Crypt of Osorin, part 6
Log Info
- Title: Crypt of Osorin, part six
- Emitter: Culix
- Characters: Glasha, Aimarra, Smuldur, Paenitia
- Place: Crypt of Osorin
- Time: Wednesday, April 07, 2021, 2:12 PM
- Summary: Smuldur finds some burrowing beetles! Battle Ensues. Paenitia rushes in and does well, while Aimarra shoots every target of opportunity she sees. Glasha's elemental finishes one off, and the Half-orc herself finds she is in battle when one pops up behind her. Soon, all are slain, and the party re-groups. Paenitia is trying to get Smuldur to deactivate a hallway trap so Ramirez can catch up, when they get distracted by eggs. Eggs, which hatch.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing, in Height Order =-=-=-=-=-= Paenitia 3'0" 34 Lb Halfling Female A Lucht knight, dark skinned in bold feathery finery. Smuldur 3'4" 45 Lb Goblin Male A gently used (cut, scraped, burnt, exploded) gobber. Aimarra 5'1" 128 Lb Half-Elf Female Brown hair and eyes, breastplate, leathers, pointed ears. Glasha 5'8" 100 Lb Half-Orc Female Green-skinned, young lady with bleached hair. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As the smallest GM =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Culix 3'2" 36 Lb Goblin Female Beady-eyed goblin female in leathers and hood. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Smuldur's torchlight and footfalls seem to have attracted the attention of large beetles- with iridescent, plum colored shells and glowing abdomens- which come crawling out of the natural fissure which seems to have split the crypt as the earth itself has moved with the passage of ages. The nearest of them splays its mandibles wide, opening its hard shell-like outer wings to bare its glowing fleshy hindquarters. It lowers its head, and prepares to charge at the hapless Goblin.
In the distance, the sound of scuttling feet transitions to the noise of forelimbs and mandibles boring through loose stone and hard rock, as an unseen enemy burrows through one of the walls nearby.
GAME: Glasha casts Summon Monster III. Caster Level: 5 DC: 19
Glasha glares as beetle-sign is found. Well, they picked the wrong group to mess with. Glasha's joints pop as her hand gestures in ways it was not meant to move, her voice exploring new ways to contort in order to pronounce the unnatural Eldritch tongue. Soon, more than likely after everyone else had moved and attacked, she would let loose upon the world something foreign, once more!
In the hallway to the north- and just barely passing the corner of Ramirez's vision for a moment, another of the skittering creatures flashes by, moving towards the screeches of the bug preparing to lunge at the goblin.
GAME: Smuldur RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 6 temporary HP GAME: Smuldur rolls melee+2+1: (1)+6+2+1: 10 (EPIC FAIL)
Smuldur spreads his arms and starts hissing back at the beetle. With extra drool! He then waves his arms around, even trying to hit the thing with Torchie. Trying, and failing. Smuldur -does- manage to burn off half of his remaining eyebrow, though!
<OOC> Aimarra claims Point Blank Shot bonus, and has Precise Shot, so suffers no penalties shooting into melee. GAME: Aimarra rolls weapon1+1: (3)+8+1: 12
Aimarra doesn't hesitate. "Gobber, get out of there!" She rushes forward, pulling bow and arrow in one smooth motion, nocking, and firing, but an effort to avoid the gobber results only in the arrow skittering, once again, harmlessly wide.
GAME: Culix rolls 5+2: (12)+5+2: 19 GAME: Culix rolls 1d6+4: (5)+4: 9
Smuldur's advance into the room puts him square in the sights of the big mamma of these beetles- while the others are about the size of small dogs, and uniform plum color- this one has bright yellow spots, and is slightly larger than Smuldur. It charges towards his side while he flails at the first sighted beetle, and snaps its mandibles about his midsection, squeezing and biting into the flesh.
GAME: Culix rolls 3: (19)+3: 22 GAME: Culix rolls 3: (1)+3: 4 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Culix rolls 1d4+2: (4)+2: 6
Meanwhile, the other two nearer beetles move in closer, mandibles flexing back and forth, and capitalize on the strike their larger kin lands on the goblin. One manages to bite at his calf, while the other fails to grab hold- mandible catching in a cleft in the flagstones and wrenching its head to the side at the last moment.
More grinding noises as one of the beetles bores further through rocks, before emerging and crossing the wide hallway to the north of the chamber in which they find themselves fighting, moving through the open archway that leads into it.
