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Velas smiles as Teela hasn't lost her wit. "That's a very vivid picture ... that I can't get out of my head." Happy to move on to other topics, Velas agrees with Alvis. "After such a close call and multiple battles already fought, I think we should find a safe place to rest for the night and finish dealing with these gremlins at our best. I suggest we retrace out steps out of these tunnels and make camp a little ways from this tree."
"Come on, Teela. Stay with us." Velas holds his breath as the others tend to Teela. When it appears that Alvis' medicine and the potion from Graham will do just enough to keep Teela alive, Velas exhales loudly. "Phew, that was close. Too close." With little to do to help Teela, Velas keeps his eyes on their surroundings, wary that the gremlins will come after them.
As Alvis and Quintessa assist Teela, Velas keeps an eye on their surroundings, wary about more large crawling creatures.
Velas gathers himself and quickly stands up. As he twists and turns his fingers near his blade, Velas' magic mixes with the empowering magic of Quintessa. Then, he slashes across the beast's torso, aiming for the area he weakened previously. ◆ Stand
Embolden by Teela and empowered by Quintessa, Velas strikes at the centipede, conjures a shield to protect himself, and then draws in some of the stray magical energy to be unleashed in his next attack. ◆ Strike
Long weekend away. Going to catch up here ASAP.
Velas sees a potential opening to get within reach of the centipede, but it'll be tight. He hopes someone else can help Teela up. "Graham, Faen, help Teela. I'll fight off the crawler with Bucky." Velas exhales a deep breath in hopes to narrow himself and squeeze into the gap between Scarlet and the cave wall. Then, he thrusts his dueling sword at the centipede, his off-hand imbuing the blade with magic.
◆ Step
"This Sharptooth. Teela lens over whoever is nearest. "Anyone knows what it looks like?" "Don't think I heard Meepo describe it. I guess we'll just know it when we see it." After stretching a bit and making sure his equipment is ready, Velas turns to the group. "Ready to explore deeper into the cave? Graham, Bucky, one of your first perhaps?"
"I think Teela is right. We don't have a quarrel with Meepo and these kobolds, at least not yet. But I don't feel comfortable with freeing him until we are done exploring these root-filled caves."
Velas translates the conversation between the kobold and Quintessa. Then, he replies in Draconic. Spoiler: "Do you know where this Tartuk is? Deeper underground perhaps?"
"There's also the reward offered to 'slay or pacify the Sootscale kobolds.'" Velas clears his throat before continuing. "Perhaps, our opinion on these kobolds has changed now that we've encountered them. Perhaps this Tartuk is the true issue, along with these nasty and thieving mites." Velas eases his sword a few inches from its sheath before stowing it properly again. "If Teela, Quintessa, and Alvis can continue, I'm ready to continue. Preferably without getting stabbed too many times, but that might just be my lot in life!"
Velas looks down at his shirt and shrugs. "I only lost a shirt. I'll need to buy one when we get back to Oleg's. I'm good to continue searching for mites, but I defer to the group."
Between Teela's magical & mundane healing, and help from Alvis and Quintessa, the reminder of Velas' painful trip down the tree roots is his hole-filled and stained shirt. "I suppose it's time to see where the fleeing mites went off to. Maybe someone else should go first this time."
"What did I miss? Besides the stabbing and slicing..." she asks as she rolls over a dead mite with her foot. "Oh, just me becoming a pin cushion - like the one you'll be using to sew up Quintessa's dress, I imagine." Velas laughs as he look down at his shirt, which is in tatters. [/b]"Likely can't save the shirt, I imagine. Anyways, I need a rest for a few, and probably some of Alvis' bandages."[/b]
Oh, whoops. I think I forgot to subtract for the cramped quarters. And, 2 persistent bleed damage from Gouging Claw.
