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Russ readies himself, a tight squeeze like this is probably how it'll stay most of the way if the construction is anything up to snuff.
"If it does open up it'll likely be down low where water gets a chance to settle. Perhaps the roots of this great mother tree will break it up also. I will take point however as you suggest Knaxshi. Vesi Blaze, how is your night sight?"
"It's great. I look at things, they catch fire, and then I can see, even if it's night!"
Vesi looks at the small space doubtfully. "I can't see in the dark, and I'm not sure I will fit in there. But if everyone else is going, I will try."
"Everybody knows that humans have broken eyes. It was supposed to keep them humble, but I don't think it works for most of them." of course he says this with a wink. "I think we'll be fine if you shield the light from shining too brightly ahead."
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Blaze shrugs vaguely at Knaxshi. "Someone's gotta keep all the lantern-makers and goggle-enchanters in business. Don't worry too much though Blue. Down in all the roots might be cramped, but it's as close as you can get to the tree hugging you back."
Amiri and Valerie take up defensive positions as Linzi accompanies you into the tunnel. The ceiling is only 5 feet high, and much of the uppermost foot is a tangle of roots and dangling fungus, meaning that the rest of you have to stoop awkwardly as you walk.
The tunnel opens up into a room. Three tiny crude wooden workbenches occupy the center of this room, their tops strewn with various little tools, metal and wooden hardware, and blocks of wood.
A pair of warty, blue-skinned mitflits are here. They are taking turns using a strange device, firing marbles at one another’s open mouth with a miniature catapult rigged out of bones and branches. The goal seems to be who can get the most marbles into the other’s mouth before they run out of marbles; since each mitflit usually swallows the marble when a hit is scored, they’re running out relatively quickly.
As soon as they spot you, though, one of the mitflits shrieks and draws a shortsword! The other one raises the marble launcher towards you!
Vesi snorts with laughter at Blaze's suggestion. "Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no." The undine begins to twist their long hair into a bun and tie a scarf over it, to prevent it from getting snagged in roots, then follows the others in crawling underneath the huge sycamore.
At the sight of the mitflits, Vesi chuckles. "They're so silly!" Then one of them draws a sword, and the druid's eyes go wide. "Whoa, whoa, slow down! I don't want to hurt you, we're just looking for kobolds. Have you seen any?"
"We can just talk. But if you want violence, it will be returned." he says, keeping his finger on the trigger.
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Russ takes point being in heavier armor and able to see in the dark. "Mind the roots it's going to be quite cramped even for me to swing my weapon. Try not to get caught in it all."
When they proceed down to the mitflits Russ looks around the room for escape routes, those need to be cut off first. Though stealth is completely out the window with Knaxshi's echoing fire stick.
Blaze almost immediately gets her hair caught in the tangle, and just hacks off a small chunk of it where she's unable to free the ends. Jamming the rest of it beneath her cap, she fumes her way down to the confrontation with the gremlins.
With someone to immediately take her ire out on, her face immediately flares to life in a gleeful torrent of energy that quickly rushes forward down the tunnel!
Blaze quickly demoralizes one of the mitflits before shocking both of them with electricity! They avoid some of the blast, then angrily prepare a counterattack.
Knaxshi opens fire, the report of his gun echoing in the tight confines. His bullet catches a mitflit between the eyes, taking him down in one blow! The other one stares in shock before turning and attempting to flee!
Russ's blade cuts the fleeing mite in two, preventing it from escaping!
There are two exits from this small chamber. To the southwest, a slope down quickly becomes a 30-foot-deep shaft that drops into a room below. The shaft walls are thick with hanging roots, making it an easy climb. To the northaest, a gentle slope down continues into a larger cavern.
Knaxshi points to the gentler slope. "I can't climb with my gun ready.
Be on watch for traps."
Vesi wiggles around until their satchel is within reach, extracting their little leshy companion. "Possum can scout ahead for us and warn us if there are more of these mitflits ahead."
Possum scouts ahead. Through their shared senses, Vesi can see that the wet floor of the large cavern ahead is crisscrossed by several shallow trenches, each containing trickles of putrid fluid. Six foul mounds of compost and dung lie heaped about the room, each studded with small spherical eggs.
A lone mitflit stands at the ready here, behind a trio of hissing giant centipedes. They are watching the entrance to the room, likely alerted by Knaxshi's gunshot. They don't notice Possum, though.
Blaze screws her face up when she is told of what awaits them. "Why are we fighting so many gross bugs?"
"Sure. Plan sounds fine. Why would taming bugs make them any tastier?"
"We could lower Possum down with the rope, just far enough to get a view.. If there are enemies that way, it's a bad idea to go there, but if it's empty then we have time."
He looks at Vesi and Possum, as it's their decision to scout.
Vesi nods, whispering to Posum before sending the little familiar to scout the other way, its little vine appendages wrapped around the rope.
As Possum is lowered down the shaft, Vesi can hear cries and whimpers through their shared senses. Thick tangles of long, pallid roots obscure the walls of this egg-shaped cavern. To the east, the chamber opens into a wide, root-filled chasm.
Four black-scaled kobolds have been tied into the roots along the walls. Three hang limply from their bonds, but one struggles feebly, whimpering in pain. The kobold bears several fresh puncture wounds.
Six mitflits stand about the room with shortswords at the ready, prepared to fend off any invaders they might see! Once more, Possum escapes their notice.
"Oh no, this is bad! Mitflits are hurting kobolds! Six of them below, ready to fight, and four kobolds. I-I think three of them are dead." Vesi watches Russ with concern and sympathy as Possum climbs back into their satchel.
Knaxshi's not one to let somebody go in without backup. "I'll go down as well. If we tie off a rope up here, it shouldn't be so bad."
