lackeys they send my way, blast it all. At least then I could get some fresh corpses, Bellin has about had it after the last couple of run-ins with cave vermin..."
(entry dated yesterday)"... A mile or so past the ledge, I came across a substantial nest of Giant Centipedes and their young. Gods know what they eat that far in there. I had to use the last of my Alchemist's Fire to finish them off. Swords don't do much to them and a large number of my spells don't affect mindless vermin very well. Now that Calmont caught me up in this mess, I also can't resupply from town until this month's heroes are dealt with. Hopefully the Bloody Blades will deal with them as well, while I scout the last stretch of cave. I am so close!"
Karana reads the notes, tears welling.
“This is simply not the Miss Lyraine I knew… or thought I knew.” She turns to Gofran. “I can see no other explanation than what your instinct had realized from the start.
“And she’s quite the capable alchemist, it would seem.”
"Hmm... these vermin sound like a problem." Bea says as she flips through books, which she will continue to do until everyone is ready to go.
"And necrromancerr." Gofran adds to Karana's words. "Know that I find no joy in bein' rright this time."
As he reads the notes, he tries to remember the name Bellin. "I believe ve should scout arround a bit and trry to make Miss Lyrraine an ambush. These notes suggest she is havin' some trrouble vith the denizens o' this place, so it vould be in ourr advantage to jump herr vhen she rreturrns herre, tirred and vounded."
"Ve do not need to kill herr, of courrse, since it is prrefferrable that she faces justice in Breachill, but ve should not underrestimate herr."
Beau nods approvingly as Gofran shares a solid plan. He has nothing to add to it for it seems pretty complete as is. There is, however, something else that needs addressing. "That sounds like good plan. So ... before we move on and possibly find ourselves confronted by scurrying insects, do we happen to have any alchemical weapons on us?"
Karana says, “I can hurl fire. It is likely not as powerful as Miss Lyraine’s, but if the creatures are weak to fire, that will be my weapon of choice.”
Bea shakes her head at the question, as she continues to read.
Beau cups his chin and rubs an index finger against his lips. Eventually, an idea comes to him. "Perhaps we can repurpose parts of the tarp. A bit of oil, perhaps some strong liquor, maybe some scraped-off tar from our torches - surely we can put together a make-shift fire trap?"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Kyrie shakes her head, a sober expression on her face. "I think we are overthinking this. I think that normal blows are still effective against swarms. I think they are just less effective. I think wide area damage from fire and such just does more."
Perhaps fear is getting the better of him. Beau nods at Kyrie and not just accepts what she's saying, but tries to mentally embrace it as well. "Fine, let's go with that. Just don't mind me lighting this torch, just in case ..."
Following the tunnel past the librarian's camping spot, the heroes of Breachill find themselves in a winding string of passages and caverns. Beau's torch, as well as whatever light magic they see fit to employ, comes in handy, as the twisting tunnel is completely dark.
For the first hour or so, progress is tense as the noises caused by a pebble suddenly tumbling off its perch, or the irregular drip of water from an unseen source puts at least some of the group on edge. Every time they come around a bend in the passage they expect to see Voz and her undead minions, but instead only find the remains of battles past - chipped and scattered bones, chitinous legs, segments of giant centipedes and in places even (mostly) whole bodies of huge, pale spiders.
Less recent are the signs of goblin habitation they come across in one of the larger caverns, ruined stone huts and crumbling homes in which nothing of value or interest remains.
Karana, at this point, is pretty sure Miss Lyraine is a wicked person. But still, she cannot help but say, “Who are you, Miss Lyraine!” when she seeing the carcasses strewn about.
"Well she is someone who certainly does not like insects." Bea says in slightly disappointed wonder as she looks on at pile after pile of insect and spider bits.
Beau frowns at his two companions as they share their (per Beau) rather odd takes. He takes careful steps to avoid the chitinous remains and ghost-like spider husks. "I imagine insects the size of these only like us for the way we taste."
Something tells him they might soon find out what the insects' take on all of this is.
