Nooooo! Kalanzar pulls himself together with an effort of will. Clear the way for me, I'll heal him!
STOOL NOOO!
DIE DIE DIE DIE YOU STUPID DOGSHIT
Alexandra, seeing stools limp form rages about as hard as Maddy. And with smilarly deadly effects on the Gnoll.
Heal him Kal, I will crush these dogs! She snarls as her eyes and blade flash with eldritch purple power.
[ooc]Step north, or if Alex gets that gnoll, them move further west to get to the last remaining enemy.[ooc]
”Now ye gone an’ done it,” Precious grunted as the attack against the helpless myconid sparked the others into a rage. And Precious joined in pressing the offense, seeing the gnolls fall before their assorted weapons and spells, while the going was still good – the first carapaced monstrosity might have fallen, but as it seemed to have company Precious very much wanted to get these smaller foes dealt with before that hulking brute pushed its way into their tunnel.
Pushing past the fallen and falling enemies, Precious swung his staff against the next gnoll in line, knocking aside a probing spear and smashing his copper-shod into the side of the gnoll’s head.
... Clear the way for me, I'll heal him!...
Hue watched Stool fall and his mouth opened to a silent gape. Then his brow furrowed in determination, "I'll clear the path for you!" He dropped his bow as he slung his shield around. "Ou' of the way! Common! Move i'! Move i'! Follow me Kal!!!"
Hue moved under legs and past backs. He was pushed and shoved and jostled as opposed to pushing others, using his shield to try to fend off gnoll spears as he went until he burst out the other side sweating. He looked back and no path was made for Kal to pass.
Seeing himself on the other side of the team he cursed his short legs as he was still a good ten feet from his fallen friend. He yelled out in his mind, ::Stool! Can you hear me! Rise up sweet friend! Show them and get up!::
Alex and Precious lay about themselves with righteous rage and Hue ducks and weaves through the battle. It's a beautiful, and deadly dance, and within seconds the gnolls are all dead. Kalanzar follows Hue through the now-still battlefield to find Stool lying limp and cold on the floor. (But is he always cold to the touch? Had he ever noticed before?)
Empty night there is nothing I can do to heal but...
Minor illusion cantrip
Please dont leave us Stool, hold out
Alexandra conjures a minor image of a somewhat smaller version of Stool, meeting friends and making new experience, a quick montage of various victories, narrow escapes and survivals.
And also of friendship.
Lidelse watched impassively as the others tended to Stool. She turned towards the dead hooked horror and began to cut off pieces of it and toss them to Kip. Slowly and surely she whittled the creature down so that it was no longer blocking their path.
She then turned her attention to the gnolls, making sure they had nothing of interest in their possession or on their bodies. Lidelse cut them to pieces too which gave Kip quite the feast.
She gave Kip a couple of rough pats and said almost affectionately, "You are quite the companion. I like that you eat what I kill. Very efficient. The whelp finally made a smart decision."
Kalanzar rushes to Stool, kneels down and raises his hands above him, praying in a whisper. A soft silvery light descends on the little myconid...
Kalanzar tended to Stool, and the silvery light heals the little myconids hurts. He sits up, looks around, and wraps the drow in as tight a hug as his little arms can manage.
Lidelse hangs on to control of the body she shares with Maddy by hacking up dead things. She pulls the remains of the hook horror out of the narrow passage, and feeds it to Kip. The gnolls have no pockets to search through, and have nothing on them but their weapons.
Eventually, out of things to chop up, she is forced back as Maddy returns to herself.
An hint of insane laughter echoes through the corridor.
As tempted as Alexandra is to make the hug a group hug, the laughter has her move between the corridor and the myconoid, ready to blast or slash at whatever comes.
There may be more incoming, if they do, I will show them the wroth of midnight eternal.
Hue pulled out his two poultices, "Um, these aren' going to keep. Can anybody use one?" He sees that both Maddy and Kal seem to be hurt the worst so he asked for permission and applied the slaves.
"Sorry, Miss Maddy. Tha' one seems to have gone a little off. We better ge' moving. 'I's a poor bird tha' doesn' remember to fly' as Inkeeper Bill likes to commen'. The man has never lef' Spaikler's Hollow. Ironical." Hue collected his things and looked for what arrows he could recover and then grabbed the spear of warning.
