[LANAI] The Rod of Seven Parts: Into the Crucible

Rowan raises an eyebrow as the great owlbear crashes to the ground. The celestial white beetle slowly dissolves into a mist as the the wizard's spell expires, and Rowan moves cautiously forward to collect his walking stick. "Well, that was bracing, eh?"

Arden has a glow of sweat about her, and she nods. "What about those other things on the ceiling? We need to be wary of them, perhaps we should hunt them down so they don't plague us later?"

Rowan picks up his walking stick and eyes the ceiling carefully. That, friend Arden, is an excellent notion."

Wyleck nods as he slowly strokes Yssal's fur to calm his companion. "Indeed, I don't rightly fancy them dropping in on us as we lay down for the nights nap, no?"

Rowan moves closer to the dead owlbear, poking it hard with his walking stick to make sure it is dead. He remains ready to spring away from it, though...just in case.

Phud : Male Half-Orc Sorcerer 1

Phud whacks the dead owlbear a couple of more times with his mace. "Stupid bear-bird!" Then he looks past the owlbear to the others. "Phud find different way. Me get behind stupid bear-bird."

Rowan nods at his companion. "Indeed, my friend. Excellent work, Phud." The wizard certainly hoped he never angered the half-orc. One whack from that mace would smash his entire body into pulp.

The owlbear lies still on the cave floor. Blood mats the thing's thick hide and a few loose feathers drift here and there, littering the floor. Aside from the northern passageway, Phud stands in the only visible means of egress, a short tunnel of natural rock and dirt that leads off to the south a short ways before opening into what might be either a larger tunnel or another cavern. The stalactite creatures fled north a bit earlier when the owlbear first made its approach. Listing to the side as it lies, one of the stalactites that was squished by the owlbear's heavy step now lies visible. The small creature is perhaps three feet in length and has two mangled eyestalks that lie limply pressed into the dirt. Bits of calcified outer shell are ground into the floor beside the crushed stalactite.

The halfling kneels near the dead owlbear for a moment, and then begins to pluck a few feathers. He quickly stuffs these into his pouch. Never know when such things might have magical uses.

Rising, Rowan moves to examine the stalagmite creature, thinking back on his studies to whether he has ever heard of such a thing before.



Knowledge, Dungeoneering +4
Knowledge, Nature +5

[sblock=Rowan]Knowledge (dungeoneering). Rowan bends and fingers some of the gritty mineral lying broken about the cavern floor. The creature's soft white underbelly and eyestalks confirm a suspicion that the stalactite is a piercer, though a larger specimen than is normally encountered underground. Hard to spot in their preferred environment, piercers favor underground rocky terrain and have a particular penchant for hanging disguised anywhere rocks are embedded on high ground, that they might drop from above on unsuspecting prey. Carnivorous, piercers secret an acid into the flesh wound of their victim intended to dissolve and soften the meat of their pray, making gorging all the easier. After seeing Arden suffer, Rowan is confident that the falling damage is slight in comparison to the acid damage and that one of the best ways to counter a piercer attack is to work in concert to get the unpleasant creature out of one's flesh.[/sblock]