The Mound

In a field outside of town, amidst the tall golden grain, a mound has grown. Brown dirt rolled into fragmented balls rises almost ten meters into the air. Several paths have been mown into the field and the loose fluff of sheep clings to bits of mud.

The farmer had made his plea to the guild. Help! He hasn’t seen what caused the damage, but his flock of sheep is gone. Oh, and his daughter. But he seems really concerned about the sheep.

At least it isn’t rats in a basement.

Our small party of adventurers have arrived.

Shara just looks about the farm. "More concerned about your sheep? Uhm....really? you can always get more sheep. Unless you REALLY like wool......."

GAME: Shara rolls perception: (16)+9: 25
GAME: Daechir rolls perception: (16)+3: 19

The adventurer's guild is a place that Dax tends to hang out. Why? Because if there's someone else getting a job she will tag along. It's hard when you are unable to read the signs yourself. So, as soon as another person rolled up and headed off to an Adventure, Dax did as well. Following Daechir whom she met just earlier in the day. "So, ya thinkin' this be something where we might get a good fight in?" She questions to the tall Mul, "Ever since tha' 'ell hound I been hankerin' ta kill somethin'." And she is walking along, not really the stealthiest person in the world, and definitely not attempting to be.

GAME: Edinaz rolls perception: (9)+7: 16

Daechir looks underwhelmed that the man is more concerned with his sheep than his daughter, but says nothing about the matter. He's looking over the dirt with interest but without understanding. Trying to figure out where the sheep... but more importantly the daughter is.

"There is /something/ here." Daechir says.

Edinaz followed, not really saying much. He still looked a little bewildered when he was at the Guild, and he just sort of... came along. Hopefully, he signed all the papers properly. He looks around, trying to look like he knows... hands fall to the hilts of his swords. "Here, now?" Something tangible!

GAME: Dax rolls perception: (11)+0: 11

As the conversation with the farmer ends, all notice movement near the top of the mound. It is slight, but whatever it was certainly seemed to disappears near the top instead of coming into view. There is the small sound of shifting dirt, and then it goes silent again. Certainly it could not make itself invisible? Only the most oblivious (Dax) might have missed it.

Edinaz's lips press together, and he points towards the mound. "We flank it?" He gets read to arc left, with or without people joining him.

GAME: Shara rolls knowledge/nature: (12)+12: 24

"The farmer should head back into his house." Shara says as she pulls an arrow free and aims her bow at the mound. "Something's up there...." She then thinks for a moment. "And.....it's an anthill........"

Dax starts walking toward the flank and will just likely climb right up on top of it to do some investigation of her own. She's oblivious, and did not see whatever it was moving. "Why ya all talkin' about flankin' this 'ere mound of dirt?" She questions stomping on it a few times, and then shaking her head, "By Rada if a dirt mound be dangerous than I be a sheep meself." Chuckling she does notice people pulling weapons, and so she flicks out her claws, and turns around, looking. Trying to discern an enemy, "Ya see somethin'?"

GAME: Daechir casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14

Daechir's eyes begin to glow as he tries to suss out if the creature is magical in some way or not. Or perhaps made magical by something else.

GAME: Dax rolls reflex: (13)+6: 19

Shara says, "Yeah I saw something....a giant ant. A red ant at that.""

It certainly is an anthill. Biggest darn anthill this side of Alexandria. Well. At least within walking distance anyway. Circling around Edinaz finds no more evidence of whatever it was, but there is certainly a large swath of grain missing on that side of the mound. Brave simple Dax mounts the hill. Atop the hill is a large hole leading into the ground, roughly dug and dark within. As she turns though the edge collapses beneath her, dooming her to the darkness beneath.

"Shit." Edinaz leaps forwards, running for the opening where Dax disappeared, a sword in each hand.

Daechir curses similarly and draws his rapier before following Edinaz into the hole. "Do not get too far ahead." He warns Edinaz, not wanting to lose /two/ of their party.

And the mound just starts collapsing, and Dax's eyes get big, and then she starts to sink. "Fer fucks saaaaaaaaaaaaaake!" The redheaded woman states as her voice begins to echo, and she starts sliding down into the hole below. There's not much she can do at that point, just starts to slide far far down. And she makes a loud oomphing, echoing sound as she goes down into the hole below.

Hitting the ground, coming to a sliding, rolling stop, Dax blinks, can't see, and she pulls out her stone that she taps twice and light shows up, "'ey! Bottom!"

