Nox and Ravenna head to the water as you all focus your attacks on the frightened immolis. Slashed, pierced, shot, and burned, the beast falls from the wall, landing with a thud on the cave floor.
Batman taunts the survivor, and while it is shaken, it clambers down the wall with shocking speed, moving to bite the Bronze Bat with its squidlike beak!
“Now you’re where I want you!”
Sylva rushes the foe—
—and with eight kneecaps, you’d think she could land a kick on at least one, but nope.
“Haha. Sir Bat. Please kill it before it broils my intestines with a look.”
With nearly a Reaction, Sir Batman easily slides his trusty shield to block the majority of the Naked mole nasty bite!
Grinning bronze-colored ear to bronze-colored ear, the Champion of Mazludeh Raises his Shield, Strides into its space, and delivers an uppercut!
Die space dog!
|
As Nox steered Hildy towards the safety of his tall and stoic companion, for fear of her short legs tiring quickly the not-shadows of the cave reached dug the fragmented stone shards from the corpse of the dead mole-creature, and like a barbaric entity hurled them all in a spray of pebbles at the frightened one. But they all fell rather harmlessly even with Ravenna's help keeping it on it's toes.
Ravenna takes a moment to check that she's loaded the proper ammunition, takes aim, and really lets the bastard have it. Even her deadly serious demeanor slips a bit, and she allows herself a grin.
While all three sprites struggle to hit the immolis, Ravenna lodges a bullet deep within its torso! The creature shrieks, the wound sizzling with acid. Then it turns and quickly runs away, clambering up along the wall and out through the opening at the top of the cave!
“Yeah! And if you ever come back, uh… it’s just a dumb animal. Why am I even…?”
Sylva gets her med kit out and patches Ravenna up!
Ravenna sits down in relief, clutching the tiny ice pack from Syylva to her forehead.
"Thanks," she says, voice full of gratitude. "Nasty little things."
Sir Batman smiles at the retreating slime worm. The Champion of Mazludeh then proceeds to Lay on Hands.
He will offer his damaged shield to Ravenna.
After twenty minutes or so, everybody is back to full health and Batman's shield has been repaired. You proceed past the pool of water and into the next cave.
The walls of this natural stone cavern have been carved into dozens of bas-relief statues. Many are familiar humanoids wearing robes and carrying books or staves, but others are insectile, reptilian, rodential, or completely unrecognizable.
Ravenna spots the danger here--tiny magical sensors hidden within four of the carvings’ eyes. No doubt the sensors will trigger a trap if not dealt with.
Sylva creeps up to the obvious trap and attempts to carve out the eye.
“Oh, poop.”
Sylva's clumsy attempt to disable the trap triggers it! Illusion magic fills the rogue's mind, forcing her to relive every intellectual failure and shame she's ever suffered!
Sylva manages to survive the potential brain damage.
And the fact the trap is triggered is all the incentive she needs to get it right the second time!
The magic falters as Sylva successfully disables the trap. With the threat averted, you continue on!
This otherwise-rough cavern is braced by huge pillars of worked stone. Bones and rusted, rotted armor lie scattered across the floor. To the north, a passage continues onward.
However, as soon as you enter the room, three of the skeletons shudder and rise up to confront you! One is an elf skeleton wielding a lance, while the other two bear the remnants of lashunta antennae and brandish longswords and shields!
Sylva notices the skeletons. “Skihh… skahh…??!”
She does not intend to suicidally rush them alone!
She ▶️whips out her banjo and ⏩️activates its charm spell, hoping to keep the Elf Skeleton out of the fight.
Hey you with the lance
Would you perchance
Like to dance like you’ve
Got ants in your pants?
The elf skeleton lowers its lance as is listens to Sylva's song, tapping its bony toes to the rhythm.
The other two skeletons, though, move forward, raising their shields and slashing at Batman!
Sylva is so pleasantly surprised she forgets to drop her banjo. She wields it like a samurai sword, but uses kicks to strike Sir Bat’s foe.
Sir Batman stands staring at all the happenings and goings-ons, the monk-like shenanigans and dancing tomfoolery, the violent Slashing and the bones banging.
I feel like a PF1e Cleric!
The Champion does indeed react by Shield Blocking the sword of the unfriendly skeleton.
Raising his Shield and placing both hands on it, the bronze-colored sprite Strides into a Flank.
Ravena, caught off guard by the bones suddenly rising up to attack, snaps off a quick shot before ducking behind a nearby bit of stone for cover.
