Ulrich approaches Alar and pats him on the shoulder.
"Looks like those blood suckers got you good. Try 'n keep a clear head. We're gonna need ya at yer best."
He glances around at the other party members briefly.
"Well alright I'll try it."
The dwarf proceeds to smear mud on his face, arms, under his armor, and down his pants.
Accidentally and unknowingly, Felynrae brushes off Ria's introduction and continues her examination. She doesn't do so out of malice or disinterest, not at all. She's just kind of an awkward duck that gets completely consumed by her research, and right now, this is her research.
Noting Ulrich's question, she gets right up next to it and mutters "Is it a language, indeed.....?" Placing one hand gently to the rock, and another into her pocket, she leans in deep. Fidgeting with her stone orb, her connection to the Eldritch unknown, she begins to channel some of the dark knowledge she's learned in her time studying the invocations of the deep.
** spoiler omitted **
This language is...beyond anything you've encountered. It's somehow simple and pure but the longer you stare the more meaning you find packed into each tiny character. It seems to be a record or catalogue of somekind.
"344 sycamore trees, average height 21feet. 211 pine trees. stream of 8 foot width...38 small stones, left bank of river.."
You think it would take you the better part of a year (reading all day) to fully read, assuming if covers all surfaces of this structure and from what you cantell, it does.
Roland looks to Ulrich and Alar and nods his muddy visage.
"Well hit first and flush them out to Ria and Feleynrae?"
Ria sees everyone covering themselves in the mud, then sits down and rolls in the mud to cover herself. She laughs a little.
"I don't like the sound of those creatures. While I don't like the fact that we have to harm them, they are too dangerous. I'll do what I can."
This language is...beyond anything you've encountered. It's somehow simple and pure but the longer you stare the more meaning you find packed into each tiny character. It seems to be a record or catalog of some kind.
"344 sycamore trees, average height 21 feet. 211 pine trees. stream of 8 foot width...38 small stones, left bank of river.."
You think it would take you the better part of a year (reading all day) to fully read, assuming if covers all surfaces of this structure and from what you can tell, it does.
"What... is this?"
Feylnrae's mind starts racing, searching for possible explanations. Is this cartography? Is it infrastructural planning? Could it possibly be religious in nature? Are... are we looking at the plans of a god?"
She reaches for a ruined notebook, feels the sodden pages, and puts it back. She takes out her knife and starts carving some of the runes into the leather binding, for hopes of some written record of its existence.
Backing away to get a bigger picture glance of the structure again, she starts hearing some of her compatriots talk of smearing mud on themselves. She halfheartedly partakes in the muddening, and then waits. She hears Roland say he plans on luring the bugs out, but she really wants to go into tunnel now. Without heading in, she positions herself in a manner that she can peer down the tunnel with her Devil's Sight.
Roland looks to Ulrich and Alar and nods his muddy visage."Well hit first and flush them out to Ria and Feleynrae?"
"Mebbe if it comes to that. Let's not be too hasty. I wanna take a closer look, get a feel for how many of 'em we got. Mebbe we can ruin their nest sum'ow."
He draws his axes and begins to carefully approach the bugdom.
"I'll do what I can of these creatures attack," Ria says. She wipes one last bit of mud on her cheeks and forehead. She then pulls out her axe.
Ria keeps about ten feet behind Ulrich as he approaches.
She holds her axe in her right hand and her left hand is spread open, like she is feeling an aura in the air, ready to cast a spell if she needs to.
Mudded!
This language is...beyond anything you've encountered. It's somehow simple and pure but the longer you stare the more meaning you find packed into each tiny character. It seems to be a record or catalog of some kind.
"344 sycamore trees, average height 21 feet. 211 pine trees. stream of 8 foot width...38 small stones, left bank of river.."
You think it would take you the better part of a year (reading all day) to fully read, assuming if covers all surfaces of this structure and from what you can tell, it does.
"What... is this?"
Feylnrae's mind starts racing, searching for possible explanations. Is this cartography? Is it infrastructural planning? Could it possibly be religious in nature? Are... are we looking at the plans of a god?"
She reaches for a ruined notebook, feels the sodden pages, and puts it back. She takes out her knife and starts carving some of the runes into the leather binding, for hopes of some written record of its existence.
Backing away to get a bigger picture glance of the structure again, she starts hearing some of her compatriots talk of smearing mud on themselves. She halfheartedly partakes in the muddening, and then waits. She hears Roland say he plans on luring the bugs out, but she really wants to go into tunnel now. Without heading in, she positions herself in a manner that she can peer down the tunnel with her Devil's Sight.
** spoiler omitted **
Feylnrae peers into the structure and sees a large papery nest just past the torchlight, like that of a hornets nest but close to 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide.
Well, this is bad. Feylnrae thinks to herself. She wants to warn them, but thinks as to the best way she can do that without being too loud. As an internal compromise, she decides to communicate with the crew telepathically, but is trying as hard as possible to make it sound like she’s talking in a loud whisper.
She says: “Y’all, there may be many more than we initially thought. Huge nest in there.”
Ria holds her axe ready and with her left hand picks up her shield, holding it in front of her.
"I'll do what I can," she says in a hushed whisper.
