”That looks. . Problematic. Maybe we would, I dunno, stop that from happening?”
As Lough cuts open the dead frog, the frog more or less explodes as the pushing force from inside meets the cutting force from outside. Two big, fat maggots roll out of the frog corpse, agitated at having their lunch disturbed.
Lough
Kvit
Blue
Cherry Berry
Giyozara
Kka
Sam
Pink
Lough and Kvit may act!
Kvit curses as Lough screams after poking the dead body. "Dangit Lough! Why would you do that?!" Seeing the relatively slow squirming maggots, Kvit opts for a quick jolt of electricity. "Lough, DUCK!"
In his panic, Lough slashes at pink, then retreats. Kvit zaps the maggots and the stench of burned flesh fills the room.
Blue does not take kindly to being fried and squirms forward. It clearly takes some effort to crawl across the rubble, but eventually it chomps down on Lough.
Lough
Kvit
Blue
Cherry Berry
Giyozara
Kka
Sam
Pink
Cherry Berry, Giyozara, Kka, and Sam may act. Rubble is difficult terrain.
Giyozara runs into the room and fires off a ray of frost at pink.
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As the long, slimy, writhing, maggoty tendril wraps around our paranoid hero's neck, he shrieks with absolute shrill terror, and slips his shield arm between his captor's extremity and his head, just managing to create some space to keep maneuvering.
↺) Shield Block
"I can't duck - IT'S ALL OVER ME!!!" losing his color, Lough pales dim white!
As Lough moves towards the vibrating frog, Kka says, "Uh, Lough? Whaat do you think you're doing?" as the fighter starts raising his claw, Kka blanches. "No, no, no, no, NO! Don't do it Lough, DON'T!" But it's too late. As the maggots burst out, Kka sighs in resignation. "Oh Kraaap! Now you've done it."
Quickly appraising the situation, Kka curses under her breath "Daang it!" The maggot attacking Lough had spotted her, but the other one hadn't yet. Unfortunately, it was too far away for her to reach quickly, so she opts to attack the closer one.
Reaching the maggot that had just attacked Lough, she swipes at it twice with her shortsword.
Giyozara's spell hits true and freezes a chunk of the maggot, slowing it down even more. Kka's first shortsword attack plunges deep into the fatty meat of Blue , and slices it in half. Blue is no more.
Lough 3 damage, shield 3 damage
Kvit
Cherry Berry
Giyozara
Kka 2 damage
Sam
Pink 14 damage
Sam and Cherry Berry may act.
Sam yelps as she sees the frog explode and the maggots spill out. She screws her face in disgust, though she's normally used to such gore. Dropping into a stance, she unleashes two arrows at Pink.
Missing the first 2 attacks, Sam fires again.
Sam's arrow flies through the maggot, taking the thing with it, and skewers the creature against the wall opposite her.
End of combat!
Sam runs into the room and looks around. "Anyone hurt?"
"I'm fine," Giyozara says unhelpfully.
"But I think whoever said that thing was right . . . why would something eat only the legs off a frog?"
Cherry comes in as well.
"I've got you Lough, it doesn't look like it got too bad a bite on you."
Cherry pulls a berry off their head. It looks more like a plum than a cherry, but is bright red.
"You can eat this to heal up."
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Perhaps the second-most-"interesting" thing he has put into his mouth today, Lough hardly blinks to sustain himself with Cherry's ripe Berry, which restores him to full vitality.
"Whelp - still think it'll work - Kka, I forgot my hammer... do you by chance got an extra?" looking down at his busted shield, he knows it's a longshot, but the roguish barback does always seems to have an answer for everything...
Kka cleans the maggot goo off her sword. When Lough inquires about a hammer, Kka gives him a look. She starts her reply in a mock-sweet tone. "Why yes Lough I haave several of them ..." Then opening her hand to show an empty palm, she switches back to her usual sardonic tone. "...they're right here with that non-existent crowbar you asked about earlier." She snaps her hand closed, sighs dramatically, and adds. "I'll put it to the shopping list right below the crowbar, okaay?"
Kka searches the rubble and the remains of the frog and maggots for anything of interest.
She then points to the door in the far southwest corner of the room. "I wonder what's in there? Probably more maggots. Let's go take a look." She moves up to the door and goes through her usual door checking routine. "You ready Lough? I think I heard someone using a haammer in there. Ark ark."
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Lough looks down into Kka's hand expectantly and foolishly, tone-deaf to the sarcasm and completely trusting - not unlike a child - and when her fingers uncurl to reveal an empty palm, a sense of betrayal overtakes his face, his disappointment ebbs, followed soon by a sense of shame...
...followed then, finally, by a sense of humor at the ploy, as his complex emotionality unravels layer by layer, brooking yet after into nervous laughter, and post-ceded by "I'll keep that list running" is his uncreative retort, having not only missed the moment, but failed to meet true wit with it's equal.
And perhaps the others too have a laugh at his expense!
But whether or not that is true, for indeed, it wouldn't be the first time Lough found himself on the other side of a joke occupying a position of butt (as it were), he follows his party to the next door, eager now with, if nothing else, morbid curiosity to see what lies behind it. Will it be another mitflit? A frog with maggots in it's belly? Another creature from his nightmares? Or perhaps something altogether worse!?...
