Ezgara satbilizes Onye and begins healing everyone up then he refocuses.
Refocus
At the end of the hour of needed, he tries to heal OIyne again
After Ezgara practices his medical techniques for an interminable length of time, Onye awakens from his nap with a yawn. "Onye Dinta does not feel well rested," he growls and closes a fist over his heart. Ephemeral golden feathers fluff into the air as his wounds begin to close.
"Bolan the traitor is not among the dead," he states obviously.
"I'm glad you aren't either," Odioki says as he reloads.
“Aggression takes many forms. Active, passive, direct, indirect. If one tactic fails, another is tried." Ezgara motions toward the door Bolan did not flee through.
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While Onye is being tended to, Nicky takes a look around. Checking out what was on the druid bodies. Hopefully there's Some help and healing.
He's pursuing Bolan, and he needs all the leads he can get on the set-up of his "obvious" hideout amongst the trees.
What have I found on this druid's body? Looks interesting!
*******
Oh boy, I'm glad you are feeling better Onye. I was worried. Nut, I said help had arrived to keep you alive, and boy did it. Odioki aimed that loud thing he carries and the druid fell over dead. It was a loud crossbow bolt that killed the druid. Saving you.
He'll then check out the door -to see if there's anything of note to be wary of.
Following a lead.
"Onye Dinta agrees with taking the unanticipated path," he says. "Onye Dinta will need to reevaluate hunting tactics."
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Searching the bodies you find a few items, but no healing potions yet.
Heading east you find a Workshop. Workbenches and tool-filled pegboards line this trashed workshop. Half-finished carvings and wooden apparatuses are strewn all across the floor. Along the eastern wall, several shelves have been knocked over and piled with detritus to form a sort of nest. Doors to the north and south lead out onto rope bridges. To the northeast, a staircase spirals up around a tree trunk in a bulbous antechamber.
Nicholo quickly stops in his tracks as he spots a caltrop snare right after the doorway.
There are also several fey in this room, destroying some hard-built creations. One with a head like an angry crustacean, this fierce little insectoid creature clacks and rattles with a tiny but solid-looking hammer. The other fey are a pair of putrid-looking humanoid bears a disquieting resemblance to a half-starved, mange-ridden opossum.
The crusteacean bobs its head up menancingly as it grabs some of the debris. "What, you want some of this? You want some of these?" It crushes the metal in a claw.
"We don't wish to fight you," Daehalya says, the near death of her companion in the previous fight still all too fresh in her mind.
"We have no love for those who live here, so perhaps we have a common foe?"
"Onye Dinta does not want these things. The tribe of Onye Dinta would simply pass through and leave the children of the First World to their enjoyment," the amurrun says in Sylvan to the pugnacious fey.
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Onye, Ezgara, and Nicholo all recognize the crustacean as a Vexgit. These gremlins are covered head-to-toe by a crustacean-like exoskeleton that clacks and rattles whenever a vexgit moves. They delight in sabotaging the works of other creatures, often turning these works into dangerous traps. An individual vexgit might jam a door lock, loosen the wheels on a carriage, or remove nails from a boat hull. Buildings infested by vexgits become filled with traps like portcullises descending suddenly, water pipes exploding violently, and clock towers disgorging an avalanches of gears.
Ezgara and Daehalya recognize the remaining two gremlins as Grimples. Even more than most gremlins, grimples resent the trappings of civilization: inn common rooms with their rowdy singalongs, livery yards with their whinnying horses, church steeples with their clanging bells. Grimples live to spoil these conventions, dropping tavern signs on patrons, urinating in rain barrels, and opening stable doors. When all else fails, they literally vomit their disdain on passersby.
Grimples resemble humanoid, mange-ridden opossums, with boar-like tusks that aid them in rooting through garbage heaps for food. They are agile climbers who glide from eave to eave on the loose flaps of skin between their limbs. Savvy gremlin-hunters know to look for the skin flakes and fur grimples shed from their parasite-infested hides.
Ezgara hops over the trap and into the room and tries to recall knowledge about these fey.
Destruction begets life. Obliteration waits. Inescapable, it waits.
He picks up a carving and smashes it.
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Nicky turns a bit to whisper something to the others.
Hey, there's a trap thing right here in the doorway. There's going to be lots of little traps and springy things in this room. Anyone know how to undo this trap? I probably won't be able to, but I'd try if no one else can.
Turing to the smasher in shell form, so seems to be the leader.
As the old man said, "Go-Go Team Destruction!". He's lived long and has destroyed LOTS of stuff. He brought me in under his wing as I'm carnie folk. Carnie folk go into a town and MESS IT UP BIG TIME. Have you ever heard of a town better off before the carnival rolls in? Not likely.
