2 - On the Road to the Tomb

[rauhric]

THEOATH GRANGER, Paladin of Chauntea [3]

Theo reacts poorly to something attacking his Jenny. "Jenny!" he cries out as he runs up, unarmored with a shield and spear. He means to stab the creature.

---

OoC: So Initiative first to find out our order, correct?

OK, we declare actions and DM rolls Initiative for us.

Adventuring Gear

Rustic Hide Armor, Med. Shield, Holy Symbol, Assorted Clothing

Spear, Short Sword, Battle Axe, Footman's Mace,

Backpack, Large Sack, Winter Blanket, Flint & Steel, Whetstone, Rope, Winesink, Dry Rations (Wk), Torches (10),

Donkey, Pack Saddle, Bit & Bridle, Hunting Dog

 

Edited February 12 by rauhric (see edit history)

[cybersavant]

Kordannaghlan Penniesaver (gnome f2/th3) AC 09 Hp 16 short bow thac0 19

will shoot at the closest bug if no one is between him and the target. otherwise he'll watch for another emerging from the ground and target that

[Sellsword]

OOC: Will include some OOC notes throughout this combat just to illustrate how the mechanics work, as there have been several questions about it. Party initiative was 6, enemy initiative 4. Lowest goes first. Sleep spells from Lirion & Amarandé take effect on initiative 7 (as it has a casting time of 1).

After one excruciating, final crunching sound, the horse stops kicking. Four legs pointing skyward, it is dragged into the creature's burrow and disappears beneath the earth. For several yards, there is an elevated mound of dirt that indicates the position of the creature and its prey underground, but it tapers off and then eventually disappears to the east away from camp. A large hole is left in the earth where the horse once stood.

 

The second creature shudders violently as if trying to dislodge Valandil's arrow. Light from Mandons' lantern reflects off the creatures glassy, black eyes--the creature's face is a hideous tangle of clicking and clacking parts, glistening with saliva. The distraction works--it pulls its full length from the ground, easily twice the length of a man, and it scuttles towards Mandon, raising itself up on four of its legs to grasp at him with the two remaining legs, trying to feed the warrior into reach of its mandibles. Mandons' sword flashes wildly and he manages to ward off the attack.

OOC: Its attack roll failed, if only by a narrow margin. Mandons is pretty well armored.

Lirion and Amarandé descend into their respective rituals for spellcasting, the elf muttering quietly to himself, deeply focused, Amarandé pausing for only a moment to command his hounds to before starting his own incantation. Jack, his back pressed against one of the cold, moss-covered stones, peers for a place to hide from sight but is unable to find anyplace suitable. The stone provides cover, but not enough shadow, even in the flickering firelight of the campfire, to completely obscure himself.

From a nearby patch of shadow, however, Jack sees Kordannaghlan's head poke up just enough to sight the enemy. The gnome raises his small bow and looses an arrow but it flies wide as the creature crashes into Mandons. From the other side of the camp, Valandil releases a second arrow which skitters off the creature's thick chitinous shell without effect.

OOC: Definitely clarify going forward whether you intend to shoot into a melee in the case that you lose initiative. In this case, the odds of you hitting the creature are 66% (as it's size L) so I went ahead and made the rolls. Both attack rolls failed to hit anyone. If things had gone south with the rolls instead (arrow in Mandons' head), I would have stopped here to ask if you wanted to shoot into the melee before proceeding. I decided to have the arrows fire first, as it stands the greatest chance of hitting the creature--once Theoath joins the fray, it becomes 50/50 to hit an ally instead.

Seeing Jenny spill through the campfire and disappear into the dark wood in a shower of sparks, Theoath shouts his war cry, raises his spear, and joins with Mandons. Both warriors wheel on the creature, striking with sword and spear--both find weakness in the creature's thick shell as their weapons strike home. The creature arches its back wildly, arms flailing before it slumps to the ground, twitching. From its maw, saliva drips onto the mossy ground and it begins to bubble and burn away, revealing the saliva to be acidic. With no apparent target, Lirion and Amarandé let their respective spell energies loose without target.