<OOC> Paenitia says, "its fine. move to 20.34" <OOC> Culix says, "alright, three AoO's" GAME: Culix rolls 5: (2)+5: 7 GAME: Culix rolls 3: (12)+3: 15 GAME: Culix rolls 3: (15)+3: 18 GAME: Paenitia rolls weapon7: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL)
There is chittering, there is a whoosh as Aimarra strides right over her. Paenitia is forced to adjust her hat, and then the bugs have moved up. For the small Red Knight, there usually is a place in combat for her, but everywhere seems occupied.
Ah! She sights a spot, and squeezes past the elf and the goblin, ducking three sets of mandibles snapping at her. Raising her warhammer to swing, she ends up almost dropping it and has to devote attention to bobbling it about off her shield to get a grip again. She growls, an odd sound to be coming from behind her ever-smiling mask.
GAME: Glasha rolls 1d3: (1): 1 GAME: Glasha rolls 6: (16)+6+1: 23 GAME: Glasha rolls 1d6+5: (4)+5: 9 <OOC> Glasha says, "I am going to probably acid splash the other one I can see." GAME: Glasha rolls ranged: (20)+3: 23 (THREAT) GAME: Glasha rolls ranged: (16)+3: 19 GAME: Glasha rolls 2d3: (3): 3
As Glasha finishes her spell, the very stone of the floor itself seems to rise up, taking shape as animated by the elemental plane of earth. It leaves behind no crater after its summoning. Glasha points. "Go to the other side of that beetle and smash it to bug paste!" The elemental turns and glares with glowing eyes. It slides under the stone as it moves forward, disappearing under the tiles. Glasha runs forward after it, a glob of acid forming in her hand. The elemental surfaces just beyond the bug and brings its huge, stone fist down, splattering bug guts and sending pieces of chitinous exoskeleton flying. Glasha hurls her ball of acid to the other she can see, splashing its eyes and antennae in bubbling acid.
<OOC> Culix says, "Beetle 3 burrows to behind Glasha, and attacks her." GAME: Culix rolls 3: (8)+3: 11 <OOC> Culix says, "Hits." GAME: Culix rolls 1d4+2: (4)+2: 6
The beetle scurrying its way across the hallway to he north dives back into the rockface, boring its way through with a horrid rattling, grinding noise. It bursts back out of the stone just behind glasha, in a shower of dust and pebbles, and then lunges for her- taking a slice from her calf muscle with it's vicious maw.
GAME: Smuldur rolls melee+2+1: (4)+6+2+1: 13
Smuldur gets charged, and doesn't like it! His debt ratio is already too high. "Raaah!" Torchie the Illustrious moves to shine its cleansing illumination upon the masses... and lights up the wall. Because it has more mass?
<OOC> Aimarra says, "Turn around and fire at 3. Glasha could use some help." GAME: Aimarra rolls weapon1+1: (13)+8+1: 22 GAME: Aimarra rolls 1d6+3: (2)+3: 5
It's the rattling, grinding noise that gets Aimarra's attention first. About to nock and draw again at her target, she whirls at the sound of clacking and carapace behind her - just in time to see those mandibles sink into flesh. "It's behind us!" she shouts a warning to the other two, then turns her back to the gobber and looses an arrow at Glasha's tormentor. A solid hit, the arrow head sinking deeply into the space between plates, and the beetle looks decidedly unhappy.
<OOC> Culix says, "Swings for Pae." GAME: Culix rolls 5: (14)+5: 19 <OOC> Culix says, "Wiffs. Beetle 1 goes for the Elemental." GAME: Culix rolls 3: (2)+3: 5
The large miner is distracted by the much shinier Paenitia as she barges her way through, and after the first snap of its maw fails to catch her, it turns to follow her and keep snapping- grinding uselessly against the hard plating of her armor. Meanwhile the other beetle, the one which got a face full of acid, rears back and emits a shrill hiss of displeasure, before lunging blindly and failing to strike anything.
<OOC> Paenitia says, "move to 19,35 , 5' step and attack 19,34" <OOC> Paenitia says, "+2 for Flanking?" GAME: Paenitia rolls weapon7+2: (13)+5+2: 20 GAME: Paenitia rolls damage7: aliased to 1d6+1: (6)+1: 7
"Ha ha," Paenitia laughs madly, "then we are all in the fight! It is too far for me. Push the bug towards Ramirez, he will will eat him!"
