Krystid examines the strange walls...
and sees nothing special.
She will follow Ienmar at half speed.
Morkam realizes quickly that trying to move quickly through this area could only result in embarrassment, so he moves along at half pace as well... especially as he doesn't want to get to far ahead of the others.
After 4o feet the walls begin to show a difference from worked stone to natural. It is covered in moss fungus and lichen save the pathway which is twisting down slightly. You pass a few stone slabs, carved in a Minotaur fashion. Strangely they are either sealed or the door was partially broken and moss and mold grew in there as well.
Dripping water begins to be heard as well as a scent of rank water. The air grew more humid and you can tell the curve began to steer away from the cut path. 70 feet in the hall continued on but it was a 6-foot gap, your path heading down into the earth deeper while the cut hall continued on. One track led you down following the fungus and moss growth while the other was clean of all the nastiness of the moss.
What do you do now brave dwarves, do you investigate the small 6 foot climb or do you continue down into the earth. Following the frog men?
Amber fiddles with the haft of her axe as she follows the group, eyeing the moss and fungal decor. "Wonder if moss would make a good lawn..."
Ienmar continues down the moss-covered path, sweeping away any tangle weeds with his shield. He continues on until he finds a new threat.
"It's quiet. The frog-men are loud. Are we on the right track?
As you continue further down the path passing under the worked tunnel into more of a cavern the fungus and moss grow thicker, and croaks, of maybe frogs can be heard.
The air turns thick and humid, musty humid smell permeates the air alongside a soft hint of decay. The croaking gets louder, adding a strange sonorous hum that keeps most croaks in tune.
"Finally," Ienmar growls, before charging ahead.
"Oh I don't know," Amber muses, "I can see a certain charm to it. Plan the stonework around it and ye might get some lovely patterns out of the deal. Not so enamored of the croaking; THAT we can cut away." She hefts her axe and trots to keep up.
Krystid makes a subtle croaking noise in Amber's direction and then laughs as she follows Ienmar.
The tunnel opens into a room that is partially submerged. a dias with a cage sits in the middle. Several Dwarves rest within but are guarded by two large Minotaur husks, lichen, moss, and fungus covering a lot of the greyish dead skin.
Stone Plinths jutt up from the mire here and there on the same level as the dias, the mire though comes ot the waist of the Minotaurs. On a dwarf, it would be chest to neck deep depending on the height.
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"That...is not what I expected," John whispers to his companions at seeing the bull-men in something neither death nor life.
I should not like to take on those things with just us.
Perhaps there is some way we can unleash our fellow dwarves to aid us in the fight?"[/b]
Johnny Boy begins to idly Shape the Water in the mire, gauging how pliant it might be.
Ienmar lands from the tunnel, shield at his side. He stares at the green-covered husks silently. He almost doesn't hear O'Connel's statement.
He flicks his eyes to the cage, seeing the helpless and frightened dwarf-folk.
For too long have we suffered, fallen from up high, he thought. He doesn't feel himself move, but he steps forward. Everything collapsed in on our people, snuffing the light and shutting us in. No-where could we go.
He finds himself hip-deep in the mire, shield up, approaching as if entranced. Figures in the cage, small as children, didn't seem to move.
"No more," he suddenly speaks in dwarven. His voice echoes in the cave. "The rise of the dwarven kingdom starts now!"
He swings his hammer at the nearest minotaur with hate of a grudge-keeping professional killer.
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"Ok guys, so I'm going to shape the water in the cages to...ooooor we're just gonna go get the minotaurs. I guess that could work to," John says as the plan becomes the battleplan.
Still believing that more dwarves are better than fewer dwarves in -any- situation, Johnny Boy LEAPS at the cages and swings his Shillelagh at it with great violence!
With fury equal to a ravenous wolf, the dwarf rages against the cage that imprisons his people.
"Rise, my family! Rise and batter at thy jailers with the chains they sought to control you with!"