Blaze turns her head as best she can to look at Russ. "Don't fret, Russ. You wanna go get your people, we'll get 'em."
"Be careful," whispers Vesi as they put a hand on Russ's shoulder. "We'll be right behind you."
Russ'ruk quickly clambers down the shaft and drops into the chamber below, the rest of you following behind him. Upon seeing the kobold, the six mitflits let out shrieks of rage and move to attack!
"Oh, you don't want to mess with this kobold!" exclaims Vesi as their fingers curl and twist, and some of the roots of the great sycamore slither to wrap themselves around the ankles of the farthest mitflit.
Knaxshi draws his weapon, and readies to shoot anybody moving forward.
Vesi entangles one of the rearmost mitflits. As the others shriek and rush forward, Knaxshi opens fire, taking one of them out! Three of them move into melee with Russ'ruk, stabbing with their shortswords. The other two, including the entangled one, hang back, grabbing darts off their belt and hurling them at Knaxshi.
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Russ'ruk let's out a draconic hiss and draws his blade in an arcing slash at one of the offending mitflits. Before launching a salvo against one of the other two trying to wittle all of his enemies down at once rather than focus his attention to one spot. Though he does wince slightly as they open a few bloody kisses upon his brow.
He readies himself for more and briefly casts an eye to the tied up kobold to see weather his scale-cousin is still on this plane.
"Hold fast cousin, we shall free you from these mites soon!"(draconic)
confident that their companions could deal with the remaining mites, Vesi does what they can to help the captive kobolds and find if any of the limp ones could be yet saved.
Knaxshi reloads and goes after the last mitflt.
He'll reload again after this.
Blaze's eyes flash with fiery wrath as she calls up a bolt of arcing energy between Russ's wounded foe and one of the darters, following up that blast with a quickly flung ball of fire!
Linzi raises her voice in a encouraging chant, inspiring courage! Russ'ruk brings his blade to bear, eviscerating two of the attacking mitflits in short order. The kobold wounds his third assailant, then Knaxshi picks him off with a quick shot before reloading. Blaze creates a spark of electricity between the two remaining gremlins, killing one, then she hurls a ball of flame to incinerate the final foe!
Vesi hopes to stabilize one of the kobolds hanging along the roots, but they are able to confirm that, sadly, none of them are alive. The kobold the mitflits had been torturing groans as he hangs from his bonds.
Vesi moves to heal the injured kobold. "I'm sorry, it looks like none of your friends survived. We'll get you out of these bonds in a moment."
The druid then looks around the group. "Anyone hurt?"
Once the kobold is free, he sighs with relief. He inclines his head to Russ'ruk. "Thank you, mighty warrior! Thank you! I am hurt, but I will survive," he chirps in Draconic. "I am Mikmek, warrior of the Sootscale kobolds. I have come on a quest to rescue my clan's holy statue from these nasty blue mitflits. I promise to give you many treasures if you help me complete my sacred quest!"
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Russ shakes his head towards Vesi, "A few scratches, nothing more."
He then joins with the kobold, "It is good to see you still live scale cousin Mikmek, I am Russ'ruk and these are my allies. They are very unlike other tall folk in that they are willing to give a chance of peace to those non-hostile. Rest a moment and tell us of your sacred artifact. We already plan to clear this infestation of mitflits if they wish to cause issues." The draconian tongue flows easily into his memory despite the years he'd gone without speaking it in earnest to one of his own kind.
True to his words to Vesi though only a few nicks marred his otherwise pearly scales.
"Yeah, uh, Hssk, **chirp** ktk-ktk to you too."
Knaxshi will nod helpfully at the kobold, and show his minor injury to Vesi.
Vesi cleans everyone's wounds with water, and bandages whoever looks the most injured.
"The statue is of a mighty, winged kobold named Old Sharptooth," Mikmek says. "It is sacred to the Sootscale tribe! Chief Sootscale will be very pleased if I return with it! Give me a weapon and I will fight by your side."
As you rest and Vesi tends to Knaxshi's wound, Linzi starts to sketch Mikmek in her journal. After several minutes, you are ready to proceed.
To the east, a deep chasm splits the passage. The chasm is a few yards wide and twice as deep, but tangled roots fill the entire area. The passage continues on the far side, and between the two ledges, loops have been tied to serve as handholds.
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Russ stares at Blaze for a moment, thinking perhaps all that magic has finally caught up with her and causrd some kind of tongue based curse. He pulls free the dagger Amiri gave him before and offered it to their new ally.
"Let us handle the majority of things, strike when you are able to do so safely."
Taking a length of rope from his pack he hands it to Blaze and then takes a running leap across the chasm.
"We can tie the ends to the nearby roots again."
Thankful for the additional support of the rope, Vesi traverses the chasm carefully, whispering to the roots all the way. Anyone close enough hears not a Druidic chant, but a desperate "pleasedontbreakpleasedontbreakpleasedontbreak".
Blaze follows after, her typically insouciant grin looking a little fixed after she nearly slips...
Three of you make it across the chasm before you hear a hissing noise coming from its depths. A few moment laters, an immense, 25-foot-long centipede clambers up the wall, undulating up to attack you! Two long, thin tails whip behind it!
The enormous insects whips its tails at Russ'ruk, scoring a critical hit and knocking the kobold down! It tries to impale him on its mandibles to finish him off, but the badly wounded warrior manages to roll aside!
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Russ is swept to the side and to the ground by the great whip-like tails and barely manages to stay conscious let alone place his blade between him and the massive creature.
He struggles and groans at the effort of keeping it at bay, but manages just a bit of room as it pulls back to make another attempt, which he uses to lash out. Grabbing at it's mandibles and stabbing repeatedly until either it falls or he does.
"To the end with you!"