Manai's morningstar connects with Artival's back for 6 points, while Badru's horse manages to bite itself rather badly, for 10 points. Rhianna's Scorching Ray tears a large hole in the moth's right wing, and the air fills with a pungent smell. In rage, the moth drops down and bites Rhianna for 6 points of damage, while its tentacles flail about wildly.
Thanks to Tika's soothing music, you can all act freely this round. Just post away, people.
Manai:
Tika continues to play the harmonica to try and keep the drone from affecting anyone
Perform wind instrument
Rhianna screams in pain as the moth's mandibles sink into her; she seems unaccustomed to the experience, and she stumbles backward away from the monster, raising a forefinger to the sky, thumb bent at the first knuckle. As though her hand were on a hinge, she rotates the finger down toward the moth, shouting, "Vefo uslou jeyse!"
After defending himself from the attack from Manai, Artival composes himself and instinctively points his left hand at the creature. Following his pointed finger, a streak of lightning bursts forth along that same route.
to hit
damage, if attack hits
"Thanks for the song, cousin!"
Roylenna forms a funnel with her tiny hands, directed up and out toward the beast. "Igneus!" With the command, a short cone of fire springs from her hands, partially engulfing the creature for just a split second.
Rhianna's magic missiles hit the creature squarely in the face, but it's not slowing down measurably. Swerving to avoid Artival's bolt of lightning the Moth sways and takes instead the full blast from Roylenna's hands.
Ka'kara, Mahaffy, Badru have still to act. The moth's future is looking bleak. As it gets close you can't avoid noticing the skull-like pattern on its back. A foul stench is seeping out of the wounds in its head.
After clearing his head a bit Badru raises his shield and draws his scimitar as he circles around the moth. Timing his strike with the beat of the creatures wings he drives in with a mighty roar attempting to pierce its side.
As the moth approaches the barbaric woman's smile widens as she flings the wrap around her greatsword away. Her unleashed fury reaching the surface and twisting her features from the smile into a seething grimace of death. Releasing a battle scream she brings her great-blade in a wide overhand sweep (coming uncomfortably close to those near the moth) crashing into the fluttering creature....
....As the blade whizzes through the air, the sudden vision of the skull in front of her makes her eyes widen as she falters and she hisses out, "By the spirits!"
Mahaffy to the rescue !
Ka'kara stumbles and Mahaffy's bolt goes wide. Seeing Rhianna back off, the monster turns its wrath onto Roylenna, who is grazed for 3 points of damage and needs to make a Fortitude save (DC 16) as the tentacles strafe her.
You may take another round of actions.
Her initial swing knocking her off balance she pulls the back-swing too early for fear of hitting Lenna.
Casting a glance over his shoulder to be sure the one known as Manai had her wits about her, Artival again tries to hit the winged creature with his electrical ray. Again, he points his finger in the monster's direction, and a streak of lightning bursts forth.
To hit
Damage
Bardic music
Attack (rapier)
Damage
Tika takes a swing with her rapier Unfortunately this action seems to make her miss a note on her harmonica.
Ka'kara stumbles and Mahaffy's bolt goes wide. Seeing Rhianna back off, the monster turns its wrath onto Roylenna, who is grazed for 3 points of damage and needs to make a Fortitude save (DC 16) as the tentacles strafe her.
Fortitude save
"I don't feel so good..."
The moment her spell for Tika is finished Manai lets out a sharp, scraping gasp as her body goes unnaturally rigid and bent; her back arches, her head is thrown back and she stares with wide, horrified eyes at the sky for a few brief, trembling moments before finally doubling over and pressing her hand to her mouth to stop herself from wretching.
Letting out a sob, still reeling from the vision, Manai pulls herself togeter to help the strangers whose names she barely even knows. Staying out of range of the creature's attacks as much as she can, Manai repeats the spell, only directing it at Ka'kara this time.
For a moment, Rhianna is distracted by Roylenna's comment. "Ah, yes," she murmurs, "the tentacles are poisoned. I believe the symptoms are muscular rigor; not true paralysis, the effect more closely resembles a sustained seiz- OW!" She suddenly jerks forward, as if something as poked her in the back of the neck, and her hand moves as though to grab something in her hood. She stops though, then shakes her head and narrows her eyes at the giant moth. A flicker of silver-white energy races toward it, a mirror to the pair of such motes her last spell produced, and the moth bleeds again.
Moving swiftly so that he is on the other side the creature from Ka'kara and the others Badru does his best to distract it. Coming in for a quick swipe at its posterior but only grazes the thing.
