[dice=Medicine Stabilize] 1d20+6
Grasping Tentacles - Round 2 - concluded
Using her magical talents, Karina unleashes a barrage of force missiles that slam into the shell of the tentacled creature unerringly. The missile strike seems to stop and still the creature as the tentacles stop waving, and the tiny black finger-like tendrils fall off of the still form of Zaria.
End of Combat
After the fight ends, Zaria still lies unconscious on the sticky, sandy floor of the cavern. She is not yet stable, and seems to be precariously balanced between life and death.
The tentacled creatures seems to make a hard coral-like rock its outer protection, but inside is a black gooey mess that looks like the creeping tendrils that were moving all over Zaria's stuck form until its death.
From behind you, you now hear the sounds of someone coming towards you. Not being particularly quiet about it either. As you watch, a dwarf carrying a greatsword and clad in clanking chain mail puffs up, coming to a stop when they see you.
Alpha-47 pulls out his healer's kit, examining Zaria's unconscious frame, "these wounds could be fatal if left untreated, I propose we retreat out of the sand and I'll work to bring her back to fighting shape,"
Finishing up sewing closed one of her wounds, Alpha-47 looks at the rest of his companions, "I know we are in a hurry, however if we are willing to wait, I can further repair Zaria's damage. I must let her body rest at least an hour before I operate further though,"
It takes some effort to unstick the unconscious form of Zaria from the glue-like sand, but with some time and trying, you carry her back into the area with the metallic floor and the nozzles on the walls.
After some ministrations from Alpha-47, Zaria returns to consciousness. Not quite as good as new, but clearly much better off than she was. There will be some soreness and bruising where the rubbery tentacles struck here, but no permanent damage.
"I agree, we should retre..." he stops as he realises there seems to be an extra person in the group, he looks at the dwarf "Oh. Hello. How did you get here? Hope you're not one of the people we may have come to rescue our friend from?"
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The dwarf comes to a halt before the group, expression plain; she takes in the scene for a moment before curtly nodding to everyone present, although a flash of concern can be seen when she takes in Zaria. At least she seems stable.
"Mmmm."
A grinding growl-like sound of thought from her throat, like she's pondering her words.
"Aglippa. I'm doing some prospecting of my own, and heard of these tunnels. Ran into a lad at the entrance who mentioned you all. Decided to wander in deeper after you, since groups bring safety underground... Ended up here. Seems like I chose right; don't think I could handle whatever it is you've faced so far alone. Mind if I tag along?"
Karina rushes to grab the viol as quickly as possible, making sure it's not too damaged. She doesn't care too much if it is, since the viol is literally just a ranged club with her magic -- unlike the familiar. She test to make sure it still sounds serviceable, then holds an instrument in each hand.
"I am Karina the Bard, and I have no objections if the rest of the group doesn't?"
Zaria picks herself up, thanks Alpha for his first aid, and then picks up her crossbow and reloads it.
"We should keep moving. We still have to find Khonnir." She seems to have no objection to Aglippa joining the group.
Looking at Zaria, "Try and take it easy, it will be easy for your wounds to reopen if you don't give it some time,"
Dusting themself off, Alpha-47 readjusts his light. "Let us proceed forward, this sand is trouble, I feel like it should not be here,"
With Aglippa now part of the group, they set out again into the sandy cavern. This time they watch out for the sticky, gooey substance mixed in with the sand in a 10' radius around the now-deceased tentacled menace. There are more than a few situations where feet get stuck, but over time the group makes it out of them mouth of the cave.
As you leave the cavern behind, you enter a very large space. The cold area beyond presents a disconcerting vista -- that of a desert valley under a starless night sky. A stretch of sand covers the ground as far as you can see with the light source on Alpha-47. The sandy vista is broken here and there by bits of strange, spiky shells or contorted dead fronds that look like branches.
Rocky walls appear behind you were the cavern mouth opens, but you can only see sandy expanse as far as the light illuminates, and nothing but blackness above. You see no other light source in any direction, and get the uneasy sensation that your light sticks out like sore thumb in this wide, open area.