As usual, Maddy was disoriented as she became conscious again but was in a completely different place than she remembered and she felt like she had lost time. It took a moment to recognize that everyone was gathered around Stool. She felt anxiety rising in her chest. He had gotten hurt on her watch!
She breathed a sigh of relief as Stool sat up and hugged Kalanzar. He was okay!
The faint maniacal laughter reached her ears but was unsure if it was more gnolls. It was possible it was something different but maybe she was imagining things.
At least Kip looked happy and content. He also looked a bit plumper. It was then that she noticed the hooked horror was gone and that her arms, along with Dawn, were covered with blood. The other one, Hue had called her Lidelse, must have made an appearance.
She smiled gratefully down at Hue as he applied some gloopy looking substance to the worst of her wounds. "Any bit that helps is welcomed and has my gratitude. Thanks, Hue."
”Ain’t much but these should help as well,” Precious said, conjuring another handful of berries and dividing them between himself and Maddy. ”By the way, ye all be hearin’ that demented laughter now, ain’t ye?”
The vile worshippers of the shiteating gnoll thing will soon know who laughs last Alexandra intones with a somewhat uncharacterestic severity
They prey on the weak, show them strength, speed and violence and they will falter, treat it as a prelude to their soon to come whimpering
The batlike-wings her shadow sometimes manifests when in combat are still spread out, it would appear that Stool injury pressed someones berserk button.
... ”By the way, ye all be hearin’ that demented laughter now, ain’t ye?”
As Hue rushed to get ready he nodded to Precious.
The vile worshippers of the s%!%eating gnoll thing will soon know who laughs last ... show them strength, speed and violence and they will falter, treat it as a prelude to their soon to come whimpering
"Ummm, yes, violence. Go' i'" As he grabbed his spear and watched Alex's shadow on the wall he remembered to be glad she was on their side.
The laughter fades away after a minute or so, leaving the caverns eerily quiet. Stool climbs back up onto Maddy's shoulder, asking her not to ride Kip upside down for a while. It's clear he feels a bit safer from the higher vantage point of the tall shepherdess.
Maddy gratefully took the goodberries from Precious and popped them in her mouth. "Healing and a snack. These are the best food ever. Thanks you two, I'm feeling much better. And I won't be leaving a trail of blood for anyone to follow."
When the laughter faded and left a deafening silence in its wake, Maddy shivered. "I'm not sure what's worse. The eerie laughter or the unnatural silence."
She gave Stool a quick hug as she helped him get into place on her shoulder. ::I'm sorry you got hurt on my watch:: She waited for Stool to get settled and then gave Kip a pat on the neck before getting herself back in her saddle. ::Right, no upside down. Stool, can you try telling that to Kip? Or does your telepathy not work on creatures?::
Maddy looked down at the others, "Everyone good to keep going?"
Hue went out front and scouted. Holding the Spear of Warning and relying on his natural nervous awareness, he fidgeted his way forward. He checked in mentally from time to time ::Which way now, right or left::
After a while, he swapped with Precious and took the rear. From time to time he and Precious and Kal conferred on wall scratches or the manner in which lichen had been disturbed, or some other tracking consideration.
Whispering, "I think, Mister Precious, tha' there is stool from a rather large example of a common brown deep ra'. See the no'-so-small hairs." He stopped. He put a pinky in his ear and wriggled it. "Know wha' I jus' realized? The muttering is gone. I can hear again. Mus' have come back days ago and I didn' notice."
All the time, Hue was wary for the distant sound of laughter.
Whether it was there or not.
After patting Stool on the head, Kalanzar sighs in relief.
Drow looks back with alarm at how Maddy/Lidelse is chopping the body of the beaked horror, but seeing no danger to the group, he does not do anything.
Let's move on. Everything in the Underdark breathes madness. Let's get a little friend home and go find a way out to the stars.
::Which way now, right or left::
::How ‘bout the tunnel these critters came from?:: Precious suggested, giving the carapaced corpse of a hook horror a kick. ::If fer nothin’ else, them to see there ain't more o’ their kind waitin’ to sneak after us.::
Whispering, "I think, Mister Precious, tha' there is stool from a rather large example of a common brown deep ra'. See the no'-so-small hairs." He stopped. He put a pinky in his ear and wriggled it. "Know wha' I jus' realized? The muttering is gone. I can hear again. Mus' have come back days ago and I didn' notice."