There is a distant horse-snort, and a scratching of flagstones. Yes, the peacock-andalusian would like to be in the fight, but the hole is too small.
The Red Knight meanwhile, sidesteps to the back of the larger beetle. Warhammer properly gripped this time, she brings it down in a fast, overhead swing. >CRACK< Right in the middle of its wing-case. A solid, telling blow.
<OOC> Culix says, "Beetle 4 will move down to attack the earth elemental." GAME: Culix rolls 3: (16)+3: 19 GAME: Culix rolls 1d4+2: (1)+2: 3
Emerging from the other side of the broken remnants of the passageway, another beetle comes to attack the elemental as well- it's core soaked fists clearly triggering their attack response, as they gnaw at its stony flesh. While many creatures would have a hard time harming the elemental, these beasties seem to spend their lives tunneling through stone and are no stranger to gnawing on granite.
<OOC> Glasha says, "Elemental will attack beetle 4 that hit it." <OOC> Glasha says, "Glasha will spin around and (attempt to) sink her axe-staff (greataxe) into the beetle behind her." GAME: Glasha rolls weapon1: (7)+5: 12 GAME: Glasha rolls 7: (7)+7: 14
Glasha puts both hands on her greataxe and spins, swinging at the beetle. Unsurprisingly, the wizard does not manage to hit the squirmy, ugly, stupid insect. In return, it bites her. She cries out in pain.
The tables are reversed for her summoned elemental, who gets bit first, then swings backhand behind itself as if to shoo the insect away, more than trying to kill it dead.
<OOC> Culix says, "Beetle 3 does not like being shot or having an axe swing at it, it will bite again." GAME: Culix rolls 3: (14)+3: 17 GAME: Culix rolls 1d4+2: (4)+2: 6
The bettle lets out a plaintif screech as the arrow burrows itself between the plates of its carapace and it reels back a bit- the huffing of the andalusian behind it spurs it on- and it lunges at Glasha once more, mandibles sinking in deep and tearing off another strip of flesh which the bug swallows eagerly- even as the falling greataxe glances off its hard carapace and goes wide of its mark.
GAME: Smuldur rolls melee+2+1: (8)+6+2+1: 17 GAME: Smuldur rolls 1d3+strength+2+1: (3)+2+2+1: 8
All that practice pays off as Smuldur finally bonks the beetle with a burning brand. Bonk. Sizzle. The poor thing never had a chance (after the first two)!
GAME: Aimarra rolls weapon1+1: (15)+8+1: 24 GAME: Aimarra rolls 1d6+3: (5)+3: 8
A second arrow, from behind Glasha, sinks into the space between plates between head and thorax, an unerring, sure shot that drops the bug lifeless at Glasha's feet. "There. Keep an eye out for others," Aimarra says from behind her.
<OOC> Culix says, "Cointoss. On a 1, beetle goes for Pae again, on a 2, goes for Smuldur." GAME: Culix rolls 1d2: (1): 1 GAME: Culix rolls 5: (2)+5: 7
Undetered by the growing pool of shattered chitin and sticky and not entirely pleasent smelling ichor that is rapidly coating this particular corner of the chamber, the larger spotted beetle keeps gnawing on her armor, making horrible grinding, squeaking noises but doing no actual harm- except, perhaps, to sensitive eardrums. It is not unlike nails on a chalkboard.
GAME: Paenitia rolls weapon7+2: (17)+5+2: 24 GAME: Paenitia rolls damage7: aliased to 1d6+1: (2)+1: 3
Paenitia struggles with a beetle that is larger than she is, and also assaults the ears with its metal grinding. Getting her shield in position, fending it off as it snaps at her, she returns the favour with a strike that bounces off it's head. At hit, but not a very damaging one. Still she laughs at it, "Come at me again my friend, you will see how this dance ends!"
<OOC> Culix says, "Beetle 4 will continue gnawing on the elemental." GAME: Culix rolls 3: (11)+3: 14
Meanwhile, as accustomed as the beast perhaps is to gnawing on rock- it is less accustomed to rock which fights back or moves out of the way. So after the Elemental lunges for a counter attack, the beetle's grip is loosed and it stumbles back. As it lunges in for another strike, the elemental is able to backstep out of the oversized arthropod's reach.