Clearly visible in the sand outside the mouth of the cavern is a series of humanoid footprints headed west. It's hard to make out how many, but there appear to be at least four or five sets of prints.
Aglippa swears under her breath at the sight. She's seen stranger things underground, sure, but this is still all sorts of eerie.
"Dunnae if I'm a fan of all this."
She chews on the nail of her thumb for a moment before nodding towards the footprints.
"No way to go besides ahead."
"Well, that... certainly isn't good. Were there not tracks, and a missing Baine, I'd be investigating why and how there's a desert underground like this without magic."
"I'm wondering how they got past that tentacle thing without a fight. There is a lot here that does not make sense." Zaria opines.
Ba'hahk nods as he surveys what almost seems like an endless desert yet underground
"Guess we follow the tracks. And perhaps they are linked to the monster somehow or they have ways to be identified as allies"
Nodding, "I will follow behind you, Ba'hahk, careful we don't run into anymore quicksand traps,"
With that he slowly starts to make his way following the tracks
Aglippa strolls after, one hand ready to reach for her greatsword if needed.
"Nice, ordered line. If anyone feels like they're going to start sinking, shout out and we'll form a chain to drag ye out."
The team sets out after navigating the glue-like sands around where the ghelarn hunted, and leaves the cavern walls, working their way out into the seemingly immense sand-filled space. The path of footsteps heads north around a rocky outcropping, then turns back to the westerly line, heading that way as far as your light source reveals.
As you start to move westward, a movement at the edge of the dim light from Alpha-47s spell is barely visible. Moving toward you is what appears to be a skeleton of a humanoid creature, however, this skeleton has four arms ending in sharp claws and a strangely shaped head, clearly not human. Another soon appears out of the darkness, behind the first. The skeletal creatures moves unerringly toward you, seemingly with the intent to attack.
Skeletons in the Sand - Round 1
14 Ba'hahk
13 Karina
13 Alpha-47
10 Red Skeleton
10 Blue Skeleton
8 Zaria
6 Aglippa
Seeing the creatures and still some way out, not to mention not wanting to separate from the group, he snaps his fingers as an electric arc leaps between the two
Alpha-47 watches Ba'hahk take the lead, "Smart, let's whittle them down as they approach,"
Holding his hand outstretched, he launches a slew of needle darts into the lead skeleton.
Skeletons in the Sand - Round 1 - concluded
14 Ba'hahk
13 Karina
13 Alpha-47
10 Red Skeleton
10 Blue Skeleton
8 Zaria
6 Aglippa
Ba'hahk emits a blast of electrical energy that arcs from one skeleton to the other. Both are blasted completely apart as the cantrip does massive damage ending the fight before the undead can get close.
Alpha-47s data banks tell him that skeletal creatures usually do not have any weakness per se, but they can be damaged by vitality damage which usually heals living targets.
End of Combat
critical fail
critical fail
The smoking ruins of the four-armed skeletons lie smoking in the sand as the rescuers count their blessings the battle was over so quickly.
The orc blinks a couple of times as the skeletons simply explode in a shower of bones
"Unexpected. But a welcome sight"
"I say we continue back on the trail, I apologize that I didn't have much time to react."
After the strange skeletons are dispatched, the group continues following the path to the west, which is still clearly visible in the sand. As you head westward, an outcropping of rock soon appears to your left, disappearing into the darkness as it rises from the sand, you can't really see how big it is or how high it goes, but it seems very large.
Suddenly from the foot of that outcropping, two more four-armed skeletons move toward you, attracted unerringly by the light you carry.
Skeltons in the Sand, Part 2 - Round 1
22 Ba'hahk
22 Aglippa
18 Red Skeleton
15 Blue Skeleton
12 Alpha 47
10 Karina
8 Zaria
The orc does the same as before, not expecting the same result though
Charging into the fray might not be a smart idea; more skeletons might pop up from right under her, or she'll sink... Better let them come, she thinks.
"Don't think it's wise to charge into the sands. Could be we'd sink in if we go off the trail of the footprints."