That's because carnie folk like me aren't normal. We are the opposite of normal.
Do you mind if we move on through and check out upstairs for fresh unbroken things?
I might get a +1 if I think these gremlins have something to do with Bolan and I'm following that lead. I guess it depends on their answer to Daehalya's question.
Odioki, who is not without his simple charms, smiles at the fey.
"Don't think there's much here for us. We're just passing through if you don't mind."
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Ezgara knows a little more about these fey. Vexgit enjoy turning equipment to rust with their touch along. eanwhile Grimples enjoy vomiting on their victims from afar.
The gremlins stare at you before erupting in laughter. "You are a fun lot. You can go through. But first you need to smash and break something in return!" The trio seem excited at this prospect.
Daehalya looks around to see if there's anything particularly worth smashing. She hefts her staff.
As she looks, she asks, "Do you know what else is here? Have you smashed anywhere else?"
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Ezgara smashes more things, happy to oblige.
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Nicky starts moving through the room giving a little sing-song chant.
Team Destruction. Team- --Team Destruction. (end chant).
All you got to do is use the 5 "ash" words of destruction. Smash, Bash, Crash, trash.... and um.... Smash. .
To others he implores them to keep an eye out for other traps.
Watch for snares like at the door.
Looking for traps, magic items, healing potions, and maybe an un-smashed item that I can create a veneer of loyalty to Team Gremlin.
He makes his way to the stairs that lead up to the bulbus antechamber.
Nonplussed by the gremlin's request, Onye Dinta eyes the caltrops at the door.
Odioki smashes a few things with the butt of his gun, but he also keeps an eye out for anything valuable.
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Watching you look around for something to smash the gremlins begin to cackle. One of the Grimples gets overly excited and spews vomit at its companion. After a few tense seconds the pair are enjoyablly vomiting on each other much to their own entertainment as the putrid smell fills the room.
The Vexgit giggles. "You are very entertaining. No, no you must break something you own. and you can go past."
Nearly everything in this room is already destroyed, leading to the gremlin's boredom. Daehalya's keen eyes spot a small potion buried in the corner of the room. A set of artisan’s tools and a magnifying glass lie amid the workshop rubble.
Onye silently slinks away and then returns with one of the rebel druids' crossbows. He then starts hammering it down on the floor until it breaks. "Like so?"
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This large kitchen is swelteringly hot from a roaring iron stove in the northern corner of the room. Burst bags, shattered jars, copious crumbs, and other food detritus litter the floor and tables. A pair of Melixie sprites are currently eating their way through the house’s larder (smashing and tossing aside anything insufficiently sweet).
Hearing a bit of a disturbance the pair look up, covered in powdered sugar. "This was promised to us! I am going to bake your cake." Their wings beat aggresively.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Onye
Melixie 1 (Red)
Melixie 2 (Green)
Nicholo
Odioki
Ezgara
Daehalya
Onye crouches low and slinks across the floor under the cover of the counter where he raises his kudu hide shield in case the gambit failed.
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Onye crouches low sneaking through the kitchen. The Melixie lick the powdered sugar from their faces as they flit through the air firing poisonous barbs at Daehalya through the doorway.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Onye
Melixie 1 (Red)
Melixie 2 (Green)
➤ Nicholo
➤ Odioki
➤ Ezgara
➤ Daehalya
"Suck another lump of sucrose, you grubbers, I'll caramelize the smirks right off your puerile faces!" Ezgara frantically waves his broken twig at the Melixies; lightning cracks across the kitchen:
The wizard's eyebrows beetle, and he then hides behind his wooden shield.
Shield still raised protectively, Onye Dinta lunges from behind the counter with a predatory snarl and black mane crackling like embers. He thrusts his blade twice at the nearest fey .
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Ezgara shocks the pair of bumbling fey as Onye leaps from beneath the pair, much to their surprise, his rapier stabbing through the wounded feys wings. Nicholo rushes the room too quickly and slips in the powdered sugar covering the floor as the fey look like you have desecrated their home. "Let's glaze their scones for ruining that sugar!"
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Onye
Melixie 1 (Red)
Melixie 2 (Green)
Nicholo
➤ Odioki
Ezgara
➤ Daehalya
While Odioki is entertained by the fey creatures, he understands they can be dangerous. He reloads his gun and before he fires it, he tries to find an implement to exploit a weakness.
HP 4/15
AC 18
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +5
Effects:
Badly hurt, Daehalya can't help but be frustrated. They didn't bother the gremlins, she would have let these sprites have their sugar too. But they didn't want that option.
She wades into the blast of heat -- like stepping into a furnace -- and swings with her staff before ducking behind Onye.
[ooc]Will Nimble Dodge first attack that comes my way.
