Onye cannot only strike the charging thug when he moves to Aurora but also slashes across Gamil’s opponent’s chest!
Gamil also gives the man a massive blow!
~
Initiative
Demm
Tsamara
Aurora
Data
Onye
Gamil
Thug red, -29
Thug blue, -8
Unfortunately, the barbed chain cannot hit the ranger!!
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"What terrible manners!" Aurora exclaims as she swims back from her attacker and targets the thug with another spell.
"Flee!" she commands the man in red.
Demm's missiles strike true but none of the rangers drops to the ground!
~
Aurora is effective this time!
"Manners? Oh no!" the thug says and suddenly runs back and gives Onye the opportunity to strike him again!
Suddenly, the bald thug looks back at the altar and says. "What is that??" and Data and Gamil also see small black hands holding a crossbow from behind the altar. Onye now also smells a strange unknown smell!
Aurora sees nothing but suddenly feels a crossbow bolt hitting her chest and drawing blood!
~
The other thug tries to hit Gamil again and can really smack the half-orcs face.
~
Initiative
Demm
Tsamara
Aurora, -8
Data
Onye
Gamil, -10
Thug red, -36
Thug blue, -8
Something behind the altar
As Onye hits the thug in red armor and slashes across his flank the bloodloss is too much for him and he drops unconscious!!
The other ranger is also hit hard by Onye and although he’s bleeding, you still see resolve in his eyes!
”You devil worshippers got MARIXITE but you won’t get me!!“ he shouts.
CE Tiny fey
DR 5/cold iron; SR 12
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +3)
At will—prestidigitation
1/hour—dimension door (self plus 5 lbs. only)
Sneaky and sadistic, jinkins are hideous gremlins that inhabit the dark places underground. Well acclimated to the shadows, they hide in cramped quarters and attack larger creatures when they’re strategically positioned. Jinkins commonly work with or near larger or more powerful creatures; these larger creatures provide cover for the jinkins’ trickery. They use dimension door to exit any battle that goes badly, taking any stolen goods with them.
Jinkins delight in leading larger creatures into dangerous caves or pits, usually by lunging out of the shadows to make a single sneak attack against a creature and then running away, taking care while “fleeing” to remain visible to their target so that they can lure the victim into a trap.
Jinkins also hold dangerous grudges, and one might follow a creature that supposedly slighted it for weeks, looking for an opportunity to take revenge. This revenge can take many forms, from leading horses astray to contaminating food supplies to directing larger monsters toward the begrudged creature.
One of the most direct and unwelcome revenges of the jinkins is the destruction or cursing of magical items. Many times they’ll observe camped enemies from a distance and either steal an item to tinker with it or just use their tinkering magic at a distance to annoy the item’s owner. Once a jinkin has worked its sabotage on a stolen item, the jinkin either grows bored with the item or may attempt to return it to its owner. Jinkin lairs are often cluttered with stolen items that bear curses the jinkins themselves have forgotten all about.
Dwarves in particular hate jinkins, with numerous tales in their folklore telling of tragedy at the hands of the gremlins. The loathing is largely mutual.
The average jinkin stands almost 2 feet tall and weighs about 13 pounds.
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"Ow! I didn't imagine that first bolt then. You'll pay for that - whoever you are!"
Aurora pulls the barb from her shoulder then ducks under the water's surface and propels herself rapidly forwards, emerging next to the surviving thug. She raises her holy symbol again:
"Divine Princess, let my enemies know pain and suffering!"
The ranger gags after Aurora’s channel! You also hear a strange sick sound from the back of the altar!!
Unfortunately, because of cover, Data cannot hit the ranger.
Gamil's second book swing completely knocks out the second ranger!
Tsamara tries to detect the sniper but has problems to see the small creature behind the altar.
Those that can see the little creature realize that it is concentrating and suddenly it vanishes with a loud plop!
~
You can search the thugs now.
|
"So it got away? That's wonderful..." Tsamara sighs as she cautiously lowers her longspear. "I suppose we'd best watch our backs, just in case. Aren't gremlins known for being persistent?"
With the coast seemingly clear, she approaches the fallen thugs and takes a few moments to rifle through their things. "Ah! These potions might be handy, same for the tanglefoot bags." She passes the items to whoever wishes to take them and then moves to examine the strange altar area more closely.
"Yeeeep. It's an altar. Or a shrine."
The tunnel terminates in a small shrine centered around a large statue of a rat, around which handfuls of baubles and trinkets lie as if left as offerings.