”Rat… ye know what? After a few days on trail rations an’ me berries, a roast rat sounds temptin’,” Precious grunted, smacking his lips in anticipation of a juicy steak right off the grill. ”And aye, me shivers faded ‘way some time durin’ the trip, thank the Soulforger. Was gettin’ damn right annoyin’, vibratin’ like a tunin’ fork struck with a hammer. This place just keeps throwin’ weird things at us one ‘fter the ‘nother, ain't it? Can't wait fer the day we git to see sunlight ‘gain. Ye got a list o’ things ye wanna when we git back to our ‘omes? I know I'll run back to me forge an’ ain't gonna leave fer a decade! Gonna have to shackle meself with cold iron to keep that Fae vixen from meddlin’, though…”
You push through the narrow hallway that the hook horrors and the gnolls came through. It's short, bringing you to another wider passageway. Stool points you in a direction, and for a few minutes you walk in what seems to be a looping, maze-like labyrinth. You hear the laughter again, then it fades away, and suddenly it's much louder, just ahead.
The spear of warning gives Hue enough time to shout that "they're coming", and suddenly five more gnolls run around the bend towards you. The seem surprised at your appearance, but they don't look intimidated. One of them looks different - its armour is slightly better, and its face, ears and arms are covered with brutal-looking piercings - bits of metal, wood and even bone.
Kalanzar takes out a flask of water, and without looking at the gnolls pours out one drop, while saying:
The moon commands the water... the moon commands ...the tides.
At the last word, drow looks up at gnolls unkindly, seriously and sad from under his brows, speaking of death with this look in much the same way as a sickle speaking of death to a ripe ear of wheat...
A drop of water rushes forward just short of reaching the ground and flying almost horizontally, touches a stone ten feet in front of the gnolls and suddenly turns into a tsunami in an instant, which is rushing towards the insane enemies.
"Aye, let's just stay put fer a bit an' take a beatin' from range... Form a line, please, or shoot an' throw somethin'. Don't just rush into the fray," Precious said, dropping to one knee to press an open palm against the tunnel floor to conjure grappling vines and roots from the cracks between stones to wrap around the gnoll's feet.
Hue watched as a sea of force appeared in front of him to attack the gnolls fighting through a tangle of vines. Then he remembered, "Oh yes! Show them strength, speed, and violence! Go' i'" and he threw his spear at the centre front creature.
"And take tha'!"
Maddy's first instinct when she saw the gnolls was to throw one of her axes but she needed to get off of Kip and make sure Stool was safe before she did anything else. ::Stool, make sure you keep behind us and hide if you need to. I'll have to get up close to fight and I don't want you getting hurt again::
Fail, Prone
Fail, Prone
Fail, Prone
Fail, Prone
Succeed, adv on next roll
Fail, Prone, Restrained
Fail, Prone, Restrained
Fail, Prone, Restrained
Fail, Prone, Restrained
Fail, Restrained
DUDE!
The sudden tidal wave roaring down the tunnel left the gnolls with nowhere to turn, and it knocked all but their leader down. The gnolls coughed and choked, banged and bloody from the watery onslaught. Then, vines wriggled up out of ground that had never seen plant life before, and grasped all five of the gnolls, holding them tightly in place.
Hue launched his spear at the leader, the only gnoll still standing, and it struck him in the thigh. His howl sounded eerily like demented laughter. Or perhaps that's what it was.
Hue gave the leader the evil eye and unhooked his bow from his shoulder. He armed it with an arrow and let it fly. Before he could take the measure of the shot he pressed himself against the wall of the cave and his hand was groping for a second. He couldn't look away from the crash of the wave, the viney grabs, and strange purple bolt of arcane force.
Hue whispered to himself, and not without wonder towards the mess they've all just made, "strength, speed ... and violence"
The gnoll pack leader howled again as he was struck with two well-shot arrows. He brushed a powerful paw over the two arrows, snapping the shafts - if it weren't for the blood they could be more grisly piercings. The spear he pulled from his thigh, then snapped it over his knee, dropping it disdainfully. Howling again, he took his own spear and threw it at Hue; however, his aim was hindered by the grappling vines, and the spear clattered harmlessly in the stone passage behind the halfling.