Sam positions herself behind Kka and Lough, ready to support them with arrows if needed.
"If anything unfriendly jumps out, both of you dive to the right."
"Keep an eye out for something large." Cherry tells the group. "The only thing I can think of that could eat a frog that big is something that is at least as big as it is."
Kvit covers his nose. "Remind me not to use that on maggots ever again. And Sam, I'm fine. Although next time you might need to treat Lough for numerous electrical burns..." Implying that Lough might take some "friendly" fire if he keeps this up.
He takes up position behind the others though, near Sam to help provide support if needed. "With as much racket as we're making, everything in this place has got to know we're here."
At Cherry's mention of the possible size of the frog's assailant, Kka shrugs. "I don't think the next room is very big, and I doubt anything that laarge would even fit through this door. Not in one piece, anywaay. Ark ark."
When Kvit mentions Lough getting electrical burns, she laughs. "Ark ark! Maybe he'll accidently faall on my sword too. Wouldn't be the first time thaat's happened. Aand what racket are you talking about Kvit? We've been as quiet as laambs... giant carnivorous laambs, that is. Ark ark."
Kka finishes checking the door and decides it is clear of traps and should open easily. "Okaay, Lough. Looks all clear to me. In you go."
Again, Lough has to put in a little more effort than usual to get the door to move, but eventually, it swings open.
The interior of this watch post still has a wooden ceiling high above, but a thick mound of filth and animal carcasses heaped on the floor make the room anything but inviting.
Inside, two pairs of big, compound eyes swivel your way, and two human-sized flies immediately take to the air, excited to have more food. But perhaps most distressingly, it seems they have leashes and little riding saddles on their back.
The flies buzz menacingly as they welcome their new food.
Blue surges forward and headbutts Lough.
piercing
Lough feels some of the fly's spit being injected into him. Lough, make me a Fortitude save!
The fly tries to nibble on Lough some more, but can't find purchase. It hovers in the air, darting back and forth in its place.
Blue
Kvit
Kka - 2 damage
Sam
Giyozara
Green
Cherry Berry
Lough - 9 damage, Fort save
Kvit, Kka, Sam, and Giyozara may act!
"Lough, duck!" Sam yells as she drops into a stance and releases two arrows at Green.
Sam fires a third time.
Blue
Kvit
Kka - 2 damage
Sam
Giyozara
Green - 8 damage
Cherry Berry
Lough - 9 damage, Fort save
Kvit decides maybe fighting one at a time would be better. He looks past Lough and the fly attacking him and casts Illusory Object. A portcullis appears in place between the second fly and the rest of the room. Seemingly it is cut off from being able to "fly" out.
"I'll trap the other one! Don't attack it unless it escapes!"
Kka is about to follow Lough into the room when the fly attacks, blocking their way. She watches in impotent frustration as the creature takes a chunk out of Lough, cutting him open and spitting poison into the wound. "By the Saavored Sting you're slow Lough! Hold on a sec."
With her free hand, she reaches into one of her pockets and comes out with a tube of salve that she quickly applies to Lough's wound.
The wound closes up a little but not all the way. "Best I can do right now Lough. Now make waay; I'm going in!" There was no getting around it, so she'd have to go through it. She slips past the immobile Lough and ducks under the fly...
Springing back to her feet, she brings her shortsword to bear on the fly that attacked Lough.
"Daang it!"
"Fuuuu...ooey! There's no way paast it. See if you can push through it Lough!"
Kka just squeezes past the fly into the room. You think that if you'd been a little slower, the fly would've bonked into you.
The fly, surprised by the attack from its back, quickly buzzes out of the way of Kka's shortsword, then annoyingly buzzes in Lough's face.
Concentrating as hard as he can, energy starts flowing off of Giyozara as he holds his hand up with his other hand. Slowly, a ball of energy forms in the palm of his outstretched hand.
”Eaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhh!” he shouts as if digging deep down for some unimaginable power.
”Psychic bomb!Horizon Thunder Sphere!” he shouts, and throws the sphere of energy at the one giant fly he can see (blue).
Three action cast Horizon Thunder Sphere. Creature takes 1/2 damage on a failed attack.
electricity damage.
Despite his attack missing, lightning lashed out from where the ball landed and tracks back to the fly.
Kvit conjured an imaginary portcullis closing in front of Green. Kka heals Lough up, then moves in and takes a stab at Blue, but misses. Giyozara casts a thunder spell that slightly singes Blue.
Green flies closer to the portcullis, then tries to smash against it to break open to get to Kka. But, like a fly against a window, it fruitlessly bashes its head against it without much luck. It tries again, and finally shatters the illusion, but that was its turn.
Blue - 4 damage
Kvit
Kka - 2 damage
Sam
Giyozara
Green - 8 damage
Cherry Berry
Lough - 3 damage, Fort save
Cherry Berry and Lough may act!
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As the first dragonfly dashes towards him, Lough swats it away with his shield!