After another hour of progressing through the cavern, a profusion of dead centipedes as well as scorch marks on the floor and walls seem to indicate the site of the last battle mentioned in the scattered notes - which means they must be close to whatever it is that Voz Lirayne is seeking!
Indeed, it takes only another quarter of an hour for advance-scouting Gofran to come across fresh signs of violence, in the form of two dead hunting spiders and a human corpse - although the latter is definitely not recently deceased.
Beyond this point, the tunnel opens wide into a sprawling cavern, but the thick spiderwebs blanketing the walls, floor and ceiling make it feel very claustrophobic.
Gofran gestures the others to halt, while he looks into the darkness with his darkvision and tries to hear anything... be it humanoid or insect.
"... the last time, step aside! I don't have time for this nonsense." This sounds like Voz Lirayne's voice, and she seems furious.
"Please, just listen, we need not fight again. These caverns are too dangerous! Whatever you seek, it can't be worth your life." This voice is unfamiliar, speaking Common with a strange accent that Gofran has never heard before.
As he inches closer, the sources of the voices come into view - and a whole lot more. The tableau before Gofran is bizarre, to say the least, with Voz Lirayne, her back to him, confronting another woman. The necromancer is flanked by at least three shambling skeletons that he can see, while the ceiling and walls behind the stranger are alive with dozens of chitinous legs and glittering arachnid eyes.
Gofran gestures the others to keep where they are and silent, while he waits and listen, trying to figure out what is going on. Is there something as an arachnomancer? He wonders as he studies the undead, the strange woman, and the spiders.
If such a craft exists, Gofran hasn't heard of it, although it is clear to see that the huge spiders (hunting spiders, a thread of recollection informs Gofran) somehow react to, and listen to the woman. Where she comes from, he cannot tell, but she is clearly a stranger to these lands by her dark skin and unusual clothing and ornaments.
The undead, on the other hand, are easy to figure out. The two standing protectively in front of Voz Lirayne are clearly rather strong, even though their bones are chipped in places and some are even missing, no doubt a result of the numerous battles they've fought with the denizens of these caves. The third one is barely holding together, a more sloppily raised skeleton, perhaps.
Not wanting to go up against either of the two sides, Beau has to fight off a rising tide of panic. Somehow, Lirayne's skeletons are decisively less scary than the crazy old spider woman and her many-legged coterie of poisonous fiends! Lirayne seems to be the 'bad' guy here, but can you really trust a spider woman?! "Should we pick a side?!"
Karana says, “In a three-way battle, the loser is the one who does not form an alliance. As long as there is doubt of whose side we will take, neither woman has an incentive to make a move.”
She has her bow in hand.
“We should intervene before the conflict escalates to the point it is irreversible.”
Unless someone stops her, Karana moves toward the voices.
"Oh" the awed surprise in Bea's voice is evident. "we should talk to them." the sorcerous agrees and follows.
At the sound of their approach, Voz Lirayne whirls around, raising a dagger that also serves as her source of light. "Who's there? Dmiri, is that you? I told you not to follow me into the caves!"
"No Dmirri." Kazmuk says. "In fact, yerr merrcenarries have left afterr they've discoverred ye arre vanted by the Brreachhill's Council." He needed not to disclose this fact, but by doing so he was hoping to make Voz's situation more desperate, furthering the chance of a surrender.
"Ve vould like ye to drrop yerr veapons and orrderr yerr minions to stand aside. Ye'll come vith us back to Brreachhill so ye can ansverr to the council's interrogation." He points his sword to her. "Ve vish no harrm to ye, but ve arre prreparred to do so if ye rresorrt to violence."
Gofran then turns to the woman with the spiders. "I believe ve do not know ye. I've hearrd ye talkin' and I believe ye arre not an ally o' Miss Lirrayne. Could ye tell us vhat is goin' on herre? Ve vish no harrm to ye and ve arre rreprresentatives o' Brreachhill."
Voz Lirayne's face contorts in fury at the news that her mercenaries have deserted her, but she waves aside the demand to surrender. "Answer to those fools? None of you idiots comprehend the magnitude of my discovery! I am on the verge... oh, forget it. I don't have time for this stupidity."