The other gnolls tried to struggle to their feet, but Precious's spell held all but one of them tightly, and three remained prone in the weeds.
Maddy's eyes narrowed as she glared at the larger gnoll. How dare he throw his spear at Hue. If he wanted a target, she'd give him one.
Moving forward with Dawn at the ready, Maddy grasped her hilt with both hands and slashed at the leader while avoiding Precious' spell.
Hue watched as the leader snapped the Spear of Warning. The little 'shroomer looked from the gnoll to Alexandra, back and forth several times.
"Ahhh, He's not running from the speedy violence!"
”An’ stay down,” the dwarf grunted, pleased with himself as his spell mixed rather nicely with Kal’s. He nodded his head politely at the drow before moving a few steps towards the enemy, quite willing to give Maddy all the space she needed but close enough to get at any gnoll who got loose and tried to make its way past her.
Kalanzar responds with a nod, inwardly rejoicing at the combined power of nature, then utters a few magic words and the wet clothes and fur on the body of one of the gnolls begin to be covered with frost...
Alexandra keeps up a barrage of eldritch blast on the gnoll leader and takes up a position next to maddy.
Hue drew two arrows from his dwindling quiver. He grabbed one with his teeth as he took a step backward along the cave wall (clearly afraid of the gnoll's resolve) then notched the second and fired it at the leader.
Hue looked back at his quiver as he notched his second arrow. ::Oh Oh, only ten arrows left. Better make these coun-:: As he thought about his quiver his left elbow hit a rock outcropping and the string got away from his fingers. The arrow warbled through the air like a mad blind hummingbird and caught the leader in the face. The gnoll broke his concentration for only a second.
Maddy attacks the standing gnoll, and two swings of her sword are enough bring it down. It falls to the ground, still giggling, blood oozing from its mouth.
Alex's eldrich blast takes out one of the fallen gnolls, and a second grows still after being rimed with Kalanzar's frost. Hue, shooting wild, takes out the final two gnolls. Again, the passageway becomes quiet.
Maddy figured that Kip would have been full from his previous meal but he sidled up and his tentacles began to rapidly undulate as if tasting the air.
She waved him off the leader gnoll so that she could search its body. Its armour and weapon had been nicer than the others so maybe they actually had something of interest on them.
When she was done searching the leader, she turned her attention back to the others and made sure they were safe, especially Stool and Jimjar.
A flawless victory, in this engagement, well fought
Alexandra speaks with a voice that is utterly confident, but also radiates a degree of danger.
I do not recommend eating Gnolls, as they spawn of the rat who thinks he is a dog often carry parasites, but it is an option in dire situations.
She continues in the same voice
then she blinks thrice and her wings of he shadow recede, making her shadow look normal.
Yes, Yzalina, I wont get Stool nearly killed again by being in melee with him on my shoulder. I fully agree that he is adorable, and I did accept you... making me temporarily more like you when you fought in the bloodwar.
She pauses
Hmm, not feeling any after effects unlike with the bat transformation. Maybe its because its just kind of mental, and not something as nuts as suddenly giant bat?
Maddy searched the leader, and discovered three piercings that seemed to have gems in them. A pair of blood red stones had been wrapped in rusty wire and stabbed through one of his nipples. A strange, brown shiny gem was crusted into his navel. Other than that, he seemed to have nothing of value.
Jimjar approaches Alexandra and says, "Why does your shadow change sometimes? It's a bit spooky."
You probably got that I am a warlock?
She pauses
My patron is, a complicated entity. She was a blade of midnight, specifically Nocticulan special forces in the Bloodwar, however, her patron left the Abyss and showed the demonic clowns a really big middlefinger while doing so. She says with a smile
Nocticula having been the demonlord of lust, secrets, assassination, shadows and midnight, now, as the redeemer queen, she is a deity of redemption, midnight, shadows, just murder of tyrants, exile, liberation, art and hospitality.
She has not been particularly active on this world so far, but is a known and quite powerful presence in the broader multiverse. Especially notable for having permanently killed over 30 demonlords while still a demonlord herself.
She continues
My patron is one of Nocticula captains, she has a rather martial background for a Succubus, throws great parties, looks absolutely stunning, which are all par the course. More important is that she asks before she does things. If you remember the time I turned into a bat? That was her, and given that I would have gotten splattered by gravity it was very much consensual.