When she hears Feylnrae's voice, she sucks in a quick breath. "More?" she says in a whisper back to her. "Could that be the nest of the creatures we already disposed of? We'll have to keep an eye on that nest."
Roland stows his bow under the saddle bag straps of his horse and exchanges it for a long spear.
His muddy silhouette moves to the edge of the torchlight peering into the darkness beyond and listening.
"Eaminn, steady our nerves and our hands for I know not what we'll find."
Feylnrae reaches into her bag and starts shuffling around, looking for the dryest parchment she can find. She settles for a dense notebook, the ink runny, but the center of the pages still partially dry. With help from her dagger, she splits the book in two, grabs some of the dryer pages, and uses the twine book binding to tie some of the pages to one of her daggers. Next, she kneels down to her lantern, still unlit due to the water. Opening the fuel canister, she douses the parchment in lighter fluid, and gets a match prepared.
Urlich grips his axes and continues towards the nest trying to keep his footing quiet. He grumbles to himself.
"Bad feelin' about this...never should 'ave left the forge...ah fargin' bugs won't be my downfall..."
Roland, noticing what Felynrae is doing looks and nods smiling. And waits.
[Roland delays til after felynraes turn]
Ria sees Feylnrae and whispers, "Good idea. I'll be ready to hit any that fly out."
She holds her axe and shield up, and is ready to cash Shillelagh.
Holding the dagger by the blade, she strikes the match against the rock wall and holds it up the to the oil-soaked paper wrapped around the dagger's handle. It catches, and without a second wasted she flings the dagger at the nest.
The nest erupts in flames giving off a thick and acrid smoke that burns your eyes and lungs. The area inside the structure to the east is completely obscured but luckily the smoke moves upwards to find cracks in the ceiling to escape through.
An angry swarm of tiny bugs,that were able to escape the carnage, flies from the depths
The swarm descend on the first warm targets they're able to discern, Roland's horse and Feylnrae biting all exposed flesh.
Roland slashes and stabs with his readied spear but it's clear the weapon isn't well suited to killing a swarm of biting insects.
Ria winces as the bugs bite Feylnrae and Roland's horse. "Get away from them!" she shouts at the general direction of the bugs.
She saw that Roland didn't do much when he swung his spear but she is in such a rage, from the landshark harming the aurochs to falling into the pit to getting covered in mud to the bugs attacking her friends. She gives out a yell. She casts Shillelagh and swings her axe with all of the force she can muster into the cloud of insects.
Ria's axe glows fiercely with an emerald glow. As she makes contact with the swarm she twists her wrist so the flat edge of her axe sails through the swarm smashing a huge portion of the bugs against the side of the western structure.
Urlich sees the swarm dipping and diving around Roland's spear and Ria's effective slap. He looks about his person trying to think of a plan, sort of shrugs, and rotates his grip on his axes 90 degrees.
He makes two fly swatter attacks
Urlich sees the swarm dipping and diving around Roland's spear and Ria's effective slap. He looks about his person trying to think of a plan, sort of shrugs, and rotates his grip on his axes 90 degrees.
He makes two fly swatter attacks
[dice=to hit]1d20+6
[dice=to hit]1d20+6[dice=damage 1 if hit]1d6+1+3
[dice=damage 2 if hit]1d6+1
The swings felt awkward and less than ideal but certainly more effective than Roland's spear.
Oof, ow, that stings and certainly sucks. She takes a moment to swat at the bugs that are on her, and is beginning to realize that there are many, many more where they came from.
Seeing the flailing of weapons into the swarm, Feylnrae decides that magic is probably a better option than swinging her daggers. She attempts to gain some distance by going towards the fire about five feet, and conjures up inky blackness in her hand to launch towards the insects.
The greatly diminished swarm bite and sting Feylnrae and Roland's horse. Crawling into their noses and mouths.
The horse collapses with a fainnt neigh and sinks slowly into the mud.
(DONT FORGET YOURE BLESSED)
Roland looks to his horse and then to Feylnrae, and dashes around the swarm to place a hand on their shoulder.
Feeling a little helpless, Ria casts Shillelagh and swings her axe again. She knows this isn't the best option to get the bugs away, but she needs some rest before she can cast spells like usual.
If she hits:
Urlich continues his attempts at swatting the buggers.
"Grr, I'll keep swinging but these gnats er crafty!"
Amazing, the feeling of not being anywhere near close to death. Feylnrae had grown used to this feeling. The feeling of being close to death was new and pretty dumb.
Regardless of her emotions regarding steadily approaching death at the hands of bugs, the reality was that they were here and very hurtful and the horse next to her was very dead.
Regarding even less, since the structure in the cave was on fire and smoke was filling it, Feylnrae had little better to do than just blast more magic at the bugs. Therefore, magic was blasted.
With the bugs gone, Feylnrae stood in silence at the entrance to the tunnel. After a few deep breaths and a self evaluation to make sure she wasn't too injured, she begins walking into the tunnel, thankful that her mask gives her at least some protection from the smoke. She takes off her coat and begins swinging it in an attempt to clear the tunnel. Her end goal is to get a good look at the hive, and more importantly, what's behind the hive.