◇ Energy Shot
◆ Strike
◆ Thoughtful Reload
◆ Take Cover
↻
The skeleton deflects Ravenna’s bullet and Nox’s projectile with its shield. Both of them identify the undead as skeletal champions. They are the remnants of skilled warriors, and like may skeletons, they resist cold, electricity, fire, piercing, and slashing attacks!
Sylva's strike is just shy of a critical hit, and the skeleton blocks some of the impact with its shield. The charmed undead stands idly by as the other skeletons slice at Sylva, having identified her as the main threat! They keep their shields up.
Sylva keeps the banjo tightly gripped but does not kabong with it!
Trusting Sir Bat to keep her relatively safe, she strums her banjo so the charmed skeleton can dance.
Why stand there alone?
Won’t you shake those bones?
After we kill your friends
We’ll have tea and scones
Sir Batman reacts quickly to offer Sylva his Champion's Liberation!
Looking up at the boney kneecaps of the skeleton he shares a space with, Sir Batman Raises his Shield and bosses it in each knee!
Ravenna's rifle barks once, then twice, as she resolves to hitting the damn monsters with everything she's got. She adjusts her tactics slightly, switching from fiery bullets to ones that sizzle with magical acid.
The skeleton blocks some of the impact from Nox's hurled bone with its shield, but that leaves it open for Ravenna and Batman to finish it off with their attacks. As it falls, Batman and Sylva step up to flank the second lashunta skeleton. Sylva lands one hit, though the skeleton blocks with its shield.
The skeleton keeps its shield up and attacks Sylva again, scoring a critical hit! The charmed elf skeleton keeps its distance, tapping its toes to the music but not getting involved in the fight.
Sylva is rather dependent on Sir Bat!
But her inability to quickly drop a foe is starting to worry her. Not wanting to leave the Bronze Bat alone on the front, Sylva ▶️takes cover between a couple inanimate bones.
If it ain't broke!
Sir Batman reacts quickly to offer Sylva his Champion's Liberation!
Looking up at the boney kneecaps of the skeleton he shares a space with, Sir Batman Raises his Shield and bosses it in each knee!
Ravenna holds her fire, waiting for just the right moment...
Batman and Sylva batter the skeleton, then Ravenna shoots it, causing its skull to detonate into a huge blast of bone shards! The other bones clatter to the floor.
The charmed elf skeleton scoffs and shakes its head. ”Bah. Good riddance. Those two were jerks,” it says in a haughty, echoing voice. It speaks in Elven as it regards you. ”We guard the way to the Memory Cache. Only the worthy may pass. You seem worthy. So, pass already, and let me return to my torpor.”
Sylva is surprised by the elf skeleton’s reaction. Not knowing the Elven words, she simply joins Nox on dogback and waves goodbye to the skeleton. “Thank you for not killing us.” Her smile is 70% pleasant; 30% awkward.
You move on down another short passage before coming to a room. The stone here has been carefully chiseled into worked walls. Papers ranging from whole scrolls to tiny tatters are pasted over every surface. To the south stands a large metal double door etched with a leafless tree design.
Two tiny creatures dwell here. The snakelike creatures have numerous hands that hold a multitude of fountain pens in various ink colors. They blink at you through numerous eyes.
”Hello! Greetings! Salutations!” one says excitedly.
”We are the Gardeners’ secretaries! Yes, secretaries!” the other exclaims.
The first one nods. ”Yes! Before you enter the Memory Cache to deal with them, you must first give us some basic information in order to secure an appointment.”
The two rapidly talk over one another as they ask you question after question. This “basic information” turns out to be your entire life stories, plus an encyclopedic overview of every subject you’ve ever studied. The creatures eagerly await your answers...
Sylva tunes her banjo. After a minute, several other banjos accompany her rendition of a tune called The Little Sprite.
As the tune magically plays, Sylva tells about the time she stole a fork, and events that preceded it…
“Big people!” she told her family. “Y’know, like the fairy from Three Men and a Fairy? She earned her wings in a human world, and now she’s a dancer and a princess’ bride!
“I don’t know if I’ll marry a human princess or beat big people up, but… there’s a stage with my name on it. Not the stage itself, but that program they pass out to spectators? Yeah. My name would be on that!”
After a comedy act, a song, a dance across piano keys, Sylva started to wonder if there was a misprint on the program. “It’s possible they misspelled my name B-O-O, and the guy who threw the tomato coulda thought I was hungry. If it was fresh, a tomato wouldn’t be a bad pay day.”