She raises a hand towards Gofran as she begins to utter the syllables of an arcane incantation. As she closes her fist, he can feel numbing cold spreading through his limbs. At the same time, two of her undead minions advance on him, their weapons hissing through the air as they strike.
The strange woman takes a step back, the spiders moving in unison to keep close to her. "I- I wish no part in your quarrel! I have not heard of this Breachill. I do not know where I am, but I would like to go home." A plaintive note enters her voice with the last sentence as she retreats further into the shadows of the cave passage.
"Home? Where is that?" Bea ignores the furious book store owner that is tarnishing the name of bibliophies and instead concentrates on the highly interesting strange woman with her spiders. She does so as she weaves cold from her fingers to shoot at the nearest skeleton.
"Matilda, please get me that scroll, no, not that one, the one with the... Yes!" a tentacle slips out of her bag offering up one then the other.
Karana says to Miss Lyraine. “I adored you! You were always so good to me. I…”
When the spells hit Gofran, Karana does not attack skeletons. She attacks Miss Lyraine.
“Miss Lyraine—do not force my hand! Leave him alone!”
Beau sees the skeletal abominations striding into the light of his torch and audibly gulps. He looks down at his sword and realizes their foes are completely lacking any flesh and or vital organs. Luckily, there's a torch in his other hand.
Beau surges forward and attempts to knock the skeleton's noggin off with the torch.
Gofran feels his limbs freezing, unable to do anything! He eyes the skeletons with fear as they come for him, but luckily they hit his armor. Angered, he eyes the undead in front of him, picturing how to best destroy it when (and if) he is able to move again.
Kyrie rushes up to protect her allies, raising her shield and entering her battle stance. "I wish you would listen to reason, Ms. Lirayne. I do not think this will go well for you otherwise."
Voz Lirayne easily evades Karana's flame spell, but the arrow pierces her shoulder and she stares at the elf in rage and disbelief. "Idiots! You meddle in matters you do not, cannot, comprehend! Cease this immediately and I may spare your miserable lives!"
Just then, Bea's spell strikes one of the skeletons, although it does not seem to bother it much. Beau does much better, scoring a very solid hit, despite his improvised weapon. Meanwhile, Kyrie prepares to defend herself and the others.
Voz Lirayne casts another spell, and Gofran feels his very life-force beginning to drain out of him.
Meanwhile, the two skeletons from earlier continue their attack on the dwarf, while the third comes up behind Beau. Kyrie reacts to the attempt to hurt her companion, but her target blocks her shield strike.
Spiky skeleton 1 (red): -9 HP
Spiky skeleton 2 (blue): uninjured
Less spiky skeleton (yellow): uninjured
Gofran: -25 HP / -12 HP on successful Fort save
Karana:
Bea:
Beau:
Kyrie:
Karana heals Gofran.
“You do not speak to me like this—I read your notes, defended you, said you are not a villain, but someone who sees through many lies. But then you animate the dead and hire mercenaries. How am I supposed to believe you challenge a lie when you are so proficient in deception.”
Her trembling hand nocks an arrow.
“Let the dead rest. I do not want to hurt you again.”
It is almost to Karana’s relief that her arrow misses by several feet.
Kyrie starts trying to bash away at the skeleton next to her, but she has difficulty maneuvering her shield in the close quarters.
Realizing that the skeletons are but a delaying tactic, Beau steps, dodges, and tumbles past the undead menaces in an effort to get to Lirayne so that he may thwart her spellcasting. He bobs and weaves in an effort to confound the skeletons and Lirayne, and then aims to end the woman's evil ambitions with a vicious thrust with his rapier.
Bea unrolls the scroll, chants the words printed on the parchment, and holds out her hand toward the most damanged skeleton. Three golden orbs fire out of her palm slamming into the tired old bones.
Gofran resists the fell magic, but soon feels Karana's healing energy, which eases his mind a bit. He then feels his limbs unfreezing, so he releases his breath. He tries to retaliate against the skeletons, but his arms are still to heavy...