Shara rubs her face.....while to of her fingers still have an arrow in it. "Oh brother." She says as she walks her way forward. "How far down is it?"

Edinaz moves quickly, peering down. "How far?" Of course, he's already sliding. When he lands, his knees flex and he gets out of the way. "What'd I get myself into?"

Once Dax's light rises, the thirty foot sloping drop becomes visible. The tunnel is as wide as it is tall, and large enough for the average human to move through. Ahead the passage splits into two. To the left seems the entrance of a large room-like space, and the other descends further down into the earth.

The Mul'niessa man is right behind Edinaz, landing lightly however, with a sort of enviable grace. He takes quick stock of their surroundings and keeps his rapier held along the line of his leg so that it is no danger to his allies. "It seems we have a choice. Best to make sure that nothing comes up from behind us yes?" He moves toward the room entrance, not wanting to leave a possible room behind them for the ants to be hiding in. These are going to be very, very large ants if the tunnels are any indication.

Edinaz grunts his assent, and moves to the other side of the left entrance.

Shara makes sure everyone else is down before she goes. She's just an archer, so she'd be at a bit of a disadvantage up close. She does, however, slide her way down. "More than likely. So we find the daughter first. I expect the sheep will be dead."

The room is round and roughly thirty feet across. In the light cast the bodies of several mangled sheep can be seen, laying on the ground beside what looks to be paperish pods. They sprout like fingers out of the ground, and each is the size of a full grown man. Occasionally one seems to twitch, a soft scraping sound coming from within. The pile of sheep must be for whatever was in the pods.

The Ioun Stone starts zipping around Dax and stays moving around her as she gets up from the ground. As more people start to come down she looks back and just snorts a bit. "Alright, well... tha sure is a waste of sheep." She comments as she starts moving along, and looks at the pods, then she looks back. "We movin' forward than? Or ya thinkin' ta daughter is dead too." Scritching at the side of her head, she tries to look about the bodies, "I don't see a lil' girl 'ere." And she looks for an exit to this room that is not just climbing back up, where she'll go if there's an opening.

Daechir frowns at the man-sized pods and shakes his head. Wordlessly he moves through the room, motioning for Dax to be silent. Then he points to one of the pods and mimics stabbing it before actually attacking the thing. He does all of this without making a sound, trying not to attract the attention of anything further inside.

"That means we go looking for her. Just because the girl isn't right in this room doesn't mean we stop looking for her, or her body. Preferably...her." Shara seems to be ready to start looking.

Edinaz points at the pods with his longsword. He nods to Daechir, and goes to stab another one.

GAME: Dax rolls perception: (3)+0: 3
GAME: Edinaz rolls perception: (2)+7: 9
GAME: Daechir rolls perception: (11)+3: 14
GAME: Shara rolls perception: (11)+9: 20

The sheep, still and lifeless, flies buz around and gather for a meal and a place to put their young. There is a sudden sound from inside that pile of sheep, it sounds like a muffled word, but it's not... exactly clear what it was. Suddenly, one of the dead sheep on that pile is sent rolling down the rest, in its place is a steel fist made of dark steel, it grasps the sheep directly under it and starts to pull whatever it is out of the gore. Whatever it is, this is no ant! A second arm comes out, made of the same dark steel that now starts to glow with veins of soft cyan pulsing though it, simulating a heart beat. It seems to struggle for a moment, but in a final surge of strength, the arms pull free something no one was expecting. From the pile of sheep is a squat figure, clad in that metal armor, from the head to the toes. They go tumbling down and onto the ground with a THUD! This small person starts to carefully prop themselves up, using two normal arms while the other two retract to the back of this critter, locking into a sort of ports on the side of a metal backpack thing. Hands move up to the helm, and unlatches it from the base, and tosses it aside, curses are spat out in a myriad of languages as this figure kicks the sheep. Those with keen eyes and ears might recognize some of them, and what this person is. A Goblin, caught up in this mess.

"A goblin.....I doubt this one's the cause of all of this." Shara says before she looks behind the goblin and swears in elven. "and....there's a pod opening up behind the goblin. I've got a bad feeling."

