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Siobhan just closes the distance. She leaves her sword in its sheathe as she should - but she's not going to let an obvious spellcaster target all her friends if they turn out to be hostile and a god 'whose breath is death' doesn't sound promising.
"There is no need for fighting." She offers, trying to be reasonable.
Ser Helmut covers his mouth with his hand. He breathes into it. It sniffs. He sniffs. He breathes again into his hand. He sniffs. He sniffs.
Not bees Mees! Probably bees da Von. She bees enjoyings da garlic.
At the sight of the terrifying yet captivating statue, the Thaumaturge wonders if they could get a nice one to ride on all fancy-like....
The goblin then decides to check out that sweetness with the cool hat!
Exploit Vulnerability
The smiling goblin doffs his prized Helmet at the sweet sweet lady...
Regalia (Helmet)
Mees bees surest Dat wees ken behave good.
Helmut knows that Minargul speaks of the Sandpoint Devil. As he doffs his hat to her, the witch smiles broadly. "Oh, my! Quite a handsome fellow you are. Perhaps you have come to help me instead of slay me? I have been praying to the great Smoke-Mouthed Father below to save us from the doom that has come to the Whistlefangs. Ripnugget, the warchief returned from death. Slay him, and you will have my gratitude.
"...what? He's already dead? How wonderful!" the witch beams. "I fear I don't have much to give you in reward. Except..." She reaches for a leather cord around her neck and pulls it over her head. Attached to it s a slender brass key covered in filth. "Take my most precious toothpick with my thanks!"
Beneath all the plaque and bits of food, you can tell that the key is actually a winding key for a tiny clockwork. Perhaps it will be useful later...
She's glad that Helmut is taking the toothpick, it's disgusting.
Viv engages the witch. "Now that Ripnugget is no longer a threat, perhaps we can discuss how to ensure peace among the Whistlefangs and Sandpoint. Surely, it benefits everyone if we work together rather than against each other, no?"
"Gurlunk has already pledged fealty to Lady Vyana, the Fierce and Noble." She turns, making a grand sweeping gesture to Vyana. "Tell me witch, will you do the same or face the wrath of second slayer's of Ripnugget?"
Ser Helmut proudly takes the offered key, places it over his head and smiles.
Tanks! Mees bees git'n foods stuffs stuck suspiciously silently showing.
The goblin smiles (showing a piece of lettuce in his teeth)....
"Yeah, yeah. We've got no quarrels with you, longshanks," Minargul says. "But you need to look out for the other longshanks down below. They call themselves the Devil's Disciples. I was delighted to find other worshippers of the Great One and invited them into our home, but they turned against us and drove us out of our lower lair. You can get to them through the old tunnel to the east, or by the stairs to the west, past Lord Longfingers' realm. He's a big spider-thing who protects us from the gremlins and other critters below in exchange for food for him and his spider pets."
"Thank you for the warning, Minargul." Viviana says, her tone sincere. Lady Vyana has declared that we will deal with the Devil’s Disciples and ensure they no longer pose a threat to you or anyone else."
She turns to her companions, seriousness returning to her voice. "We need to plan our approach carefully. If there are other dangers down there, like this Lord Longfingers and his spiders, we need to be ready for anything."
She glances at Helmut, hoping to pull on his wealth of knowledge. "Helmy, any insights on how we should handle these Devil’s Disciples or this spider creature?"
Turning to her sister and Vy, she adds, "Let's make sure stick together and are prepared for anything. We can't allow harm to come to Lady Vyana, the Fierce and Noble."
She does her best to maintain a straight face as she avoids contact with Vyana and finishes her sentence, but a small smirk teases at the corners of her mouth.
Ser Helmut furrows his brow. The Thaumaturge thinking.... thinking...thinking...
After a few seconds of deep, deep thinking, he smiles.
Wees makes friends wit it!
Having a proud expression on his face, Ser Helmut begins gathering spider making supplies....
"Well, Lady Vyana, the Fierce and Noble only needs a few moments to catch her breath and then we pay these Disciples a friendly visit," the half-elf offers with a crooked smile in Viviana's direction. She then turns to catch Siobhan's eye.
"How does Mistress Siobhan, Manager of Mayhem and Sir Helmut, Headmaster of Knowledge feel about it?"
Ser Helmut begins doing deep knee bends. Luckily the small goblin is already close to the ground....
Viviana’s heart sinks at Siobhan’s words, the sting of the past resurfacing unexpectedly. The playful atmosphere they had all shared just moments ago is quickly overshadowed by a wave of guilt and regret. She forces herself to look away.
She takes a deep breath and nods silently, not trusting her voice to respond. She can't help but glance at Vyana, hoping the half-elf didn’t notice her reaction, and then at Helmut, who is still doing his deep knee bends, blissfully unaware of the emotional tension in the air.
"Right then. Let’s make sure we’re all ready. No wandering off anyone or you will face the wrath of the Manager of Mayhem."
You begin to make your way down the long, damp tunnel to the Whistlefang's lower lair, where the Devil's Disciples now reside. You've stopped one doom in the form of Ripnugget, but six more dooms await you...