Nearly every brick bears some type of scratch marks, many having the appearance of writing without actually forming coherent letters. About one foot above the walkway, a large pipe emerges from the southern wall.
Based on your experience and knowledge wererat packs also call these sewers home.
And you assume that the otyughs and Wererats tend to ignore one another thanks to the completely independent ecological niches that each fills.
The shrine that you see is not dedicated to a particular god but rather serves as a border marker between territories and a place to leave messages and offerings.
The lycanthropes seem to be in a different section of sewer dealing, but you identify the scratch as common territorial marks left by wererats to signal a family's strength or to leave warnings about nearby threats.
|
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"Hmm, I don't recognize whatever this is supposed to be," Tsamara sighs as she studies the scratch marks. "It almost looks like it's supposed to be writing, but...it isn't? Strange."
She doesn't seem terribly concerned about the two thugs, though she does spare them a glance. "Hmm. To be fair, I'm pretty sure the jinkin was responsible for that spooky little show that goaded them into attacking...but on the other hand, they *did* attack us. And they were looting, to boot. I could stop the bleeding but if we just left them then the jinkin or that talking tentacle beast might come back and finish them off."
|
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"Oh goody, lycanthropes again."
Gamil walks over the bodies of the fallen looters to get a closer look.
"You're right Onye, definitely wererats. And the reason you can't read them, is that they're more akin to Pathfinder trail marks than written language. The newest ones mean 'pipe' and 'plant growth', but no real indication of whether that's good or bad."
|
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"I care not what you do to these thieves, so long as they cannot threaten me again. I am more concerned about the evil gremlin that escaped, lest it return or warn allies. We should press on."
"Those scratchings must refer to the pipe behind the statue. Perhaps it has become blocked with new flora?"
After taking a moment to tend to your wounds and inspect the equipment left behind, you proceed to enter the small tube.
Though it is quite a tight fit, all are able to make it through.
Upon arriving on the far side, there is no sign of the tiny beast.
~
Cautiously making your way down the tunnel, you turn left...and left again. Stopping you find...
Fallen rubble from an earlier excavation clogs the channel, slowing the water flow and accumulating a mass of sewage on one side. A thick carpet of moss and fungus—clearly representing a wide variety of green, blue, and ochre-colored specimens—sprawls across the top of the debris and hangs from the ceiling, with several larger mounds of fungus clinging to the walls or stemming from the hole to the east.
Wispy blue tendrils descend from the ceiling and almost touch the water, creating a thin, eerie curtain of plant matter.
The fungus growing out of the ceiling and walls is Azure Fungus. It's a potentially dangerous plant that is sensitive to touch and builds up electricity. This electrical charge is prone to exploding out of the plant when it feels threatened. It is immune to electricity and fire.
This is a specific knowledge set. If you beat the DC by 5 or more I have one more bit of information to share.
Data sees that there is a strange fungus that is moving slightly but it it trying to stand still and hides itself among the mossy growths.
This is a Fungus Leshy
N Small plant (leshy, shapechanger)
If you beat the DC by 5 or more I have one more bit of information to share.
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"Ooh, wait a moment," Tsamara calls out, holding up one paw. "This stuff coming out of the walls and ceiling? It's azure fungus. Sensitive to touch and able to build up electricity to discharge as a defense mechanism. So needless to say, you can't clear it away with electricity and you can't just burn it out, either."
Tsamara attempts to surreptitiously peek at the fungus...
"Oh! It's a fungus leshy. Basically a spirit given physical form in a plant body," she whispers. "Their dispositions are as varied as humans and other sentient creatures, so they might be friendly or they might be hostile."
The leshy is not reacting to Gamil but Tsamara knows that this is not unusual as it only speaks Druidic or Sylvan.
Suddenly, a high pitched voice rings out from the fungal plant.
A mushroom headed creature steps out of the foliage and points at Onye expectantly.
In Sylvan it says, "I don't like being disturbed. What business do you have here? Why do you inspect my garden?"
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Aurora spies the little fungus, and licks her lips. Mmmm. A little sherry sauce, with cream...
"Huh? Oh, yes. Yes! We do like the garden" the mermaid smiles and nods. "Very nice. May we pass?" she adds in her lyrical voice whilst, under the water, she rubs her aching stomach.
"Who are you, friend?" Aurora asks the ratfolk.
The strange fungus creature replies in the nature tongue.
"That sounds fair. Thank you for asking instead of just trying to destroy my grove here."
"You may move along then!“
It begins to move about the fungal growths, carefully moving bits to one side and then the other. After a few moments, a narrow path is cleared of all fungi.
Without further interruption you can continue onward through the tunnel.