Daechir stares at the goblin like its got more heads than it has, but even the shock of finding something... alive amid all the slaughtered sheep doesn't mean that he fails to notice that one of the pods behind the downed goblin is cracking open. He moves quickly, waving an arm to galvanize the group. At least one of them had taken his lead to attack the pods, but it clearly wasn't enough as there were more pods than people attacking them. He strikes as quickly as he can at the birthing ant.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+7: (20)+7: 27
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+7: (6)+7: 13
GAME: Edinaz rolls 2d8+8: (9)+8: 17
GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (7)+9: 16
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2: (6)+9: 15
GAME: Dax rolls 1d6+5: (3)+5: 8
GAME: Dax rolls 1d6+5: (3)+5: 8

Edinaz lunges forwards, shoving his sword into the pod, and through a gap in the chitin. He twists, and the pod thrashes as the contents object strenuously to his treatment of them.

GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+3: (7)+3: 10

Seeing as ants are popping up, Edinaz moves to one, and Dax says, "Ya got tha' one, I'll get this one." And she moves across, trying to find the largest pod. Not the best decision in her life, but she spins in with one set of claws and then scrapes upward with the other set of claws and starts right in the Soldier Ant's face.

The worker that Edinaz stabbed falls out of its pod, its mandibles clacking ineffectually at him.

GAME: Pyre rolls melee: (6)+3: 9
GAME: Pyre rolls melee: (19)+3: 22
GAME: Pyre rolls melee: (5)+3: 8
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+3: (6)+3: 9

Shara shakes her head. "Like I said....ants." She says and begins to hum a rather interesting tune, all while keeping away from the ants....

GAME: Daechir rolls weapon1+1: (12)+3+1: 16
GAME: Daechir rolls 1d6+1: (5)+1: 6
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+3: (2)+3: 5

The ant takes several heavy hits before Daechir reaches it, and he's glad that the others were so quick on their feet even as his blade finds a crack in the ant's armor and finally brings it down. Already his red eyes are searching out where the other ants are and how his companions are faring against them.

Dax faces off against two ants now. The Soldier arcs its back and misses her with its stinger. A worker pops from its pod and bites at the food source that is Dax, but also misses.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+5+1+2: (19)+5+1+2: 27
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+5+1+2: (10)+5+1+2: 18
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+5+1+2: (5)+5+1+2: 13
GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (19)+9: 28 (THREAT)
GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (20)+9: 29 (THREAT)

Edinaz turns, and takes a quick step across to the soldier ant. He cuts the arcing stinger off, then drives his sword through the base of its head.

GAME: Dax rolls 2d6+10: (9)+10: 19

As Edinaz moves in to finish off the biggest ant in the room, Dax spins around, blocking, swinging, with her claws to prevent the ant from chopping off her head. Then she slides underneath of it and right at the joint that keeps its head from its body, Dax stands up and stabs, straight through, slicing off the ant's head in the process and causing insect ichor to spray out a bit as the ant drops, and she starts flicking off ick. "Spiders as big as dogs, ants as big as sheep. Ya land walkers sure deal wit' some crazy shit." She states walking back to near the center of the room.

"We need to be quiet." Daed murmurs to his companions, looking at Dax specifically, he does not whisper as that would carry the words further, but talking in a very low quiet voice. He stalks toward the nearest pod that has not yet opened and stabs his rapier into it. His eyes encourage them to do the same.

Shara chuckles at Dax and smirks. "And yet, you're being inspired when I sing. It's my job to be somewhat loud." She says as she watches them start to run through the eggs.

The newly born ants fall to the adventurer's blades, but something had to lay these pods. Only the keenest of noses might pick up on the subtle scent of fear. The chemical left from the babies during their death throws. The pods in the room perish, but the noise that matters is the one coming from below. The sounds of movement can be heard down the other tunnel. A myriad of screeches and thumps, and a single feminine scream.

Edinaz cleans his sword by helping to destroy the pods, but is profoundly distracted by the scream. "Hells." He turns to start running down the other tunnel.

"Wait!" If his companions are not going to be quiet there's little use in Daechir trying. He shakes his head and follows after Edinaz. He curses in his native tongue as he does, coming up with a few new ones for good measure.

Dax wonders, "Is tha' something we need'ta charge in for?" Dax looks around to the others and she starts moving towards the tunnel exit, though moving at a walking pace until someone tells her she should start running. "I can lead if'n ya folks need. I got..." She hits hits her chest a bit, "Tough..." Then she sees Edinaz running and she starts to run after him, "Bits..." Shaking her head as she runs, she also heads down the tunnel.

Shara is actually running behind them as well… but she's actually keeping quiet.