OOC: This was very interesting, and I didn't know until rolling attack rolls for Mandons and combining his damage with Theoath's if there would be a target for their spells. I'm actually glad that things played out the way they did, as the results could have been very bad. Sleep affects the lowest HD creatures in the area first--so the ponies, dogs, then some of the horses, as well as those PCs with only two HD (multi-class) would have been affected first. Of course, you couldn't know how many HD the enemies had...but you need to be very careful with the sleep spell. It's extraordinarily powerful, but it's also completely indiscrimiate in regards to friend or foe. All it cares about is center of effect and lowest HD within the area of effect.

The horses, while still panicked, seem less concerned about tearing at their tethers than the did a moment ago, now that the immediate threat is seemingly removed. All four hounds stand in a ring around the large hole left by the other creature, barking into it loudly with no effect. Eventually, the creature slain by Valandil, Theoath and Mandons twitches one, last time before going still.

 

[Arbuthnott]

Amarandé strides towards the hole left by the insect, staring at it for a few seconds before turning to the rest of the group.

"From within... One of you with your special hearing should turn its use to the ground before anyone else is snatched."

Next he begins to turn in a slow circle, muttering under his breath and twitching his fingers minutely as he blesses everyone remaining in the camp.

[Lord Foul]

Mandons stabs the creature another time just to make sure of it, then turns to Theo and says: "Nicely done! That was a little close for comfort." ☺️

To the general company: "Do you suppose the other one will be satisfied with its meal, or might be back for more? Maybe if we drag this carcass into the hole it'll plug it with a handy snack in case it gets peckish again before we leave. At the very least it should give us a little advance warning."

 

[NickL82]

His mount toppled, Tymas hits the ground hard enough to knock the air out of him. His heart pounds blood in his ears. He scrambles to his wobbly feet, loosing his mace from its loop and standing ready to fight for his life -- but seeing the combat already over, he staggers to a knee. "My bloody head," he grouches, shaking free of the cobwebs before returning to his feet, a bit more steady now. "Almighty Helm, Valandil wasn't kidding when he said this place was dangerous. And we haven't even seen a sign of the Zhents yet."

He clambers up next to Amarande. He shakes his head at the loss of two of the party's horses. "It saddens me that all of us did not make it, but at least most of us did. It could have been none of us." He clasps Amarande's shoulder. "Many thanks for waking us up with your warning."

[cybersavant]

Kordannaghlan Penniesaver (gnome f2/th3) AC 09 Hp 16 short bow thac0 19

 

"The donkey ran off - we should try to catch it before it attracts something else."

 

[Excior]

Valandil's response to Tymas's remark is delivered with his characteristic seriousness, his monotone voice carrying a hint of sincerity rarely glimpsed. "It would be ill-advised for me to joke about such matters," he acknowledges, the slight note of confusion marking a departure from his usual composed demeanor.

Descending gracefully from his perch on the leaning stone, Valandil retrieves his arrow from the fallen creature with careful precision. His movements are deliberate, betraying the meticulous attention to detail that defines his actions.

As he scans the area for his missed shot, his keen elvish ears remain attuned to the conversation unfolding among the group. "Hopefully it did not go very far," he remarks concerning the donky, his tone unchanged in its measured cadence. "If somebody would accompany me, we can go and look."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Valandil's composure remains intact, his focus unwavering as he prepares to search for the stray arrow, a testament to his unwavering dedication to the task at hand.

[Arbuthnott]

Amarandé heaves a deep sigh as he concludes his recitation. He claps Tymas on the shoulder and mutters "my condolences, friend," before turning to Mandons.

"Aye; chances are good it could reappear anywhere in our midst, but we shouldn't make it easy for it." And with that, he gives Mandons a hand shifting the creature, dropping to the ground with his knife after the fact to take a few choice cuttings.

"If anyone thought to bring some empty vials, there seems to be some saliva left that could be useful after the fact."

As talk turns to the donkey, he adds "Is it wise to venture into these woods in the dark of the night after a creature no doubt drawing attention to itself? If you make haste perhaps you could catch it, but what of the risk? You know these woods better than I, master elf."

Edited February 11 by Arbuthnott (see edit history)

[stonedzep]

10 hours ago, Excior said:

"If somebody would accompany me, we can go and look."

 

Lirion Eldermist

"I'm coming. " Lirion replies, switching his sword with his longbow...

 

Edited February 11 by stonedzep (see edit history)

[Lord Foul]

Mandons approaches Jack in his 'hiding place' and picks up the hobbit in one hand, carrying him over to a spot near the hole and plonking him down by his side.