"We have to surround it! Hit it from all sides! Keep it off balance!"
Under the combined assault of Badru and Rhianna the monster's other wing is torn and it crashes to the ground, only to be hacked to pieces by you. As the moth shudders, it releases a cloud of noxious vapors that leave all of you that are adjacent to the creature retching helplessly for a few rounds, before you recover. Roylenna is paralysed, but it wears off in a few minutes.
As you approach the group before you, it is soon evident that most of them are beyond your help. There is only one survivor, a young man in leather armor with curly hair and strangely enough two stubby horns jutting out of his forehead. He is paralysed but looks otherwise unhurt.
Rhianna's left arm dangles, and she suddenly sags, looking pale. "So... that is what fighting for one's life is like. An... interesting experience. My perceptions were oddly skewed, as though experiencing a simultaneous time compression and dilation effect, and now it seems as though the details of the event are fading from my memory in its aftermath. Moreover..."
"Moreover," says Jobe, coming out from her hood again, "you're talking to yourself again." He fluffs his feathers and gives her a sideways look. As she seems ready to start babbling again, he looks quickly around and says, "Say, why does that man there have horns?"
"Horns?" blinks Rhianna, her train of thought derailed. She turns and quickly heads toward him, color flooding back into her face and even her arm moving more easily. (Jobe sighs quietly.)
Ka'kara smiles, "You all slew the thing without much help from me. A good omen for handling whatever else lies in our path." Collecting her javelin she looks over the remains of the moth creature still unsure what to make of it, apparently trusting in Roylenna and the others to see to the survivor.
"Artival is it? Let me take a look at you," Badru examines the wound on Artival's back. "Doesn't appear to be any real damage." Laying hands on Artival's back Badru murmurs a prayre to Saranrae. With a quick look at Manai he smiles at Artival,"And next time keep an eye on your back."
"And how about you little one? Head still hurt?" He passes a hand over Roylenna's head whispering to Saranrae.
Moving over to where Rhianna is talking to the survivor, "Rhianna? Are you ok?" He touches her shoulder lightly.
"Wow, thank you, Chosen of Saranrae," Artival said after receiving healing from the paladin, trying to disguise the fact that he couldn't remember the fellow's first name at the moment. That shot from the morningstar had shaken him up a bit.
"Be careful with that thing, my dear," he said stretching and twisting his back, still very sore from the hit he had taken from Manai.
Manai sags to her knees, breathing in short, ragged gasps as she beholds the dead creature before her. The sight of its now unmoving tentacles gives her a flashback and a wave of sickness overwhelms her that has nothing to do with the gas. She ripps the veil off of her face, revealing milky white eyes with only the barest hint of iris and pupil, and sicks up noisily.
Bent over, clutching the holy symbol of Pharasma hung from a string around her neck, with tears dripping down her nose, she babbles with a sob. "Ya...fa'gnt mnugh knag't...fa'gnt mnugh knag't!"
"And how about you little one? Head still hurt?" He passes a hand over Roylenna's head whispering to Saranrae.
Roylenna slowly regains movement in her limbs and falls to her hands and knees, weak from the combination of effects on her tiny body. She gives the paladin a grateful look. "Thank you, Badru. You should know, I have some limited healing ability - a gift from a long-ago ancestor -- you do not need to care for my bumps and bruises if there are others in pain. But thank you. What was that thing?"
Looking over at the formerly-veiled woman, she says, "Is she going to be OK?"
Rhianna:
Badru:
After a while both Roylenna and the horned man stir. The man smiles endearingly at you. At these close quarters he looks not much more than a boy. "Whew, that was close. It's funny, that kind of beast shouldn't be here. They are rare enough underground. Something is afoot here, mark my words. Benny, ah, poor Benny, even claims he saw a tentacled pig the other day. But everybody knows there is no such thing."
Suddenly he seems to remember something and interrupts his own monologue. "But where are my manners? Chip's the name, folks. Chip of the old block, as my father used to say." His pealing laughter fills out the conspicuous silence after his abominable pun. The grisly demise of his companions doesn't seem to get to him at all.
Rhianna:** spoiler omitted **
Badru:** spoiler omitted **
After a while both Roylenna and the horned man stir. The man smiles endearingly at you. At these close quarters he looks not much more than a boy. "Whew, that was close. It's funny, that kind of beast shouldn't be here. They are rare enough underground. Something is afoot here, mark my words. Benny, ah, poor Benny, even claims he saw a tentacled pig the other day. But everybody knows there is no such thing."