<OOC> Glasha says, "Earth Elemental smash, Glasha acid splash the one her earth elemental is being attacked by." GAME: Glasha rolls 7: (3)+7: 10 GAME: Glasha rolls ranged: (14)+3: 17 GAME: Glasha rolls 1d3: (3): 3
Gliding back along the ground, the Earth Elemental deftly dodges the bug's bite! Gliding back forward, it finds the bug a more challenging foe to strike than the first he so diligently destroyed!
Glasha, meanwhile, gathers up a magical pool of acid in her hand that forms into an orb. She throws the bubbling sphere of caustic fluid at the same bug that her elemental was locked in struggle with, and she manages to cover the creature's carapace in certain sizzling doom! She lets out a singular laugh as she takes revenge on her epidermis and her elemental's rocky 'flesh'.
<OOC> Culix says, "You have flanking with Paenitia on the spotted one." GAME: Smuldur rolls melee+2+1: (17)+6+2+1: 26 GAME: Smuldur rolls 1d3+strength+2+1: (3)+2+2+1: 8
Smuldur is still alive (many, many actions and results to the contrary) and, even better, he seems to have gained his stride! With the 'missies' shaken out, he bonks another beetle on the back with a burninating beatdown. "Ha!" taunts the conspicuously bleeding gobber as another bug goes down.
<OOC> Aimarra says, "Move to 19, 34 and shoot" GAME: Aimarra rolls weapon1+1: (11)+8+1: 20 GAME: Aimarra rolls 1d6+3: (5)+3: 8
A deadly dance indeed, as Aimarra forgoes the jump to the left and opts for the step to the right, unleashing another deadly shaft that slots itself between head and thorax and drops the last beetle menacing the great elemental. "Any more?" she calls.
Aimarra's call is met with silence- or at least, relative silence, save for the occasional wet noise of ichor (or blood) dribbling from wounds and splattering on the flagstones. Though the fight was brief, it has left the party winded and wounded once more- and once again, Smuldur has taken the worst of the beating.
"I do not see any. We win this one my friends." Paenitia calls out cheerfully, and sets about exploring the room, looking first down the narrow south-west passage to ensure nothing links up. The wide corridor to the west is looked at next, as she checks for the tell-tale pressure plates that have dogged them so far.
"Friend Smuldur, the trap at the cross, you must turn off so Ramirez can join. I will walk with you."
This is simply more proof of gobber wits, tenacity, and invulnerability! That dripping is just the weakness leaving his body! "Ha ha!" Smuldur celebrates with triumphant waving of Torchie, then looks to Paenitia. "Oh! Break trap more!" He moves to skitter with her towards the trap in question. Who is he to turn down a friend in need? When breaking is involved.
As the two of them head into the northern passage and begin making their way back towards the trap at the cross, something catches their attention that may give them pause- they spy the shiny, slimy spherical form of eggs, caked to the walls and floor of the passage with sticky resin which catches the torchlight.
"Hssst!" Paenitia whispers, somewhat quiety. "There are eggs, we do not want to hatch. Step lightly."
Glasha jogs to catch up. "I volunteer to sneak in the lead," she says whispering, but a bit more loudly.
"Magus Glasha, do you have the wizard eye for peeking around corners?" The Red Knight asks. "There are two to look around. The eggs and the silver pool."
"Fire make not hatch!" Smuldur suggests helpfully. He's not wrong. Probably.
Glasha shakes her head. "Not prepared," she laments. She then explains, "If the eggs do hatch, I will take the chance that they'll imprint on me as their mother. If not, I'm just going to be running, anyway. I'm not a fighter, as my poor performance back there indicates."
"I think these are the spider eggs, or the centipedes, and not the dragons or ducks." Paenitia speculates, tapping at the chin of her mask, "You may run even if they print on you."
<OOC> Glasha says, "With Detect Magic going, since that's all I got." <OOC> Paenitia nods, "And using Stealth Synergy, so we all roll stealth, take the highest roll, and add our bonuses to that." GAME: Glasha rolls Stealth: (16)+1: 17 GAME: Paenitia rolls stealth: (5)+6: 11
As the group draw nearer to the fissure, they will hear a sound- seeming to be emanatting from the far end of it, around the dark corner beyond which they canot see from where they are. It's a strange... rythmic sound. Difficult to place. It sounds not unlike a blade being drawn, followed by a mighty whoosh. A pause, and then it repeats.
