"Hmmm. Very, very nice craftmanship." She says and then aims at a fence post and presses the button.
It takes Lexxan a couple shots, but she manages to hit the post. A bolt of energy slashes into the post and finds its way to the ground, damaging the post significantly. She has no idea how many more shots the weapon will support.
Pious spends a few more moments with the carcass, muttering a prayer the others may mistake for last rights. Before lopping off and pocketing a finger.
"does anyone have anything to draw on? We should keep a record of these markings. Then I suppose we burn the carcasses."
Pious suspects they're from "elsewhere" so to speak, though he can't pin it down specifically. Elemental Earth is a possibility, or potentially just a different realm within the Material Plane. There is no hint of evil aura, but then, if these are normal creatures of nominal power, there wouldn't be.
There are three more Shock Rods, one for each of the dead (Lexxan's rod came from one she disarmed with her whip).
"Well, would y'all like me to try and follow them back to wherever they came from? I don't reckon we should tussle with any camp or fortress or the like, but it'd give us something to report back to the Markie's swords"
Rocko heads over the fence toward the butte that Spizz saw the bugs climb.
With his Darkvision, Rocko has no problem following the blood trail one of the injured creatures left. Following the trail, he is lead up a dirt incline and through some undergrowth. On the other side, he sees a trail carved into the side of the butte and leading up the back, so as to not be visible from the ranch side.
"We should pick up all..." She staps knowing none of the boys what to listen to her suggestions. She goes and picks up the rest of the wand-like weapons. She nods to Rocko "Track, but don't engage. We're all pretty wounded, and they have pyew pyew weapons."
After finding that trail, Rocko comes back to report.
"Followed some blood and found a crack in a butte"
"..."
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
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Spizz, being awed by buildings, and having spent the majority of his life in a cave, does not have any ideas on where these bugs could have come from. In fact, he seems unimpressed by the zap sticks, which in his mind pale in comparison to the technological disparity in the culinary arts between his cave people, and a small town.
"Spizz need small rest to get big fire back! You all see the big fire Spizz make? Most fwoosh of any Kobold back at Spizz-home!" Turning to FriendPious, Spizz states, "Thank Pious for standing in front of poor Spizz! Metal make make magic hard." He points at Pious's armor, and demonstrates the full range of movement that somatic components require.
"Pay attention to Spizz! Give Spizz praise!"
Being somewhat injured and having their resources depleted, the party decides to head back to the farmhouse and see if they can provide a place to sleep. Exploring the butte can wait until the light of day tomorrow.
The woman at the ranch house is glad to let you sleep in one of the sheds set up for seasonal workers. Otherwise, if you wish to sleep under the open sky, you can, though the night will prove somewhat chili.
The group fixes the fence as best as possible to insure the cattle stay in the field. They grab the monstrosity and drag the body back to the farmhouse and introduce it to the family.
[ooc]Spizz has no ranks in heal. He will absolutely take advantage of sleeping inside a building though.
By the time you get back to the ranch house (dragging one of the bugs in tow as evidence), there is already a morning light on in one of the windows.
Marco, the rancher whom Maria spoke of ealier, opens the door, pitchfork in his hand.
"Aie! You must be the mercos Maria hired. We heard a bit of trouble out there with the cattle about an hour ago. Everything okay?"
"Spizz fight big bug with magic fire! Spizz-Friend protect cow-creature, and left over bug run away! When Spizz has more magic in morning, Spizz and Spizz-Friend will go look for bad bug for you."
In the absence of a dedicated healer, Maria provides bandaging and cleansing of wounds, then sets you all up in one of the cabins seasonal workers use.
Everyone who is injured recovers 2 HP from resting the night and 4 for Maria's treat deadly wounds, for a total of 6 HP.
Octum 17, Restday
The party awakens a few hours later to a series of ghostly moans coming from outside. Opening the cabin door, it doesn't take long to surmise that the noise comes from the heavy winds whipping through the buttes and mesas surrounding the ranch. The air is chilly, but there is no precipitation.
Pious helps drag the corpse back, walking in sullen silence, clearly tired.
"Hey, have you ever seen these things before?" She asks the family. "It'd be nice to know somethin' while trackin' them down."
The party thus being invigorated, you are ready, if you wish, to take the winding path up the butte on the edge of the ranch to investigate where the insect-like attackers went after the battle.
Does anyone wish to take any other preparations and/or do something different aside from taking the path Rocko found?