As soon as the threshold is broken the Two Minotaur react heads turning to stare. They move awkwardly toward you. You bridge the gap and with a swing of his mighty hammer, Ienmar connects to the flesh of the Minotaur.
It hits with a wet thwack. As if his hammer hit a block of semisolid wet clay. The sickening sound echoes in the room. As you pull back strands of goo come with your hammer, the body weeping some sort of green-tinged liquid. It is disgusting but unnerving.
John's swing hits the old iron bar of the cage, and the Shillegh and strong dwarven arm take the reverb as any good dwarven hammer would. The Bar bends and a crack forms. With effort, the bend would allow the adults t squeeze through, but the children would escape with ease.
The Minotaur thing though was on John and his fist was ready to strike its hollow eyes staring death at the dwarf.
Morkam moves to a spot that might offer partial cover, then shoots his crossbow at the first obvious target.
Light Crossbow
sharp end of bolt
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Spotting Ienmar's headlong charge, Amber refuses to be outdone, brandishing her axe and following suit, joining Ienmar's assault on the gruesome aberration as she follows up his hammer blow with a biting chop to the monster's midsection.
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Krystid fires from a distance, preferring not to wade into the unknown water. She instinctively shoots at the wounded husk monster.
But she flinches at the horror of the slimy beast and her arrow flies into the water.
The Lumbering Minotaur, entangled with Ienmar took a brutal opening salvo. Hammer, followed by a thick bolt sinking in deep, And then biting axe chop. That last biting in deep severing the dead wet flesh from the rest of the body. The Minotaur husk crashes into the fetid water splashing the water up and on those engaged in melee.
The other Minotaur closed in on the gap and stands over Johnny Boy. His arms moving up ready to crash down and slam the dwarf with its undead strength.
Round 1 FIGHT!!!!
Johnny however spins back around and hits with his club causing it to take a sickening thwack. It doesn't seem to do much damage, but it did a little.
Ienmar staggers as the large body crashes into the fetid water, creating a wave that pushed him back. Not used to fighting in water, Ienmar notices the minotaur about to strike Johnny Boy, and tries to dash through the sludge to shove the brave dwarf out of the way and take the blow himself.
But the dense fetid water pushes him back before he can take such a step. He does manage to, however, avoid slipping and threaten the minotaur's flank.
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"My money is on Johnny in that fight." But she fires at the husk anyway.
Morkam finds that his weariness seems to have steadied his hands for his marksmanship. With a not he repositions himself and let's fly another bolt, careful to at least attempt to miss the friendly combatants.
Crossbow
Bolt
[ooc]And in case there is disadvantage...
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Amber shifts 5 feet to get at the minotaur's flank and swings for the meat.
Amber shifts 5 feet to get at the minotaur's flank and swings for the meat.
[dice=chop chop!]1d20+7
[dice=but how MUCH chop chop?]1d6+5
Ienmar comes in hard to help Johnny, but unfortunately for the dwarven hero, Minotaur takes the crushing blow.
At that moment the Minotaur holds its ground, the slick wet flesh giving way but the muscle and bone hold strong. Ienmar sinks into the flesh the smell of rot and fetid swamp water. As you hold the creature it avoids an arrow shot, but its shift aligns it perfectly into the path of Morkams Bolt.
Ambers Ax however avoids making a purchase with the Minotaur as it raises its massive fist and slams down hard seeking to connect with Ienmar, who it is struggling with.
The Minotaur doesn't even connect as it stands slightly confused at its lack of connection.
ROUND 2 FIGHT!!!!
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Amber shifts 5 feet to get at the minotaur's flank and swings for the meat.
[dice=chop chop!
but how MUCH chop chop?
"Now you've got it, lads and lasses!" Johnny rages above the din of BATTLE! "They thought a mere pair of weed-o-taurs could keep a band of hearty dwarves from kith and kin. Ha!
The Earth is our cradle,
The mountain shall become our tomb,
Face us on the battlefield,
You will meet your doom!"
Krystid makes note of the ballad and fires again.
Weaving with the monster's clumsy movements, Amber spies her opening as the ungainly thing overextends itself, going for the kill.