Suddenly he seems to remember something and interrupts his own monologue. "But where are my manners? Chip's the name, folks. Chip of the old block, as my father used to say." His pealing laughter fills out the conspicuous silence after his abominable pun. The grisly demise of his companions doesn't seem to get to him at all.
"Oh! I have seen a tentacled pig! It was nasty and mean and ugly, but it tasted good with a little seasoning! I can tell you it certain was real."
"Umm, I guess that was on this road, but closer to the pass. My friends and I were escorting a little old lady to market." There's a definite twinkle in her eye as she says this, but it is hard to tell if it is the memory or something else that makes her smile.
After examining the bodies Badru turns to Chip,"Where were you headed when you were attacked?"
"We had heard rumors about some lost city hereabouts", Chip answers. "There is usually some nice loot in those, and also stuff for a tale or two. But that won't be happening now. Oh well." He giggles nervously.
"Say, do you mind if I help myself to my companions's items? They won't be of any help to them now anyway, and I could give them back to their relatives. Of course there are a few things that I can't really carry and that might be valuable. Ephrem had a nice shiny breastplate there and Shalila had a magic mace that she was always bragging about. They are yours if you want them."
Undaunted, he proceeds to loot his fallen comrades.
Tika mumbles something about looting a comrades body ruining a good story whilst making some more notes in her journal
"We had heard rumors about some lost city hereabouts", Chip answers. "There is usually some nice loot in those, and also stuff for a tale or two. But that won't be happening now. Oh well." He giggles nervously.
"Say, do you mind if I help myself to my companion's items? They won't be of any help to them now anyway, and I could give them back to their relatives. Of course there are a few things that I can't really carry and that might be valuable. Ephrem had a nice shiny breastplate there and Shalila had a magic mace that she was always bragging about. They are yours if you want them."
Undaunted, he proceeds to loot his fallen comrades.
Roylenna listens to him and watches him, speechless.
Artival watches the scene unfold, listening to the survivor's story. "Well, I'm not too proud to swing a mace, if no one else wants to use it," he says. "It could always come in handy in a tight spot."
"Thanks Chip, we could use the help," he says, waiting for him to point out the weapon he described.
Rhianna perks up at the mention of a magic weapon; she seems oblivious to the peculiarity of Chip's behavior. "Ooh, an ensorceled mace? Might I examine it?"
The mace is magical, the breastplate is not (although it is masterwork). The mace radiates faint transmutation, but Rhianna doesn't recognize it. The only other magical auras are items you are carrying and a few bulges in Chip's pockets (presumably potions).
"Are you able to figure out the properties of the mace," Artival asks the mage. "That is something I have never figured out how to do."
Rhianna frowns, brow furrowed. "No..." she says slowly, "it's a manifestation I'm unfamiliar with. The field manifold corresponds to a transmutation expression, but I don't recognize the specific waveform." She sighs in frustration.
"Could you identify an axe for me ?
It is cursed . It seems we can't strike anyone alive with it but I used it before on a skeleton without any problem .
So it could be useful where we are going "
Leaving his new found camrades to play vulture over the recently deceased Badru approaches Roylenna. Keeping his voice low so as not to be over heard,
After properly distributing and identifying the loot, I suppose you will want to stay a night at the Roadside Inn in order to replenish your health and spells. Do you have any plans for the assault? And will you bid Chip goodbye or do you invite him to join you?
Leaving his new found camrades to play vulture over the recently deceased Badru approaches Roylenna. Keeping his voice low so as not to be over heard
Roylenna goes over to the formerly veiled woman to see how she is doing. She will help her get herself together, if necessary, and ask, "Are you felling better? That moth seems to have really bothered you!"
'
'
Ka'kara agrees that resting before facing the undead would be a good idea due to Lenna's vivid descriptions that she takes quite seriously. However, she does rouse people at the break of dawn to get an early start, "We need to take advantage of all the daylight we can. Dark spirits strengthen in the twilight hours. Come."
"Five more minutes" Tika mumbles from where she is lying still half asleep
Roylenna winks at the barbarian, "Ka'kara, I don't think she wants us reading those just yet. No, Ka'kara! Not so close to the fireplace!"
She covers her mouth to stiffle any errant giggles, watching to see Tika's reaction.
The sorceror had been up a little later than his companions investigating the magics in the mace he had procured from Chip. He concentrated on the mace and focused his mind, attempting to discern the properties of the item which clearly appeared magical.