Gofran is released from the paralyzing magic, but his limbs are still sluggish as he attempts to retaliate against the skeletal minions. Karana's healing brings back all the vigour that had been stolen from him. Bea's spell slams into one of the skeletons, sending shards of bone flying, while Beau zig-zags and weaves through, nimbly avoiding a clumsy swipe from an undead guard and ending up right behind the necromancer and stabbing her neatly through the ribs. Kyrie discovers that wielding the heavy shield while also trying to not hit her companions is a little more difficult than she anticipated.
Voz Lirayne whirls around as Beau puts about two feet of steel through her, screaming in pain. A dark, coruscating ray shoots out of her outstretched palm, hitting Beau squarely in the chest, and the young man almost heaves with he sudden sickening sensation that he is being turned inside out.
Spiky skeleton 1 (red): -19 HP
Spiky skeleton 2 (blue): uninjured
Less spiky skeleton (yellow): uninjured
Gofran:
Karana:
Bea:
Beau: -10 HP, sickened 2, slowed 1
Kyrie:
Seeing Beau take a powerful blast from Voz, Kyrie rushes up to support him against Ms. Lirayne, slamming her shield at her.
Karana cries out, “You leave that beautiful man alone!”
Karana wastes several arrows as she panics.
The 'beautiful man' produces some utterly disgusting sounds as he retches, but that what bugs him refuses to come up and out. Whether it's Lirayne's disgust or Kyrie's intervention that creates room for his rapier to once more find Liryane is beyond Beau. Perhaps it's a bit of both.
Bea is impressed at the spray of bone shards from her magical attack. "Do we have another of those?" she asks her satchel companion, but only gets a shaking telling her no "Too bad." her cold attack did little, her negative energy attacks probably won't help much as well as poison. So... she focuses her cold beam on the book shop owner.
Perhaps slowed by the spell, Gofran just now remembers that his sword will probably do little against the skeleton, since they have no flesh to pierce or slash... instead, he tries to kick and punch them!
Gofran manages a blow that shatters the skeleton's torso, and the creature collapses with a clatter that echoes eerily around the cavern. Karana rains down arrows around Voz Lirayne, perhaps seeking to scare her off - or perhaps a remnant of her affection for the woman makes it difficult to actually harm her beyond that first shot. Bea's spell likewise misses its target, but Beau does manage another strike against Voz, and so does Kyrie.
The necromancer reels under the consecutive blows, but then straightens her back and fixes Beau with a chilling look. "I was going to be merciful, but now... I will kill you, then raise you and make you fight your friends!" One arm holding her ribs, she raises the other one, her hand outstretched as she casts another spell. A sickly green flash of light, and Beau feels his flesh burning, the pain excruciating as the acid eats through his armour and clothing to attack the skin and muscle beneath.
The skeleton nearest Voz turns its attention to the new threat that Kyrie poses, attacking her with a flurry of strikes, while the other one continues to wail on Gofran.
Spiky skeleton 1 (red): destroyed
Spiky skeleton 2 (blue): uninjured
Less spiky skeleton (yellow): uninjured
Gofran: -4 HP
Karana:
Bea:
Beau: -31 HP, sickened 2, slowed 1, dying 1
Kyrie: -10 HP
Karana rushes to Beau—though minds her steps as she can’t save him if she falls!
▶️▶️
Knowing she’ll take an acid bath herself if she casts so close to Miss Lyraine, Karana grabs the woman!
If she can, she’ll pull her on top of herself so the others can target Miss Lyraine’s back.
“Take her down quickly! I will spare Miss Lyraine only if I can save Beau.”
"BEAU!" Gofran yells, angered and worried. He then attackes the remaining skeleton, figuring the weight of his weapon might be more useful than his fists in the end.
Bea fires another blast of cold at Lyraine as she slips forward to hopefully try something else out if need be next round.
Kyrie keeps up the pressure on Voz, hoping to keep her busy long enough for the others to get Beau healed and safe.
Beau lays still but continues to draw breath.