Velas strikes out at the mite between him and Graham, redirecting magical energy from his shield to the attack. Then he repositions to be closer to Alvis and Teela. He whips some blood from this lip and grimaces. "We got them right where we want them, right? ◆◆ Spellstrike
Velas gasps air back into his lungs. "Huh? What?" His eyes readjust and he sees boots, clawed feet, and Quintessa on the ground next to him. Clutching one of the many injures he suffered, he reaches for his sword, stands up, and runs to the other side of the room for some distance. ◆ Interact to grab sword
Heads up: I have a busy Labor Day weekend with the family. I hope to make time to get to this game but might not be able to.
Velas grunts in pain as he grabs his ribs, hoping to stem the flow of blood. "Yeowch! Not alone down here. Quick!" After trying to encourage his friends to come to his aid, Velas works on helping himself. A ball of light appears over his head and he gasps. "Lots of mites! Quick quick!" Then, he removes his bloody hand from his side and extends it in front of himself. A red-tinged shimmering shield appears in front of him. He breathes deeply to calm himself in the face of an unexpected mite horde. ◆◆ Cast Light
When Velas nears the bottom, he pauses to look and listen for signs of the cowardly mite who fled away from the previous battle. If nothing starts stabbing at him, he finishes climbing down and then attempts to hide among the roots while the others climb down. Once he's hidden, he uses Message to tell Teela that it's safe enough for the others to come down.
"Happy to go first. I should be able to get down quietly and maybe get the jump on whatever is down there." Velas takes a deep breath to calm any nerves and looks down the hole one last time, hoping to see the bottom. He smiles and winks at the group. "Last one down buys drinks at Oleg's!" he whispers and starts climbing down.
Velas quickly agrees with Bucky. "The other way down may be advantage. Let's double-back and head down the other tunnel."
Velas nods to Faen when she arrives. "Someone of us had more fun than others - Graham least of all. What do you make of our options to explore deeper down under the tree?" Without waiting for Faen to join, Velas creeps forward and peers down the hole where the mite escaped.
FWIW, I believe the last time we mentioned Faen, we said she was tying up the horses. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say that she was guarding the horses, but decided to venture underneath because she heard fighting.
Knowing that his wounds are less grievous than Graham's and that he knows next to nothing when it comes to healing, Velas stays far out of the way and keeps guard for other inhabitants of the tree's underground. "Stay strong, Graham. Alvis and the others will help get that poison out of you."
Velas draws some magical energy used to attack the previous creature to conjure a shield to protect him, and the magical energy continues to swirl around him as he hops lightly from one foot to the next. In a flash, he disappears and reappears near Graham with a centipede between them. ◆ Shield
@DM DoctorEvil: Thanks for running Velas for the first round. I should be more available again.
Hope that busy stretch wasn’t too stressful!
Last day of vacation is today and a long travel day back tomorrow. Might not be able to post until Monday.
After wiping the gore from his blade and examining the fallen creatures, Velas concurs with Scarlet. "Better to venture into the other path before heading down deeper. We haven't made a very stealthy entrance so whatever might be in that other direction may have heard us and could be ready to follow us down." Assuming no disagreements, Velas readies himself to take point again into the other area.
Staying quiet, Velas uses Teela's attempt at talking to these creatures as an opportunity to hide and stay out of sight. He squeezes into the nook that's out of view and tries to blend into the roots and other foliage.
Long travel day tomorrow to start a family vacation until the 10th. Still expect to check in, just might be slower than normal.
Velas chuckles and smirks as Scarlet refers to him as a leader. "Just because I'm the first one to climb down doesn't mean I'm the leader. Looks the same either way to me. May as well flip a coin." Velas pulls a single copper from his pouch and flips into the air, plucking it out of the air but stopping short of showing the result. "Crowns is east. Swords is west." Velas waits a moment to see if anyone objects to picking direction this way before revealing the result. Crowns or Swords:
Velas looks in between the vines and roots, shrugging nonchalantly. "With Teela's rope ladder and those roots, I don't think it'll be too difficult. I'll go down first." Velas gets on his hands and knees, peering down into the opening to see where he will end up. Once he feels confident enough that the ground isn't too far away and that a group of kobolds or worse aren't immediately visible, Velas starts the climb - remembering to cast Light on his armor first. "Whose next?" he says with a smirk.
