"Aye, the lady has the right of it. We've buried enough today" Belg said as his fingers slowly danced in the shadows, moving rocks as if they were puppets on strings.
Readied Earth Blast:
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Belg waited for the others to move forward as he fell into his normal position in the rear. As they walked ahead towards the rusted door, Belg paused and looked back over his shoulder. He couldn't help but feel like they had missed something. And what of the other mongrelmen that had helped them. Should they go back and let them know what they had accomplished. Would they assume they had simply failed if they didn't return? He shrugged and turned back towards the rusted door, following the others forward. It was true that the sooner they returned to the surface, the sooner they could discover the fate of Kenebras, and the sooner he could see the wardstone or what was left of it.
Howdy. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Belg will gestalt into a rock/stone/earth based class of some kind, possibly druid, Hunter, or maybe even stone shaman should one brave soul allow us an opportunity to continue. He's basically an Earth Bender. I mean, how cool is that right? And we have our own angel! What's not to love?
I'm still here. Ain't goin' no where.
Belg was somewhat used to being in the back of the line and he had dwarven patience. You didn't spend a lifetime building something only to get annoyed when it didn't sell in minutes. Still, this was different. This was combat, and not being able to see the foe was aggravating, especially for a dwarf. He tried to shuffle around to get a better view and at one point, when he thought no one was looking, even stood up on his tippy-toes, all to no avail. He harumphed quite loudly and began summoning the dirt and rocks around him in case he needed them. If given an opportunity to strike, he didn't want to waste it.
Readied Earth Blast:
Maintaining his stance near the hole, Belg shoo'd the others onward towards the ladder. "Alright ye alls, get going. I'll follow as soon as the rest of you are up."
"I'll watch the hole, then bring up the rear if that door leads somewhere." Belg walked over to stand near the hole, but not yet close enough to peer in. With his warhammer hefted in one hand, he stood by patiently... "Alright, get a move on now. Times a wastin'" ...well, patiently for a dwarf that is.
"Eldric's right. Any door's as good as the next. Start with the eastern door. Save the ladder for last."
"Sabrina, are you feeling up to clearing that northern room that the cultists came out of? Take Griffin with you. Eldric and I will cover you from out here and hold against these other doors." "Edmund, can you tell what this wand does? What about these potions?"
Standing over the last of the fallen mongrelmen, Belg slowly eyes the bodies. He knelt down next to the archer's corpse and began removing her armored shirt. It took him a minute but he eventually slipped it off of her. Holding it up in front of himself, he examined it, flipping it this way and that. "Well made, this is. I wonder if they made these themselves" he wondered with slight admiration. He looked around at his companions to see if any of them would benefit from one and shrugged. He began stripping off his own hide shirt and replacing it with the stronger chain one. He tossed the hide shirt onto the archer's body, discarding it nonchalantly. Checking the other bodies as well, he leans down and picks a dagger off of one. He ties the sheath to his belt muttering something about needing a good knife. It's then that he notices the unholy symbols. "Sabrina" he called out. "Do you recognize these symbols? Kinda odd for cultists of different gods to be working together...ain't it?"
Charging into the remaining mongrelman, Belg brought his warhammer across the things chest. He could hear the hammer crush bone as it connected.
Stomping forward into the middle of the room, Belg took up a position next to the eastern door. He hoped that the northern room was empty since some cultists had already exited it, but he wasn't sure about the other doors. With the lone remaining foe in battle with Griffith, he decided to try to end the melee quickly. He reached down to grab a rock and hurled it towards the archer.
Dragging his foot across the cave floor as he walked over to Edmund, Belg moved dirt into a pile. With his hand hovering above the pile, he clenched his fist, summoning the dirt into his palm. He quickly raised his arm at the remaining cultist sending a hard glob of packed dirt hurling towards her head.
Stepping back away from the cultist, Belg summoned the earth around him, his hand calling out to the great mother. Rocks and stones began swirling around his outstretched hand until he released them at the cultist in front of him.
Block initiative is what I personally use. Roll initiative for the bad guys in groups, most combats this will be the same number. For example, goblins go on 15. PC's try to beat the 15 initiative. Those that do get to go before the goblins. Those that don't have to go after. This doesn't hamper sneak attackers or initiative builds and doesn't slow things down very much at all. In those rare fights with multiple types or different initiatives, use an average or the higher of the two. These will happen less in most campaigns but may still come up frequently in this one, such as in the current fight. In block initiative, winning initiative only really matters in the first round and then it becomes us vs. them. I typically resolve in order people posted but I've seen others that resolve in initiative order. Whatever your preference.
Holding his ground, Belg wrapped his second hand around the warhammer. He hefted it up high and brought it down on the lizard. For an instant, he had brief flashbacks to his mining days, as if the warhammer was a mining pick and he was chipping away at a rock wall.