Spizz will scowl at not having received enough praise, but is far too excited to actually be put out for very long. He's ready to go monster hunting again!
Lex refuses to leave until the family answers her previous question. She readies a knife to threaten the daughter with violence if the family continues to not reply to her previous question.
Lex refuses to leave until the family answers her previous question. She readies a knife to threaten the daughter with violence if the family continues to not reply to her previous question.
"Hey, have you ever seen these things before?" She asks the family. "It'd be nice to know somethin' while trackin' them down."
"No," Marco comments. "We never managed to make it out there in time to actually see what was happening to the cattle. And frankly, after that weird shooting star we saw, I was afraid to go out there. Which is why we hired you. And it seems like we made the right choice."
Pious is sat, alternately taking bites of jerky from his pack and sharpening the blade of his sword
"which way did the star 'shoot'? That way?" flecks of food spill from his full mouth as he points in the direction the creatures fled to.
"Huh, that shooting star again. Was it just a short little streak like what my old tribe always called 'heaven's scouts' or something else? Can't imagine a bunch of these buggies all fittin' in a little spark."
Rocko wracks his brain trying to remember if anyone back in town mentioned seeing something out of the ordinary in the night sky recently. He does occasionally sleep outside if he can't stay in any inn stables due to narrow-minded guests not liking his presence. There's a small chance he might have seen it and not known what it was.
Rocko can't wrap his head around it much at all, honestly. He'd never heard of such a thing, not low to the ground as Marco described it, anyway.
Marco confirms for Pious that, indeed, when they had seen it (in the past, not last night) it seemed to fly away from the very butte that the bugs had climbed via the path. It seemed if they wanted answers to this mystery, that butte was the place to look.
"I guess we know where we're headed" Pious gets to his feet "Let us go and find ourselves a shooting star"
Rocko shrugs in a 'why not' fashion.
"I reckon they think we're still lickin' our wounds. Now sounds like as good a time as any. Might catch them off guard."
"On! On to great adventure! Good and Glory await!"
As the group travels back to the butte and the morning wears on, the sun burns the chill off the air, and the wind dies down a bit. It's still blowing enough to make haunting sounds in the crags of the butte as the group spirals upwards. Finally, after about an hour, you've managed to make it to the top.
At the top of the butte, you see it. Among some bushes growing in the center of the formation, there is a large, glowing white orb.
Something about this is making Rocko's ears twitch. He makes a shushing noise for everyone to be quiet. He steps over to Spizz specifically, having seen how excitable the sorcerer can be.
"Please no shoutin' for now, brave little dragon. We'll want t' surprise them if'n we can"
Rocko will try to assist everyone in moving as stealthily as possible at their approach.
Rocko will try to assist everyone in moving as stealthily as possible at their approach.
Stealth 1
Spizz nods emphatically, moving as quietly as he can.
It's not really that quiet.
Watching Rocko and Spizz move towards thee structure, sharing stage whispers and seeming to tread on every dry stick they can find, Pious bends to collect a loose stone.
"Walk not in the shadow friends. We are the inheritors of this world, stand tall."
With that he hurls the stone at the glowing sphere.
At first, nothing happens. But after a few seconds, the sphere glows a little brighter, and a small doorway opens in the sphere, and in the darkness, you can perceive several small flashing lights, and a lot of movement. A second later, the barrel-end of one of the lighting-rods points out of the sphere.
Lexxan and Pious may act first, at which point, the weapon with fire, followed by Rocko and Spizz.
"Knock then, and enter"
Pious draws his sword and, placing his hand upon his Holy text, begins to pray as he moves toward the orb.
Rocko pauses for a moment before realizing "I guess I didn't think 'bout how we'd get into the darn thing. This works too."
This time around Rocko is going to go more on the defensive. When given a chance, heavy shield out first then draw battleaxe.
The blast stick coming out of the sphere's open door fires.
Attack on:
electrical
Rocko, Spizz, and Lexxan may act.
Here you go, I've updated the link with your positions. Lexxan is about 30' from the edge of the sphere (which is where the open door is).
Spizz yipes, and ducks for cover, only having 3 HP left after the blast.
Lex looks around. She knew they could not survive a ranged assault, she does her best to even the odds. She rushes foreword to within 15' from the entrance. Lex releases a billowing opaque mist whose edge is 10' from the doorway. Anyone who pops there head out; gets noogied.