Since she doesn't want to charge into the potentially dangerous sands, Aglippa merely readies her greatsword in fait and observes the skeletons. Maybe she can figure something out about their behavior.
Skeletons in the Sand, Part 2 - Round 1- continued
22 Ba'hahk
18 Red Skeleton
15 Blue Skeleton
22 Aglippa
12 Alpha 47
10 Karina
8 Zaria
Ba'hahk starts by blasting the same electrical energy that was so effective against the last cohort of four-armed skeletons, but this time, the effects are limited. Red Skeleton takes minimal damage, and Blue is not affected at all.
Red advances Aglippa with blows from two of its arms, but neither hits the sturdy dwarf.
Blue attacks Alpha after closing the distance.
success
Critical success
miss
miss
hit
hit
Zaria knows the crossbow won't do much against skeletons, so she switches ti her club.
She then moves to attack the closest of the skeletons to her.
for
Alpha-47 will cast guidance on Aglippa before striding backwards, tactically moving away from the skeletons that just hurt them.
"Careful, there claws are quite sharp,"
"I'll never break what isn't broken... well, until IT breaks that is." Karina sing-songs as she once again commands the lute to smack the skeleton, opting to go for bludgeoning damage this time.
With the skeleton closer and Zaria at her side, Aglippa moves to flank one of the skeletons, swinging with her greatsword. She's trying to figure out if any of the general adventuring knowledge she's gained over the years regading skeletons would apply to these strange four armed ones.
Skeletons in the Sand, Part 2 - Round 1- concluded
22 Ba'hahk
18 Red Skeleton (2hp dmg)
15 Blue Skeleton
22 Aglippa
12 Alpha 47 (7/17hp remain)
10 Karina
8 Zaria
Zaria swaps her bow for a club that should be more effective against skeletons. She moves to circle the Blue Skeleton with Aglippa, and then swings, but the bony foe blocks her club with its bare humerus, and there is no damage.
Alpha-47 gives divine guidance to Aglippa before stepping away from the undead creatures. He then tries to recall anything about them from his data banks. While he's never encountered creatures with four arms like these, he does recall that the bony nature of skeletons make them resistant to slicing and piercing damage, as well as cold, fire, and electricity.
Karina steps back from the adjacent undead, sending her active instruments to whack the Blue Skeleton. With a harmful blow, she is able to destroy Blue.
With Blue down, Aglippa turns her attack on Red, but her heavy swing misses connecting with the skeleton. She does recall a bit more about skeletons -- since they don't have flesh or brain, things that affect the body or central nervous system like mental, poison, disease, paralysis, and unconsciousness don't affect them at all. She has never encountered the multi armed undead either.
He strides over to the remaining skeleton and lashes out with a magical claw
Skeletons in the Sand, Part 2 - Round 2- continued
22 Ba'hahk
18 Red Skeleton (2hp dmg)
22 Aglippa
12 Alpha 47 (7/17hp remain)
10 Karina
8 Zaria
Ba'hahk advances while casting, and uses his magical claw in melee, unfortunately the arcane attack fails to connect with the bony foe, and no damage is dealt.
Red skeleton returns the favor, attack the orc druid. The first attack would slice the orc open, but Ba'hahk is just able to get his shield interposed, and saves his skin. The rest of the flailing attacks are misses. You all notice quite clearly that as the final skeleton begins to attack, its eye sockets light up with a bright green light -- none of you have seen that happen with skeletons before.
Zaria focuses on the skeleton for a moment, and then she moves and swings her club at it.
for and
And repeat (her routine will change up once I switch to the remaster... she can actually cast spells after that.)
Alpha-47 will draw his light hammer from the internalized compartment in his arm, stride to get a clear shot then aim and throw it at the nearest skeleton.
Skeletons in the Sand, Part 2 - Round 2 - concluded
22 Ba'hahk
18 Red Skeleton (2hp dmg)
15 Blue Skeleton
22 Aglippa
12 Alpha 47 (7/17hp remain)
10 Karina
8 Zaria
Strikes from Zaria, Karina, and Alpha-47 combine to be enough to destroy the remaining four-armed skeleton, ending the fight.
End of Combat