Velas looks at Scarlet and Quintessa in surprise as they talk to the woods. "Do you expect the trees to talk to you? I sure hope not!" Teela seems to speak more plainly, at least to Velas "Elly did say that something lived underground. There must be an entrance somewhere." Velas doesn't immediately walk away though, and instead waits to make sure the group stays together.
Velas whistles softly in surprise at the size of the tree. "Elly said the tree was large, but I assumed he was exaggerating." Joining Scarlet, he looks around the area for signs of tracks or discarded valuables. When Scarlet calls out in his sing-song voice that he's found a corpse, Velas motions to Alvis. "I don't have an eye for injuries. Maybe you can tell how they died." While Alvis and anyone else look over the body, Velas keeps a wary eye on the surrounding area. "Where there's death, there's usually more."
"Hasty was the incorrect choice of phrase. My apologizes, Graham. I mainly said that to remind myself to avoid running off without the support the group. I forget that sometimes."
Velas enjoys the friendly banter back and forth, but stays quiet while the other converse - not sure when to interject and with what topic. He does, however, interject when Alvis brings up fighting tactics. "You are correct that we could stand to improve our tactics as a group. While it has been some time since Faen and I joined the group, we are still learning how each other works in a fight and how the pieces fit. Perhaps one change is for Graham and I to stop being so hasty to take the fight to our enemy. That would give Alvis, Teela, and Quintessa an opportunity to help set the stage."
Velas rummages around his pack for some dry clothes and finds a relatively private area of the cave for a quick change. Then he lays out his wet clothes so they might dry out overnight. "I'm glad we aren't stuck outside during this storm. Well spotted, Scarlet. I need to tend to drying these clothes. Happy to take an early watch tonight."
Plus, having 4 Heal’s just based on being a cleric is a lot of healing already. BUT, you pick your spells as you see fit.
As The Scarlet Knight identifies shelter for the party to wait out the storm, Velas looks for a good place to tie up the horses and keep them from getting too frightened.
Busy weekend coming up. Might not have time for an in-character post. Velas would agree with the idea to head south along one of the rivers.
Velas laughs along with Graham at his playful antics. "Ha! Before for you to take me down like that than for it to happen for real. Definitely good to practice against such tactics given bandits seem to be a continued threat." After the sparring matches and training exercises are complete, Velas finds Oleg to purchase a repair kit and then finds a quiet corner to start repairing the Scarlet Knight's shield.
He doesn't seem to make much progress over roughly 10 minutes of work, likely due to new tools. After taking a walk around the fort to clear his head, he tries again.
Welcome back Faen!
Faen, glad you are back. Hope IRL stuff wasn't too terrible. FWIW, I'd be up for a 7 person party. Likely makes it easier to more fluidly deal with the inevitable absences due to vacations, etc.
Velas agrees with Quintessa's remarks about the ring. "Speaking of Svetlana's ring, I just remembered what that bandit Elly said. Alvis is right - the ring was stolen from them. Apparently by some 'grelins' that live under a big sycamore tree. Elly said it was east of their camp. Seems like our next best lead. Following the river, like Quintessa and Teela said, is a safe bet." Velas nods at the suggestions to use today as a recovery and planning day. "Plus, our new friend needs to get back on his feet. Let me see that shield, sir. Does it need repair?"
With news from The Scarlet Knight that he may have come across bandits from the same group, Velas suggests that he join them in searching the area. "Once you are ready for travel, your previous run-in with those bandits may help us find another bandit camp." Velas turns to the others to see how they feel about that suggestion. "Perhaps we want to start our next excursion by heading slightly south of here and then back to the east? There is a lot of ground to cover, but we may just find more bandits."
Glad you back. Hope your family situation ends up well!
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