***
Chapter 4: Footprints on the Roof
The tunnel slopes gently downwards before opening up into the northern section of a large, unlit cavern. Several piles of rubble lie strewn about the northern half of this large cavern. Pillars of rock support the cave here and there, particularly to the south. To the north, a set of ruined double doors lies on the ground before the stone tunnel that you have entered from, while to the northwest stand the remnants of a partially collapsed wall. Mold and patches of fungus grow in large swaths on the floor and walls.
The ceiling of this cavern seems to ripple and move—it’s crawling with a thick carpet of fat daddy longlegs the size of a human’s hand that’s several layers deep.
To the south, you can hear the sound of loud snoring coming from somewhere beyond the range of your vision.
Vyana lifts a single finger to her lips, gesturing for the others to remain silent.
Readying her bow, she moves softly forward trusting in her elvish heritage to spy out the source of the sounds.
To her embarrassment, she only takes a couple of steps before her boot slips on a stone causing her to wrench her ankle, stifling a curse under her breath.
Ser Helmut doesn't notice the silencing gesture from Vyana. The open mouthed goblin seems to have his head tilted upwards. He seems to be about to toss an old sock up at the plethora of spiders above him....
(One may notice the bottle of hot sauce in his hand....
The clatter echoes slightly in the cavern, causing Viviana to wince and bring her hand up to her face in exasperation. Terrified that the spiders will descend upon them, her gaze slips upwards, staring at them. Frozen.
Please. No.
She readies herself for the inevitable engagement ahead.
Unfortunately, Vyana's attempt at stealth fails miserably. From behind the mounds of rubble to the east, three enormous longlegs emerge, unfolding their legs as they move to attack! Two of them have bodies the size of dogs, while the third is even larger, with unusually large, curved mandibles perfect for bleeding prey! The arachnids begin to skitter towards you!
As the enormous spiders skitter towards them, Viviana’s face pales. She takes a shaky breath, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and frustration.
“Vyaaanaaaa!” she whines, her voice trembling slightly. "Why did it have to be spiders? I really, really do not like spiders!"
With a shaky step she steps back behind the others and fires a barrage of metal fragments at a spider.
"Just think of your 'Happy Place', Viv," Vyana replies, her eyes never leaving the trio of oversized arachnids. Fitting an arrow to her bowstring, she draws and fires at one of the dog-sized ones.
Absently reaching into his belt for a Scroll of Wall of Fire (his head still tilted upwards and eager to dine), the Thaumaturge casts it surrounding the Big Spider in a Burning burning Ring of Flame!
Saves Mees sum! Barbeque! Yummy!
Both Viv and Vyana hit one of the smaller longlegs, injuring it. As Siobhan moves forward and gets battle ready, Helmut creates a ring of fire around the arachnids! The creatures skitter through it, getting burned in the process, as they rush at Siobhan!
The first one to arrive sprays her with noxious chemicals! The other one bites at her, as does the one with the oversized fangs. Those two begin to bob up and down, using their legs almost like springs to cause their bodies to bounce and sway in an unsettling manner that makes it harder to hit them!
Critical Success: The creature is unaffected and temporarily immune to Noxious Spray for 1 minute.
Success: The creature is unaffected.
Failure: The creature is sickened 1.
Critical Failure: The creature is sickened 2 and enfeebled 1 for as long as they remain sickened.
Satisfied with the fresh delicious aroma of barbecue spider, the Thaumaturge begins searching in his pockets for....
Exploit Vulnerability
Honey and tartar sauce!
Quickly securing a clean linen napkin around his neck, the hungry goblin Strides to the injured long legs and takes a big bite!
Most delicious! Anyone's bees gots da toothpicks?
Slightly taken aback at the unexpected wall of fire, Vyana nevertheless continues her attack on the smaller spiders.
Viv tries to take the same approach since it was successful before, but the ring of fire and approaching creatures cause her to send her burst of metal into the floor instead of the spiders.
Siobhan lashes out, slicing off the legs of the wounded arachnid with her first strike and laying it low, then cutting into the next creature with her blade. Vyana impales that longlegs as well, finishing it off. Ser Helmut sinks his teeth into the larger longlegs abdomen, ripping and tearing!
The longlegs chitters as it snaps at the goblin, bobbing up and down defensively!
Vyana redirects her attacks to the larger spider, but can't quite line up her shot and her arrows flies wide.
Satisfied with the fresh delicious appetizer of barbecue spider, the Thaumaturge begins searching in his pockets for....
A banana peel!
Tossing it aside, the determined Thaumaturge digs again!
Quickly securing a clean linen napkin around his neck, the hungry goblin opens wide for the long legs and takes a big bite!
Most delicious!
He takes another bite!
Viviana's stomach churns as she watches Helmut gleefully sink his teeth into the vile spider, the sound of crunching exoskeleton and tearing flesh almost too much for her to bear. She quickly averts her eyes, swallowing hard to keep her composure.
"Ugh, Helmy, that’s... DISGUSTING!" she mutters under her breath, doing her best to ignore the grotesque sight.