- Shnick... WHOOSH... Shnick... WHOOSH...
"A second. I look for the blade making the sound." The Dark Lucht says, padding quietly a few feet up the northern crack to have a look around.
Two dozen Eggs, at least. Each about the size of a cantaloupe. Clustered in groups of three or four.
The noise is a little louder as the Lucht makes her way deeper into the chasm, but still distant- the fissure seems to go on for some time. While it opens up a bit here, where the eggs are laid, it seems to narrow again further along.
Glasha whisper-shouts ahead, "Don't go too far; I'm supposed to be the one the eggs imprint on if they hatch!"
She returns, still whispering, and answering Glasha, "Two dozen, in group of three and four, waiting for the mother to hatch them. We could not sit them all. Ramirez could, but he does not do the women's work. He is too vain."
She gestures up the crevass, "They wait."
Glasha moves into the chamber with the eggs, trying her best to keep a watchful eye out for mother. She looks the eggs over for magic with her detection active, but slowly approaches to examine them.
Paenitia watches as Glasha advances. She shrugs her shield, contemplating switching to her bow. Could be wise, but if there's a problem someone will need to block the passage, and she's good at that. When things aren't stepping over her. Her bardiche is still with Ramirez, as are all her other pole-arms, on the other side of a trap that Smuldur is taking his time with. She decides, warhammer and shield for now. The hammer is best for cracking eggs anyhow.
Glasha isn't really sure what they might be. They don't look like any bird egg she's ever seen, not that she's seen all that many kinds of bird egg. They are slimy, dark, moist-looking and leathery rather than hard-shelled, smell faintly acidic. Occasionally, something stirs within one of the eggs, causing its surface to stretch or undulate with the motions within.
She turns to whisper-shout back toward the others, "They look ready to hatch!" She looks back at the eggs.
Paenitia creeps up to join Glasha, pointing with her warhammer at a near clutch of three. "You want to be the Momma for them? I can stand behind, you will be the first they see."
Glasha nods back toward Paenitia. "I don't know if we have minutes or hours to wait, though," she says. "You three stay behind me. If this goes south, please be ready to defend me against my new babies."
"Yes. I know the terror of the babies." Paenitia says, sounding completely serious.
As if on cue, one of the eggs splits open. A dark, chitenous appendage splitting the leathery sack that makes up it's egg shell. Foul smelling jelly spills out, as it disgorges a fleshy grey-brown segmented creature, six limbed and slender, with antennae bristling about either side of its eyeless head, and pincers flexing absently. Another egg splits, and another, and another, each disgorging similar creatures one after the other, each of them blindly flexing their feelers. They begin to consume their eggs and the jelly they had contained almost as soon as they hatch, for the time being, indifferent or ignorant of the adventurers watching them hatch.
Glasha swallows and carefully takes a step forward. "Okay, not the cutest things, but still not necessarily evil," she says, hesitantly. She lowers herself. "Hey, babies. You want me to be your mommy?"
The creatures closest to Glasha suddenly skitter away from her once she draws close- they definitely seem to be blind, but perhaps it is her voice or her footfalls that sends them scurrying away. A few of them lift their long skinny tail sections up, and spray a dark fluid in Glasha's direction. It stinks, astringent and acidic and sulfurous.
They don't seem agressive. They backed away. But the spray is unpleasant, it might be nauseating to pass through their nest, but doesn't seem dangerous.
"Hmmm," Glasha says. "I don't think these ones imprint," she says. "I also don't think they're very dangerous. Just babies. They're scared of us, or at least of me."
"Yes. You are the frightening one. Perhaps the food will work." Paenitia suggests, maintaining her position.
===================== Current Initiative Order - Round 1 =====================
---Init--Name------------AOO-Notes--------------------------------------------
18 Miner Beetle 4 1
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16 Glasha 1
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>> 15 Miner Beetle 3 1 <<
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11 Smuldur 1
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11 Aimarra 1 Flat-footed (0 rnds remaining)
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10 Big Miner Beetl
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9 Miner Beetle 1
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9 Miner Beetle 2
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4 Paenitia 1 Flat-footed (0 rnds remaining)
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Map
https://www.mipui.net/app/index.html?mid=mty35h35o1d
Hatching Nymphs
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Diving_beetle_nymph.jpg