Morkam happy that his marksmanship seems to be improving, repositions himself and looks for another opening to snipe the reeling enemy.
Crossbow
Crossbow as the beast reels about
Sharp, pointy, fletched stick.
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Ienmar lifts his shield and holds firm against the minotaur's fetid barrage. He hefts his hammer over the dark waters and strikes with furious anger, augmented with Johnny Boy's music.
Johnnys SHilleagh strikes whacking hard in the wet nasty flesh. Bone can be heard cracking. Next, the Minotaur shifted avoiding the arrow of Krystid, though this allowed Ambers's axe to bite deeply burying the head into the flesh with incredible ease. In fact, it was hard to pull the axe out. Next, a crossbow bolt slammed hard into the Minotaur's face and zx it rears back Ienmars hammer comes in and slams hard onto the abdomen of the Minotaur. It it's so hard the back snaps and the Minotaur drops sinking into the water.
With the rush of battle finally ebbing, Amber at last belts her axe, exhaling. "Right then...we all done here? Is that everyone?"
Ienmar heaves himself out of the water and onto the mossy rock, and starts to comfort the prisoners.
“Don’t ya worry lads,” he tells the boy-children. “You’ll be all ‘ome safe and sound.”
He carries whoever he can on his shield, lifting it above his head as he wades back into the water.
Krystid gathers the rescuees from Ienmar's shield when he arrives and tries to comfort them."Come on now. You were so brave! And the stories you will have to tell...maybe no one will believe you, but we will know."
Morkam... his body wracked with fatigue takes a moment to search the bodies of the fallen looking for anything that might explain their motivations... or be of value.
Investigation
The dwarves in captivity begin to murmur and speak. One dwarf lass says."My mommy they took my mommy down the hallway."
Another spoke up and elderly man."My daughter and a few others were taken further in. I know not what these frog folk want but it seems this fungus is something knew,..." He coughs and stammers a bit before he blinks and points.
"The one with the thing did this..."
As if on queue
Ienmar deposits the dwarven prisoners on the other side of the water, and says with gruff affection, "Ye dinne have ta' worry about that, lass."
He turns to the rest, and says, "We must go further in."
Krystid looks ominously back over her shoulder and settles the child. "We have no other choice. Let's make haste."
She checks the hallway.
"Wait a minute. These wounds shouldn't be growing fungus that fast. And it looks suspiciously like a Trident wound".
Arcana
Amber turns to look over Morkam's shoulder as she's wiping her axe. "Hmmm. Shame we can't take one back with us; be nice to have such a quick supply for stews and brews."
Suddenly her eyes light up and a smile spreads across her face. "Think I might've just named me tavern, lads..."
Many of the elderly and adult dwarves organize and begin to shuffle the children back to the surface. The oldest among them. A wrinkly dwarf male seems to raise a bushy unkempt brow and nod to you."I'll make sure we wait for you in the first safe area. They left me, me cane and I know a few have daggers, we'l manage. Ye get our kin. Seems ta me they are in worse danger."
With that the Elderly man makes sure all the others leave first and he follows with cane and dagger. As you look at the room and you only have one direction to go. What do you do now.
We go. Shieldmen first, shooters second.
Amber eyes the fungus creatures as the prisoners depart, casting a quick cantrip and tossing one more little flame into the mound of fungi.
"Come then; we've got frogs to dissect." She waves the party on, then starts down the path.
Ienmar firmly and with great drive delves into the depths, weapon at the ready.
Morkham is quiet in thought for a moment then it comes to him.
"Wait! Wait! Perhaps I might shed a little light on things. As I recall there is a legendary weapon of a long-banished Demonlord that commands fungi, molds, mildews, and worse. It was a Trident named 'Alvendhal' or in ancient Elven "Farmers' Fork" It was taken by the Demonlord after it slew an ancient Elven deity of Agriculture. Somehow these Frogmen have them? I believe that explains what is going on. We need to get that evil weapon away, and perhaps they'll start minding their own business again".