Rushing forward into the room, Belg "humpprhh's as he went. Once inside, he quickly moved to the south to clear the doorway for the others. Scooping up a handful of dirt from the cave floor, he held his closed fist up to his mouth and blew hard, sending clumps of dirt flying towards the nearest mongrelman.
I am still here, although I don't have any buff up type actions to take.
With the two guards down, Belg rushed forward to stand next to Sabrina. Warhammer in hand, he looked back at the others and waved them forward. With their shield line formed, everyone would need to be in position to fire a volley when the doors opened.
The tunnel was narrow enough that Belg could hear the bow string reverberating off of the the passage walls. He rushed forward to stand next to Eldric, drawing his warhammer as he moved. Taking care to not run out into the open, he stopped shy of the cavern and with his shoulder on the rock wall, peered around the corner, careful to keep as much of the rock wall between him and the defenders. With one hand still holding the warhammer, his other hand opened wide, palm towards the floor. His eyes darkened slightly as bits of dirt and debris began to swirl around under his outstretched hand. Suddenly, his hand clenched into a fist and the pebbles gathered together like a snowball formed from ice crystals. He hurled the floating stones with a simple flick of his wrist and through the air it flew as one big rock towards one of the defenders.
"Alright Eldric. Get going now. I'll count to 10 and then Sabrina and I will follow and the rest behind us. Now, don't go tryin' to be a hero lad. We gotta work together on this. We don't know how manys they got in there, so stay close. Don't get separated. Alright lad, on your way." Belg's tone was one of earnest sincerity, like a father talking to his son before he went off to do something dangerous.
The order works for me as well.
I'm mostly back, been getting over pneumonia for close to two weeks now.
Belg stood to the rear of the group, letting the more diplomatic speak on his behalf. He pondered it all quietly, letting it all sink in. While he appreciated the support of the mongrelmen, he wondered how well they would be received. The citizens above, if any remained alive, would need all the help they could get, even if they didn't recognize friend from foe at first. It would be up to them all to see that the delineation was clear. "Agreed. We should set out at once. We must get to the wardstone. If these traitors are all that stands between us and the wardstone, they will have to be dealt with."
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Elemental Whispers - Level 1; Burn 0 - You form a friendship with a fragment of your element. The element speaks back to you empathically, like a familiar. Pick a type of creature usually allowed as a familiar when you gain this wild talent. You gain the Alertness feat and the special abilities granted by a familiar of that type. As a standard action, you can give the voice of the element the body of such a creature, using elemental matter of the appropriate element within 30 feet. As long as you concentrate, the familiar can take actions as a normal animal of its type, and it can move any distance away from you, though if it takes any damage or you cease concentrating, it returns to your mind. You lose Alertness while the familiar is manifested in this way. The familiar gains abilities as usual for a familiar of its type, though it never gains the ability to speak with animals of its kind. Flesh of Stone - Level -; Burn 0 - Your skin hardens like stone, dampening the impact of most attacks. You gain DR 1/adamantine. This DR increases by 1 for every 2 kineticist levels you possess beyond 2nd. By accepting 1 point of burn, you can increase the DR by 1 until the next time your burn is removed, to a maximum DR equal to your kineticist level. Whenever you accept burn while using an earth wild talent, the energy surging through you causes your damage reduction to change from DR/adamantine to DR/— for 1 round. You can dismiss and restore this effect as an immediate action.
"So much death and devastation... Hopefully your theories will prove helpful once we get topside, but yeah, now's not the time. What else did you suspect was happening? What templars? Why even infiltrate the Crusaders at all? The wardstone. Who did you tell this to?"
"Just how many tribes are down here?" Belg asked as he looked up at the cave ceiling. "Nothing we can do for them now, they're already buried. Besides, we can talk while we walk."
"Here girl, stay with Sarah while we check this out" Belg said as he passed Avenia over to Sarah. He slowly approached the scouts but was careful enough to stay back enough to give them adequate room. Looking at Eldric he said "come on lad, we'll cover them 'case its a trap." After a moment, Belg called out "so? Is it safe?" The shy, silent type he was not.
I don't know what you're talking about. I hear plenty of voices.
"Spore cougher? Don't think I've ever heard of one of those. Well, whatever it is, I won't allow it to stop me from getting to the wardstone. Let's go. Spread out, don't get clumped together."
"Alright, we're all here and accounted for, no worse for the wear. Lann, lead on. The sooner we get to someplace safe, the sooner we can rest." Belg's stomach took that moment to speak up and remind the dwarf that he hadn't eaten in a while. "Hopefully we can eat too."
"Maybe some of yous should go first. I can anchor the rope well enough and it looks like Eldric here can fly. Yous guys gets to the bottom and we'll bring up the rear" Belg offered, looking at Eldric for confirmation or objection.