After she was done talking to the unconscious drunk, Sylva set out to find the next town that would adore her until she ruined everything.
And then it happened.
She saw the light!
“With all this,” she explained to a curious squirrel, “I could afford a stage of my own, and a big person to cart it around! I wouldn’t have to Walk-of-Shame outta town! I could Ride-in-Style outta town!”
The squirrel staring at the portal chittered and skittered away. Sylva went the opposite direction: to mountains of treasure with her name on it! Not the treasure itself, but that deed that’ll say it’s legally hers.
And then it was… gone.
It was later explained to Sylva and a couple of fellow sprites that what was seen in the portal was one’s Most Important Thing.
Money, she thought to herself. Not love, not fame… just money. And no one to share it with.
With that thought, she sucked all the color right out of the room.
And stole a fork because it was shiny, and if every place setting had two, there were obviously enough to spare.
She then talks about her perspective of the recent events, including how traumatic every kill has been, and how she’s trying to fight without weapons in the hope of sparing more foes and having one less regret to bear for the rest of her life.
She’s about to speak of her dreams of entertaining for the glory of Shelyn, but “Oh, wait, that’s future. Uh… any questions?”
Sir Batman grins at the sounds of cracking and falling bones.
Well done!
The bronze-colored sprite stops when the dancing skeleton speaks to them. Mouth hanging open a bit at its words, the Champion of Mazludeh nods with a bit of skepticism.
He does Lay on Hands anyone injured and Refocuses.
Admiring the decor of papers ranging from whole scrolls to tiny tatters are pasted over every surface and the south stands a large metal double door etched with a leafless tree design, Sir Batman grins wider at the revealing of the secretaries .
Story? One moment while I think about this....
The creatures do have questions for Sylva—lots of them! And for Batman, and for Nox, and for Ravenna...
Eventually, it becomes clear that there will be no end to the interview process unless you say something about it...
“Wait. So many questions. I have one.
“Can I go to the latrine?”
”What?!?” one of the creatures balks. ”Now? We are in the midst of the interview process!”
“Yeah, do you want to see the Gardeners, or what?” the other one says indignantly, tapping its pens against its legs. ”If you leave now, we will have to start again from the beginning!”
|
|
Nox tilts his head a bit from atop his noble mount trying to make heads or tails or Eyes of these creatures.
"The Gardeners are just through there right?" He points ahead further down the tunnel. "And we have to talk to them to get to Iskariel to learn about Osoyo?" He rubbed his chin under the beetle helmet.
"Well this just won't do at all then, if you interview us here and now the story will be incomplete, and then we'll just have to be interviewed again after we complete our search for information. Then we'll have to return once again after we use the information to perform our tasks, and so on and so forth." He sounds genuinely upset at the predicament and fusses about for an amiable solution. "Aha! If you let us go and do all of our business then we can return to you with the complete tale then how does that sound?"
The creatures look at each other and nod. ”Very well! You may attend your appointment now! You can go right in!” one says.
”Oh, but you’ll need to leave anything with paper out here, of course. Scrolls, spellbooks, formula books, all that sort of thing,” the other one interjects. ”Standard protocol, of course!”
”Yes! Standard protocol!” the first one eagerly agrees.
Sir Batman takes out his mint 1970's Batman comic out and a tear is seen running down his bronze cheek....
The Champion of Mazludeh waves his hand in front of the faces of the creature.
This is not the writing that you are looking for....
”I think they are,” the creature counters.
”What, do you think you’re some kind of psychic, waving your hand around like that?” the other scoffs. ”We are scalescribes! Mind tricks don’t work on us! Now, hand over the books!”
Sylva reluctantly hands over a tiny folded paper.
Ode to My Flank Partner
by Sylva Belle
Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh
POW! — BAM! — BIFF!
Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh
OOF! — SOCK! — K-K-K-KRASH!
Bat Maaaaann! Bat Maaaaann!
Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Bat!
Bat Maaaaaaaaaaannnnn!
“Don’t read it. It’s private.”
She walks off in a huff.
"Oh, yes, absolutely!" the creatures chirp.
It's clear to Nox that the beings are lying.
"The Gardeners are through the door!" the first creature insists.
"Yeah, they kicked us out!" the other one says bitterly. "Said we weren't real scholars! As if!"
"Anyway, these papers are ours now! You can't have them back!" the first one insists.