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Daehalya quickly realizes the Melixie were too hopped up on the sugar to see reasoning. Odioki, having seen enough ey now realizes a few weaknesses. While these Melexie have now Resistance or Immunity they are weak against Cold Iron 2.
Odioki's hand cannon misses, though Daehalya is able to swat one of the crazed Melixie from the sky as it bounces off of the countertop to the floor in a heap.
Ducking behind Onye Daehalya realizes her mistake as the stove behind her ticks. The pressure from the Fey's cooking causes it to explode, blasting out the wall of the room.
The second fey is caught in the explosion as it burns to a crisp. It's sugar covered body instantly crystallizing with a wonderful carmel glaze.
Onye
Nicholo
Odioki
Ezgara
Daehalya
Onye Dinta twists with feline reflexes and throws his shield in the way of the exploding oven's shrapnel. Even then, he barely survives the blast.
Daehalya crumples into a charred heap.
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Onye and Daehalya are both blown onto their backs. It takes a moment for the ringing to stop and the dust to settle before Onye is able to barely roll to his own feet. Luckily the fey are both down as he reches over and provides some much needed healing to stop Daehalya from dying.
At the back of the kitchen are the stores. This well-stocked larder has been thoroughly ransacked. Bottles, baskets, and sacks are haphazardly piled on the floor. In the middle of the room, a five-foot-wide wicker
basket hangs suspended from ropes beneath a hole in the ceiling that leads to the building’s upper story. Doors lead out to the north and south.
Consummate tinkerers, the gnomes removed the ladder from this room and replaced it with a basket elevator system powered by the house’s windmill.
Bolan’s followers haven’t had time to do a thorough search of the commune’s stores. Scattered among the debris is another strange potion filled with a bright reddish hue, five tindertwigs, and a bottle of nectar of purification.
Ezgara mutters to himself as he stabilizes conrades and spends more precious time treating wounds.
"My thanks, Ezgara, Onye. I ... wasn't expecting the stove to blow up. Perhaps the Oaksteward was right and we shouldn't have come in here, but we must stop Bolan. If I must give my life for that..."
"A basket system? Ingenious. If we pull that rope, we can go up to the higher level, though I'm not sure that's wise at this point."
Ezgara contemplates the contraption. "Fools. None will expect us to rush headlong into the heart of danger. Unexpected behavior, a tactical advantage… but a mind must be sharp to see opportunity. A mind must be sharp. This is a case of genius." He hops into the basket. "A basket case."
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"Onye Dinta appreciates the ministrations of Ezgara," the amurrun thanks the elf. While the elf tends to his wounds, he meditates upon what they have encountered so far and the tactics used by the rebel druids. Once he has recharged his divinely granted energy, he assists Daehalya and himself in recovering from their wounds.
Ephemeral, golden feathers bloom momentarily where Onye Dinta touches Daehalya. She also cannot shake the sensation of feeling like a pair of golden eyes are watching over her protectively for a few moments following his healing touch.
As he meditates more, he turns and simply watches the basket without saying anything until Ezgara gets into the basket. Once the elf does, the amurrun stands and approaches. "Ezgara is ascending first?"
"We need to be cautious. It's more dangerous in here than I expected." Odioki says, eyeing the basket.
Stronger than she looks thanks to her trip through the portal, Daehalya easily pulls the ropes to lift the others up the basket, hoping nothing ill befalls them before she can rejoin her new companions.
Ezgara sits in the basket and pulls out a dagger as he rides up. "Burn the ships. Burn them!" When everyone is up he cuts the rope.
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Pulling the ropes you are lifted to the second floor one at a time.
Droplets of condensation bead along the exterior of the large catchment vessel in the center of this room, occasionally dripping onto the floor. The vessel is shaped like a funnel, so that its top balloons outward to encompass the whole ceiling, connecting to a much larger catchment atop the building. Pipes covered in gauges and spigots snake out from the tank in all directions along the floor and walls. Ropes and pulleys connect to a basket that can be raised or lowered through a five-foot‑wide hole in the floor. Just out the window to the southwest, a well-oiled hempen rope stretches up to the window of an adjacent building.
The reservoir atop this building contains water for the house’s experimental plumbing and firefighting system, all of which gets funneled through the regulator tank in this room.
Daehalya notices that the water tank is bulging with an imense amount of pressure. Pipes extending from a pressurized water tank spray flesh-cutting jets of water at unwary passersby.
"Ksh! Ezgara," the amurrun interrupts the disfigured elf and his dagger. "Onye Dinta suspects there are less permanent means to prevent us from being followed." He looks around the room.
"Careful!" Daehalya warns. "This plumbing looks like it's almost as unstable as that furnace. We should be able to ease the pressure, though..."