"Now, let's begin, now what are these creatures," Karina says as she begins playing, her music marred by two notes, one sharp, and one flat, as electricity arcs off of Luther's head, and onto the two beetles (Green and Red) in front of her. She then reasons that she can't be seen raising her shield, so she decides to recall what she knows about these creatures.
Ba'hahk dives into the filthy water, swimming as fast as he could to catch up to his comrades, though much smaller than he usually is
Entry Cavern - Round 1 -continued
26 Green Beetle
26 Red Beetle
25 Ba'hahk (outside on the shore)
24 Zaria (14hp dmg)
16 Karina
15 Yellow Beetle
13 Blue Beetle
11 Alpha-47 (sickened, in the water)
6 Anri
Ba'hahk transforms into a small aquatic mammal and leaps into the odious water, making good time with his powerful tail and streamlined body.
Suffering from a pair of serious wounds, Zaria is undeterred. She steps up beside one of the beetles, but targets a farther away insect. Her aim is straight and true, and she kills the bug with her first deadly shot.
Karina spins up a spell that sends arcing electricity between the two nearer beetles. Both seem to avoid the worst of the blast, but each takes damage regardless.
With Yellow Beetle obliterated, its just Blue Beetle left to act for the monsters. It advances across the beach and takes a bit also at Zaria, who is out front. The first bite also penetrates Zaria's skin, causing further damage, but the second attack misses.
Alpha-47, struggling to continue swimming, tries to push through the fetid water.
Alpha struggles to swim through the water.
Entry Cavern - Round 1 - concluded
Alpha-47 is having a really hard time in the tainted pond water. In addition to being sickened, he struggles to make any progress swimming as the noxious water seems to choke and gag him just when he thinks he's making progress. Splashing and struggling, he only makes it about 10' closer to the cave opening.
Inside, Anri shouts out at the assault of the insects. "For the Inheritor!" clashes the hilt of his blade against his shield, and advances into the fray. The holy weapon of his patron slips from his grip with the first strike, but he recovers gracefully and makes a second strike that cuts through the outer carapace of Red Beetle, killing it.
End of Round 1
Entry Cavern - Round 2
26 Green Beetle (3hp dmg)
25 Ba'hahk (in otter form)
24 Zaria (17hp dmg)
16 Karina
13 Blue Beetle
11 Alpha-47 (sickened, in the water)
6 Anri
Green Beetle turns to Anri and makes a series of biting attacks against the shield-carrying champion. Only one bite finds purchase doing minimal damage.
Karina sends out yet another arc of electricity at the two remaining beetles, as her notes slightly sour as the electricity courses through the lute and towards the two creatures. She then raises her shield, her playing augmented by her familiar as she plays the familiar with merely one hand.
Zaria moves forward onto the beach, reloads, and fires at the trailing beetle.
Entry Cavern - Round 2 - concluded
Sending another bolt of energy from her performance, Karina jolts both the bugs, though Blue seems to avoid most of the shock. Green is not so fortunate, and is turned into a fried husk - killed by the blast.
Hurt but not down, Zaria circles behind the remaining bug, and looses a bolt at it, scoring a direct hit, and killing the last of the insectile enemies.
End of Combat
Ba'hahk swims over to Zaria before taking on his normal form, casting healing on her to help with her wounds
Karina continues playing as the glowing gland of one of the creatures slowly, but surely, slinks to her side as she picks it and examines it as she stops playing. Luther feels... worried about using the patron's powers so directly, but they've used them far more openly when fighting in the past to get to Torch; as a result, it's deemed acceptable to use them when fighting, but only when fighting.
"Hm. I thought these bugs were some poisonous variety, but I'm probably wrong given how they glow. None of you seem poisoned right now, right? "
As the gland moves, the water around it, and Karina even more so, seems to grow much colder, but the pollutants, thankfully stop the water from freezing outright and giving away what side-effect her hexes have.
"Thank you." Zaria says to Ba'hahk and then shakes her head to Karina. "They were not venomous."
"I apologise for being late. I simply wanted to make sure we had no unwanted tails." he apologises to the whole group
Alpha-47 continues to struggle to swim the rest of the way towards the group.
Thinking to himself, I probably should have learned to swim before today, though it seems my body remembers the motions of it after a time
Swimming past the others, joining Zaria on dry land. Alpha-47 purges his body of the toxic water, repeatedly. Looking Zaria and the others in the eyes, "Necessary to expel the poison water," Looking around at the rest of the cave, and its now dead denizens, "Locals did not take kindly to our entrance it looks like,"
Alpha-47 continues to struggle to swim the rest of the way towards the group.
Thinking to himself, I probably should have learned to swim before today, though it seems my body remembers the motions of it after a time
Swimming past the others, joining Zaria on dry land. Alpha-47 purges his body of the toxic water, repeatedly. Looking Zaria and the others in the eyes, "Necessary to expel the poison water," Looking around at the rest of the cave, and its now dead denizens, "Locals did not take kindly to our entrance it looks like,"
As the party recovers from the initial fight, Ba'hahk channeling some of nature's power into renewing Zaria and restoring her wounds, they get a real chance to look around at the entry cavern. A five-foot embankments stands to the west with stalagmites growing out of the top. It looks like it might take a climb to ascend it. Additionally, the water, which is still quite chemical-smelling and odious, wends around to the northwest, around a corner that can't be seen from the beach easily. The water here is shallower, around knee-deep. There are several scorch marks on the beach, as if a fire had recently burned in several different places along the sandy shore.
Eventually, Alpha-47 arrives inside the tunnel to join the others, heaving and retching from his extend time in the noxious pond. If it's possible for an android to look a little green, Alpha does now.
"Glad you can make it, Alpha, unless we want to sit around here and refocus, I say the northern path should be where this group should travel next," Karina says as she tries in vain to weave in flowery language.