"I gots some rope in me pack..." Belg said as he slowly approached the edge of the cavern "but I don't know if it'll be enough. That looks like quite the ways. Hey, any of yous magic-users can summon lights or something? Anyone else gots some rope? Not even sure how we'll get out the utter side. Yous sure there ain't another way around? Another tunnel?"
"Come on Horgus. We gotta gets somewhere and a bed sounds better than this hard ground don't it? We'll get ya home. Just remember, ya can't always pick who gets to help ya. You're right. We don't know what we're doing or where we going, but we're tryin'. If yous gots any ideas, now's the time to share'em." Truth be told Belg preferred to sleep on the ground no matter how hard it was. He felt a connection to the earth and no bed would ever comfort him the way the ground would. Still, he knew enough that most others didn't agree with him on this particular point. Turning his attention to the cavern and their guides, "so yous gots names or what?"
"Neathholm? Just how many of yous is down here?" Belg asked. He looked down at the ground. "Just what else aren't you telling me mother?" he whispered under his breath.
"Aye lad, as he says. The mother wrapped her arms around us and shielded us from the destruction above. She must have protected yous too. The demons have returned to lay waste to the cities above. Do ye not know all this?" As he spoke, Belg set Avenia down and walked over to help lift the stone.
Eventually, Belg stirred, climbing to his feet. He pocketed the dead dwarf's dagger and slung the light crossbow over his shoulder. "Split up the rest. Bring whatcha need. It'll help him no more."
Belg approached the still form of the dwarf and sat down next to the body. Something about the dwarf spoke to Belg. How many had thought him to be crazy? How close had he been to losing himself and lashing out at any that may try to help him? The differences between the two of them were immeasurable. Belg felt a kinship to this dwarf, even more so than others of their kind.
"Your works? Did you make these statues? Impossible!"
Belg blushed and looked down at his feet. "Uh, I'll try, but me own kin don't take to kindly to me." He shuffled forward, trying to muster what to say. "Hey lad, don't run off. We needs ye help. We'ze ain't here to hurts ya."
With his free hand, Belg picked up a handful of dirt. He squeezed it tightly, trying to keep as much of it as he could from running through his fingers. He took aim and threw it towards the remaining cave octopus, but the dirt was too loose-packed and did not form the way it should have. As it left his hand, it scattered into a fine mist and dissipated harmlessly.
"Hmmpphhh. Needed more spit" he grumbled.
Belg was the last one to leave the reclaimed temple. He lingered as the rest pressed on until finally he had to part ways with the ancient shrine. Who knows how long it had been down here. Who knew how long it would be until eyes laid sight on it again. With the warhammer in one hand he rushed after the others. Once he caught up to the group, he slipped up to Avenia and once again lent her his shoulder. Coming upon the chamber and the statues spoke to Belg on a different level. It had been years, decades even since he had seen such craftsmanship. Whoever had sculpted these took great care and spent much time in a place long forgotten, but why? The why was mostly lost on Belg though. The stone was more important to him than anything else. I...Yes mother. I think I am beginning to understand why I am here...why we're all here."
"And why do you suppose the demons only managed to kill half, eh lad? The gods, that's why. You think demons are some little children that you can shoe off with your fancy words?" Belg took a few steps toward Horgus. "Nay, they rival the heavens for power. We shoulda died with the rest, but the gods saw fit to intervene, saw fit to save us. I don't know why, but the least we can do is have faith and try to restore some semblance of order amongst this chaos." He breathed a deep breath and it seemed to steady him some. He retreated away from the man, his peace said and his own duty clear. Now if he could just remember that damn prayer. As he paced, he accepted the hammer from Griffith. He tested the weight in his hands, gave it a few swings before smiling. "Thank ye lad. Tis a fine weapon. Now let's see what we can get fixed. Probably should eat too while we have a moment."
As Edmund offered up his services, Belg nodded. "I'd be most grateful"
"Don't be absurd lass, of course I'm going to clean up the shrine. Although it has been some time since I needed to remember any of the specific rituals for such an ordeal, but Torag has always been more about effort than ceremony." Belg began to blush a little. "Still, if uh, if anyone remembers any specific prayers...or uh, ahem, any uh proper protocols, well...I'd be grateful for any help." Staring at the ground as he finished, Belg was clearly uncomfortable asking for help.
Heading west towards the cave wall, Belg half-carried, half-drug Avenia with him. With his free hand, he began to swirl his finger around as if he was stirring a bowl of soul. Slowly at first, then gaining speed and strangely enough, the dirt on the ground started to swirl too, as if a tiny whirlwind was kicking up dust right in that very spot. Finally he raised his arm, palm out towards the fly, and the pebbles and debris flew through the air towards the fly.
"Now don't you fret none las, no harm done. Besides, you're right. Abandoned buildings underground means something musta happened to make them so. And what's that stupid ringin' again?"
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