The warrior sits on a grassy tuffet with sword resting lightly across his knees.

"While the elves are off looking for ass, keep those ears tuned on the burrow, my little friend, and if you hear it coming back I'll be ready for it this time." 🙂

 

[rauhric]

THEOATH GRANGER, Paladin of Chauntea [3]

Theo follows the elves as he calls out "Jenny!" to his scared donkey. He feels terrible about its injury and hopes the damage isn't too bad. What is he thinking? He is lucky if she can walk at all. That creature had acid saliva and it is still probably eating away at her flesh. He is too concerned on finding Jenny to think about how he is going to neutralize the acid.

---

OoC: I like your OoC explanations.

Adventuring Gear

Rustic Hide Armor, Med. Shield, Holy Symbol, Assorted Clothing

Spear, Short Sword, Battle Axe, Footman's Mace,

Backpack, Large Sack, Winter Blanket, Flint & Steel, Whetstone, Rope, Winesink, Dry Rations (Wk), Torches (10),

Donkey, Pack Saddle, Bit & Bridle, Hunting Dog

 

Edited February 12 by rauhric (see edit history)

[Chaz Hoosier]

Jack Coldwater

HP: 23/23 AC: 6

---

Jack squirms and thrashes at the indignity of being picked up like a child, though unfortunately his arms just aren't long enough to deliver the sharp punch to the Mandons' ribs that he has in mind. When he's dumped on the ground, he scrambles to his feet and dusts himself off with his usual smug expression until he notices he's right in front of the creature's burrow. He cowers away in terror, hiding behind Mandons. "I don't know, has anyone considered not camping out on top of a monster's burrow?"

 

OOC

Detect Noise: 95%

 

[Lord Foul]

6 hours ago, Chaz Hoosier said:

"I don't know, has anyone considered not camping out on top of a monster's burrow?"

"Not a bad idea, though maybe a bit late now. In any case, with half the party run off after a missing donkey I reckon the best place for us is right here on top of the existing burrow. If it does come back this way it'll have to chew through its chum to get to us and that'll give us time to smash it about a bit, or bravely run away and hide. Reckon we can take it between us!" 😉

 

[Sellsword]

Following the pony Jenny proves not too difficult a task--the fleeing animal had little regard for stealth, and there is a clear trail of churned up earth and broken branches. Lirion, Kordannaghlan and Valandil slip off into the woods, asking Theoath to stay behind. The paladin would be effectively blind in the dark and would only slow them down. Fortunately, she did not run off too far, perhaps a hundred yards, before stopping. She's skittish as the group approaches, but allows them to take up her reins and guide her back to the camp. She is, however, in rather grave condition--not from acid burns, fortunately, but some of her ribs may have been broken and strips of hide and flesh are gone where the mandibles were torn from her as she escaped.

Meanwhile, Amarandé says a few words in quiet prayer as the blessing of his goddess Mystra settles upon the group, granting you courage and divine protection. Jack peers into the hole left by the creatures after listening carefully and determining with confidence that it's safe. The sickening crunch of Mandons pushing his blade through the creature's shell, just in case, interrupts the halfling before he can share his findings, but all agree that it's better to be safe. The insect does not stir as Mandons withdraws his blade.

Jack explains that the hole actually descends into a burrow or tunnel network that crosses the camp heading east to west. The tunnel is quite large--large enough that Tymas' mount could be pulled into it, so large enough that a man could crawl or perhaps stoop and walk. It stands to reason that the tunnel was made by these creatures, and conceivably leads to where the creatures may nest or lair. Wherever the other creature disappeared to, it is far enough away that Jack's keen ears detect no sign of it. Dragging the corpse of the dead creature to the hole would indeed block it up enough to give you some degree of comfort, such that can be found considering you were just ambushed in the night.

The campfire, though scattered by the pony and the melee, still burns and you're able to quickly get it back under control.

OOC: Will pause here, let me know if there is any action taken to tend to the pony. It's in no condition to carry weight, though it is able to walk on its own. Unless someone offers a different plan, I'll assume you stuff the corpse into the hole as discussed previously and try to finish out the night at this site. @stonedzep combat was only one round, so you would have had 8 rounds remaining, but we'll assume that was spent during your trip into the forest with the others to find the pony.