With a deep breath, she refocuses raises her hand. She sends a flurry of sharp metal shards flying through the air, guiding them skillfully past her allies and straight into the spiders.
"Let’s finish these off!" she calls out.
Viv hits the arachnid with her needle darts, then both Siobhan and Helmut manage to hit and finish off the longlegs!
And not a moment too soon, since the noise of the combat has awoken the creature who you heard snoring earlier. From around the corner to the south, a hulking ogre strides into the cavern, hefting a massive hook over his shoulder and squinting at you through beady eyes. He laughs and calls out in Common, "Ha! 'Bout time Gorlak got a good fight in!"
The ogre moves up to Siobhan and attacks, impaling Siobhan with his hook!
Viviana’s heart skips a beat as she sees the ogre’s hook tear into Siobhan, the sight of blood sending a surge of fear and adrenaline through her. With a deep breath, she steps back, focusing on the power of Shelyn. Her hands glow with a soft, radiant light as she channels healing energy toward her sister.
“Stay strong, Von. I’ve got you.”
"Now that's a big boy," Vyana snarks. Her good humor vanishes in an instant, however, as Siobhan is treated to the effects of the ogre hook.
Ser Helmut grins wickedly as the Ogre rounds the corner!
You're big! Fought bigger!
The excited Thaumaturge then begins calculating their odds!
The Thaumaturge takes out some Hot Sauce!
Quickly securing a clean linen napkin around his neck, the hungry goblin Strides to the Ogre into a Flank and takes a big bite!
Someone bees eat'n da vegetables!
Viv heals Siobhan as she attacks the ogre, scoring a hit. The ogre deflects Vyana's arrow with his hook, but that gives Helmut an opening to slip around behind the giant's back. The goblin takes a big bite out of the ogre's hamstring, causing him to howl in pain!
"OUCH! Meanie greenie!" the ogre snarls, turning to attack Helmut. He scores a critical hit, impaling Helmut and twisting the hook to embed it in the goblin's chest. Then, the ogre swings his arm in a high arc, flinging Helmut away from him and sending him crashing to the ground! "Gorlak gets points!!!" the ogre hoots joyously.
Shaken somewhat by Gorlak's dismissal of the rules of fair play, Vyana's next arrow also fails to find its mark.
Viviana gasps as she watches the ogre brutally toss Helmut across the cavern like a ragdoll. Fear clenches her heart, but she quickly pushes it aside, knowing that Helmut needs her help immediately. She focuses on Shelyn’s divine power once again, this time directing it toward the wounded goblin.
"Hang in there, Helmy."
Ser Helmut begins to wonder if going through with that Knitting scholarship after highschool would have been a smarter move...
The impaling of Helmut and the twisting of the hook to embed it in the goblin's chest carries a lot of weight in his previous indecision!
He closes his eyes as the hook breaks green skin!
He opens his eyes as the hook is pulled, yanked, turned 'round and 'round and 'round...
The Thaumaturge looks at his new wounds. He looks up at the Ogre. He looks over at Viviana.
Anyone else want ta starts doings da showings? Sounds nice...
Standing back up to his feet, the goblin flips the Ogre the Bird!
Not bad actually. Mees turns!
The goblin Strides back into a Flank and bites!
Viv heals Helmut as the ogre deflects Vyana's arrow again. Helmut moves back in and misses, but the flank allows Siobhan to score a critical hit, following up with another powerful slice.
Howling in pain, the ogre turns back to the champion and attacks! He embeds the hook into her and flings her away, though she only flies a few feet before falling prone. "Ha! More points for Gorlak!"
"Dammit, Von! Don't make me have to come over there myself," Vyana threatens as she finally finds her mark with her enspelled arrow.
Viviana has never spent three consecutive rounds healing her allies before and is growing a little concerned by the ferocity of the ogre. "Uhhhh, sis? Everything okay up there?"
Viviana heals her sister again, empowering her sister to finish the fight.
Ser Helmut laughs as Siobhan is also tossed by the Ogre!
Fun rides!
The goblin (tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks) attempts to Demoralize the Ogre!
Hunger strikes again!
Siobhan's glare gives the ogre pause. Vyana finally scores a hit, her magically empowered arrow sinking deep into the ogre's prodigious gut. Then Helmut comes in from behind and rips open a vital artery with his teeth. The ogre groans before staggering and collapsing to the floor with a booming thud! He shudders weakly before falling still.
Ser Helmet runs!
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Siobhan sighs. Deeply.
Then a few moments later she just shakes her head and gets on with the practicalities - which include rotting pumpkins in an unpleasant first.
"Thanks Viv." She says over her shoulder. "That would have hurt a lot more without you."
Once her smelly job is done and someone more magically inclined has pointed out the cloak she hefts her shield once more.
"Let's move on. I don't want to stay down here any longer than we have to."
Viviana nods to Von, thankful she was able to do her part to keep her sister on her feet.
She goes to work patching up the wounds on her allies while Von digs through the mess.
Once she's done, she patches her sister up and says "Let's gather what we can and get out of here. This place..." Her voice trails off as she eyes the remnants of the ogre's lair and shivers.