The tunnel twists and winds. The beginning of new paths look as if they have been started, but not completed yet. The main path finally opens into a large room. This is only the very beginning of a colony. Within the room is what can only be the queen. She is a bloated creature, only designed to consume and produce. Two small workers drag dismembered sheep and one small brunette towards her for consumption. Guarding them are two other ants. These ants are hulking creatures the size of horses, with wide heads with massive jaws. Their heads are turned towards the tunnel the heroes come running out of, though they wait as if they cannot see very far.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+4: (19)+4: 23
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d6+4: (6)+4: 10
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20: (3): 3
GAME: Daechir casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 2 DC: 15

Edinaz scans the situation, then takes one of his short throwing spears and hurls it without pause at the worker hauling the girl. It slams into the ant, wounding it, and also causing it to drop the young woman.

Daechir touches his own chest and with a few magical words and a twist of fingers feels the protective weight of magical armor like a comforting blanket.

GAME: Shara casts Ear-Piercing Scream. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+6: (8)+6: 14
GAME: Shara rolls 2d6: (6): 6
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+7: (10)+7: 17

One of the knights steps forward and swings its massive head at Shara, missing by inches. All the while the Queen consumes the line of sheep heading towards it. The farmer's daughter falls to the ground with a thump and starts trying to crawl away from the dazed worker.

Shara runs her way forward and....even though she's right next to a knight, she screams at a very high frequency. Only the guard holding the girl can hear....and she flops onto the ground. "GOT 'IM!" But now...she's screwed.

GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (13)+9: 22
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2: (5)+9: 14
GAME: Dax rolls damage1: aliased to 1D6+5: (6)+5: 11

Seeing as there's plenty of range folks, Dax moves, she starts running forward just to come to a halt next to Shara. She says, "Duck." As she's leaping and spinning her claws, the left arm completely misses the giant ant, but her second set stabs right into it. Clean and a big chunk of the ant comes out with the claws. She's growling and flicking her claws so that ichor goes to the ground, even though she's already got some all over her at this point from the previous room.

GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+7: (14)+7: 21
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+11: (17)+11: 28

The second knight steps up to join its brother, taking a nip at Dax but missing. Behind them the second worker starts truddling after the girl.

GAME: Edinaz RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 4 temporary HP
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d8+6: (4)+6: 10

Edinaz races forwards, gathering energy around him -- his tattoos starts to glow a little as he announces his arrive to one of the Knight-Ants by striking it across the neck. It hurts it, but it doesn't stop it in the slightest.

GAME: Daechir used a Alchemist's Fire.
GAME: You used up your Alchemist's Fire.
GAME: Daechir rolls 1d20+4: (16)+4: 20
GAME: Daechir rolls 1d20+4: (16)+4: 20
GAME: Daechir rolls 1d6: (4): 4
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+7: (14)+7: 21

Daechir sees the ant skittering toward the girl and digs a hand into his pocket for a green flask. He throws it deftly across the room where it shatters and spreads green lich flames across the ant's body. The fire splatters across the space, hitting the other worker and the queen as well.

The knight before Dax bites at Dax again, but the whirling fighter is too swift for him. The workers run in mad circles at the entrance of fire to the battle. The screams of the queen do not help the knights' attitude.

GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (6)+9: 15
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2: (14)+9: 23
GAME: Dax rolls damage2: aliased to 1D6+5: (4)+5: 9
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+7: (1)+7: 8 (EPIC FAIL)

The human red-head is spinning, blocking, putting up both sets of claws to move attacks to the side. She's rather quick, ducking, slashing back, clawing at the ant. There's a lot of ant here, and Dax is attempting to make her way around it. Twirling, and keeping her footing as she moves. Hard to hit, but she's also only doing so-so on managing to take down that hard carapace that this knight has.

GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d8+5: (1)+5: 6

The queen's screams send one of the knights into a frenzy. In its attempts to bite the enemy, it ends up hitting its fellow knight, taking a big chunk out of it.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+8: (17)+8: 25
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+8: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d8+6: (7)+6: 13
GAME: Daechir rolls weapon1+1: (10)+3+1: 14
GAME: Daechir rolls 1d6: (2): 2

Edinaz pretty much just uses his shorter sword as a metal bar to shove between his soft-bits and the snapping mandibles. He does all the hard work with his longer sword, striking hard into its thorax again.

GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+7: (16)+7: 23
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d6+5: (6)+5: 11

Daechir moves up, trying to attack the ant attacking Dax in the hopes of downing the creature and allowing her to pass through. Unfortunately he hits nothing but air.