↺) Shield Block (Hard 5, HP 13/20)
But it isn't entirely sufficient, the probiscus still penetrates his veins!
Angered, he shoves it back with his shield!...
...and Strides into the room with Kka, slashing now with his claws.
◆) Shove
◆) Stride
◆) Snagging Strike
+
↺) Attack of Opportunity
Pulling out their bow, Cherry Berry lets loose at the closest of the dragonflies.
◆Stride to get a fireline
◆Interact to draw bow
◆
Lough shoves the fly away from him and steps up. Cherry Berry makes use of the opening and shoots an arrow right between Blue's eyes.
Blue senses freedom and ignores the people hitting it. It makes a beeline (flyline?) for the exit. Once he is out of the cramped room, he flies up through the hole in the roof and is gone.
Kvit
Kka - 2 damage
Sam
Giyozara
Green - 8 damage
Cherry Berry
Lough - 3 damage
Kvit, Kka, Sam, and Giyozara may act!
Sam charges in, dropping her bow. She appears to stumble over her own feet but still manages to make two strikes at Green.
Giyozara steps up and fires off a ray of frost
◆ Stride
◆◆ Ray of Frost
With a loud Kka dodges to one side to wrong foot the fly before cutting back and then forward with her shortsword for two quick slashes.
Kvit sees the rest of the group seems to have things well in hand, especially with one of the flies fleeing. He doesn't want to hit all his allies with the splash damage from acid splash so tries another arc of electricity. He holds his nose as it arcs towards the bug. *Zzzzap*
Lough's claw leaves a deep wound in Blue's flank as it flies away. Sam shoots two arrows at Green, both of which miss her target. Giyozara's ball of ice hits it square in the head, slowing it down just enough for Kka to cut it in half entirely.
Combat over!
As you search the room, you only find the filthy remains of animals. Looks like this was just a holding pen for the flies.
"Hmmmm. Well, this is much less heroic than I was thinking this would be. The tales are all full of finding magic weapons and fighting off deadly spellcasters. So far we've fallen victim to tricksters who try to get us to eat poop and have bravely fought off giant bugs."
"Did uh, did uh anyone else see them wearing tiny saddles or am I hallucinating from inhaling fried maggot stink?"
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"I saw that!" nodding quickly to Kvit.
Lough's wild imagination begins to actively hallucinate extrapolation "And as it flew away I heard it say as it looked at me with "
He turns to Sam "Whatever you are having I want some!" a nervous tick causes his grey eye to blink and a single muscle in his right arm to shudder.
Leaving the room, he goes to check to see if the lurking amphibian is still there!
The amphibian is still in the water, and lazily follows Lough's movements with its eyes. It doesn't seem to have moved from its original spot much.
Lough saying he saw the saddles too doesn't make Kvit feel any better.
Kka kicks the giant fly corpse with a hoof to make sure it's not playing possum or something, though the fact that it's lying in two pieces at her feet renders this action a bit superfluous. She points to the saddle and leash attached to the front part of the corpse, still visible despite being covered in fly guts. "Yes! See? There it is. Definitely a little saaddle with a lead. Looks like our mitflit friends were plaanning on riding these flies." She giggles at the mental image of a mitflit flying around on the back of a giant fly ("ark ark ark) and wonders if the nasty creatures also saddle up and ride their pet maggots into battle.
Then it hits her; she reacts to this new realization by closing her beak sharply with a "<clack>," getting everyone's attention. "I just thought of something! If these giant flies are like regular flies, and regular flies come from regular maaggots, then it maakes sense that the giant flies would come from giant maaggots. No?" She looks at their faces to see their reactions. "The first giant maaggot we ran into was definitely a pet of the mitflits, and these flies also seem to be their pets if the saaddles are anything to go by. I'm beginning to think this complex might be some sort of mitflit giant bug faarm or something."
Kka ignores Lough's antics, but with nothing more of interest in the little room, she follows him out to the main courtyard. Unlike Lough though, she ignores the lurker in the pond and crosses over to the facing door to give it the once over. "Guys! Let's see whaat's over this side."
"Makes sense." Giyozara nods with Kka's theories.
Stepping away from the door, she says. "I've looked it over and it's ready to go. Where aare you Lough?"
As he lumbers up, Kka notices that the changeling was still slightly injured from the recent fly fight, which reminds her of the two big bruises she could still feel from the darts that the blasted mitflits had tossed at her earlier.
"Hold up a mo Lough. Let's take care of that gash before we go in." She breaks out her first aid kit and goes to work on him with some ointment and bandages.
"There you go. Aall fixed up. Let's see about these bruises of mine now." Turning modestly away, she cracks open her leather armor and applies a soothing salve to the nasty looking welts under her feathers.
"Aaaah! Thaat feels much better. I think we're good to go now." She calls out to the others. "Everyone get into position. Lough's going in."
Not seeing much of interest in the fly pen, Kvit waits patiently for Kka yo do her first aid on the two battered allies.
"Hmm, you think if these are their pets... Then that one that got away might have gone off to find its master? We should be more careful now, especially since this whole complex is basically open to the sky."
He takes up position with the others near the next door.