As she speaks she touches the parts of her shoulder where her bat wings were
As I understand there is frequently a degree of... backlash from drawing upon too much eldritch power, with side effects such as mutation, insanity, exhaustion, years of life lost, spontaneous aging etc. The shadow thing is, I try to project the backlash into my shadow, so a) I get warned if I am about to overdo it and b) my shadow becomes more demonic but not me. I think thats a trick I can do much easier because my patron is affiliated with shadow as a concept, and because my patron is not trying to screw me over actively by corrupting me, I sometimes get mental missives from her, but so far it was things like "protect Topsy and Turvy they are adorable" or "protect Stool becase daaaw" or "RUN THE F+++ AWAY NOW THATS A DEMONLORD!" when faced with that giant f%#*ing tentacle thing at the Kuo Tua village, although I only got that message a bit after the fact.
She shudders slightly as she remembers that scene
My shadow I think also exemplifies her demon killing ways, so it may be more aggressive when facing demons or their servants, or when her areas of concerns are threatened
Like, I get a think of Yeneoghu I have a sense the annoying rat-imposter who thinks he is a dog and whom I never got to murderize properly because there were always other priorities in my head, which arent my thoughts but its interesting to know.
Tadaa, that was my great secret.
She throws a glance at Kalanzar for possible support
Bless us Dark Ladies... Hopefully, the rest of our battles that we will have to do on the way home will be as fast and without scratches.
Drow gives Maddy time to inspect the bodies, knowing that an experienced warrior will not miss anything, and after that offers to go on the road as soon as possible.
Maddy grimaced as she pulled the small gems from the leader's body. Some of their skin had grown around the wire when it healed so she had to tear skin to free them. "Gross," she muttered with a small shudder as putrid smells wafted to her nose from its body. She was surprised the rusty wire hadn't killed him but personal hygiene was obviously not top of mind.
She nodded at Kalanzar as he suggested they keep going. ::Stool, how much further?::
Jimjar stared at Alex wide-eyed as she explained her patron. "Bet that never gets boring," he said.
Stool settled onto the warlock's shoulder as Maddie climbed back aboard Kip. He pointed a stubby arm in the direction of Neverlight Grove.
A few minutes away, you come across what was likely the camp of the attacking gnolls. There was nothing useful there, only filthy bedding and food you wouldn't eat even if you were starving. Judging from the piles, all the gnolls have been killed.
For two more "days", Stool points you through the twisting passages and caverns of the underdark, confident that he's taking you to his home. Late in the second day, you come to a rockfall that takes a lot of careful maneuvering to get up safely (except for Kip, who simply climbs up a wall and avoids it.
At the top of the rockslide you find a lovely fungus patch. Clean water pools up from the spongy ground, making the low parts wet. Tall Zurkwoods tower overhead, and a proliferation of trillimacs, torchstalks and nightlights are clustered around. It's a nice place to set up for a rest.
Until, that is, Kalanzar and Precious spot movement. There is something, at least two somethings, hiding behind different Zurkwoods.
It's too good for everything to be so easy, Kalanzar thinks, looking around the paradise place. And he quickly realizes that he is right.
Drow mentally informs you, :: We are not alone. Get ready... But let's try to talk first. ::
Then he tells the figures hiding behind the zurkwoods in Undercommon, I see you! But I don't want enmity. For now. Show up, don't hide, and we won't be enemies.
Earlier
You would win that bet Jimjar.
Alexandra says with a smile
You would probably get along quite well with her, she likes gambling and prefers card games. I dont recommend playing strip poker with her because she always wins. More because Succubi are innately good at bluffing, I dont think she cheats using telepathy, but I cant rule it out.
Precious echoed Kal's thought to at least try for diplomacy at first - their track record for running into friendly locals in the wilds was fairly abysmal to date, but there had to be at least some creatures out here who didn't always choose violence at first chance.
A strange, high-pitched, wavery voice comes from within the zurkwoods. "You don't want enmity, but it follows you! Yes it does. Because of the poison of your blood. Everybody is your enemy." You don't see any further movement.
Maddy craned her neck to try and see who Kalanzar was speaking to but saw nothing. When the weird voice spoke back, her brow creased in confusion and she asked through the Stool collective, ::What do they mean by poison in our blood? And why would that make enemies? And how does it know that we're being followed?::