GAME: Dax rolls fort: (6)+7: 13
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d4: (2): 2
GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (16)+8: 24
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2: (14)+8: 22
GAME: Dax rolls damage1: aliased to 1D6+4: (6)+4: 10
GAME: Dax rolls damage2: aliased to 1D6+4: (1)+4: 5

There's a big hit against Dax, and she groans hard, and then slumps a bit, but then she's mad. Angry and bleeding, and trying to get past this stupid horse sized ant. She swings once, slicing off some legs, then swings again, running a trail of ichor behind her claws, before she runs past this one, letting it slump over dead. And she heads toward the girl to help her make her way back to safety.

GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+7: (20)+7: 27
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d8+5: (3)+5: 8
GAME: Bhavrad damaged you for 8 points. 3 HP remaining.
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+8: (14)+8: 22
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+8: (12)+8: 20

The with one big guy out of the way, one of the workers moves to stop Dax, but is a little slow on the uptake. The remaining knight is biting every which way, taking turns between targets and gets good bit of Daechir in its mouth.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d8+6: (2)+6: 8
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d6+5: (2)+5: 7

Edinaz shoves his shorter sword into the knight, then, holding it still in its frenzy, takes its head off with a strike and a *ting* of his blade.

GAME: Daechir rolls weapon1+1: (4)+3+1: 8

Daechir gasps as the attack bites deep into his body, grasping the wound. The world turns red for him but they're so close to freeing the girl. His gaze hardens on them and he rushes forward without regard for his own safety swinging his weapon wildly to get the creature's attention. The Mul'niessa man charges in with little hope of actually hitting the ant, but throws himself into it none the less. He hits nothing, but hopes that he's drawn its attention.

GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (3)+8: 11
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2+1: (7)+8+1: 16
GAME: Dax rolls damage2+1: aliased to 1D6+4+1: (5)+4+1: 10
GAME: Bhavrad rolls 1d20+3: (9)+3: 12
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+12: (19)+12: 31
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+12: (10)+12: 22

Patting the girl on her back, and almost pushing her for a little bit of an oomph, Dax says, "Go back ta there." She points with her ichor dripping claws to where the bow folks were, and then she turns, moving forward to see Daed fighting one worker, and this worker still present. She swipes and misses, feeling tired from the ant's poison, and then swings another hit that manages to rip carapace off as she staggers a bit with heavy breathing. "Ya die, I ain't carryin' ya!" She calls out to Daed.

The frightened girl does whatever her rescuer demands of her, running away as swiftly as she can. Only the queen and a worker remain.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 2d8+14: (8)+14: 22

Edinaz turns and streaks across the floor to where Daechir seems beleaguered. He arrives with a sweep of his sword and a broken worker-ant dying on the floor.

The queen cannot lift her bulk much on her own. Her mandibles clack, and her stinger pulsates as if to say bring it on.

Daechir is bleeding profusely from his wound, holding it with one hand. He looks pale, which is not a good look for a Mul'niessa. He still manages a tired smile for Dax however. Then he turns his gaze on the Queen. "We must kill it, or it will produce more offspring and begin this all over again." Daed hardly looks to be in any condition to fight, but he hefts his rapier anyway.

GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (10)+8: 18
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2+1: (18)+8+1: 27 (THREAT)
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2+1: (8)+8+1: 17
GAME: Dax rolls damage1: aliased to 1D6+4: (3)+4: 7
GAME: Dax rolls damage2: aliased to 1D6+4: (3)+4: 7
GAME: Dax rolls damage2: aliased to 1D6+4: (2)+4: 6

That call to arms, that Daechir gives to Dax is compelling. She moves forward, covered in the Queen's children's blood, essentially, and just goes to town. She spins moves forward, spinning to get momentum, twisting down low and slashing with her left arm's claws, before she rises up and just jabs again and again into the queen with her claws, making small but damaging puncture wounds. "Ya... wha' he said!" She calls back towards others, indicating Daechir's words of warning.

GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d20+12: (8)+12: 20
GAME: Edinaz rolls 1d8+7: (7)+7: 14

Edinaz arrives after Dax, and takes advantage of her rending, to thrust his sword into its head. He gives a nasty twist, and a great wrench as he pulls it out. Stepping back, the queen falls to the floor, inert and not entirely in one piece.

The strange giant vermin are vanquished, and the hope is that no more queens took up residence in the local area. The farmer's daughter thanks you profusely, though the farmer seems upset that his sheep couldn't be saved in time. Priorities are off, but to each their own. It isn't heaps of reward money, but how many people at the guild can claim they have slain a Queen?

-End-