[IC] Industrygothica's "The Hive"

[Kobold Stew]

Reacting with characteristic deliberation --

[I mean really, have you seen Courage's initiative rolls?]

-- Courage swings her axe down on the ant's head.

 

[industrygothica]

As the giant ant sticks its head out of the tunnel, Jonas and Courage are quick to react, Jonas burying his rapier deep into the thing's side, and Courage crushing its skull with a mighty swing of her hammer. The thing falls in a heap at the mouth of the tunnel, and will have to be drug out before anyone can go through.

** End of battle **

 

[Kobold Stew]

Courage gives a lopsided smile at Jonas, and she places her weapons on the ground. She bends down and grabs the shell around the creature's thorax and begins to heave with both hands.

 

[industrygothica]

The party heaves the ant out of the hole, and are left with a nearly vertical tunnel at least 30 feet in length, at the bottom of which lies a freshly slain carcass of a dire boar.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Courage examines the tunnel:

what is its diameter? are the walls rough earth, stone, or something else? are there handholds? Is this the route only for giant ants, or will humanoids (like the ant-dwarves we saw previously) also use this route? Are there humanoid tracks emerging from the hole?

Also, at the bottom, do we see ants dealing with the boar corpse? many of them?

 

[industrygothica]

Courage examines the tunnel:

what is its diameter? are the walls rough earth, stone, or something else? are there handholds? Is this the route only for giant ants, or will humanoids (like the ant-dwarves we saw previously) also use this route? Are there humanoid tracks emerging from the hole?

Also, at the bottom, do we see ants dealing with the boar corpse? many of them?

The tunnel is about five feet in diameter, burrowed at a sharp angle down and to the west, in the direction of the tower. There are no handholds in the earthen walls. Though sparse, Courage and Shai can make out a few non-ant like tracks leading to and from the tunnel, probably humanoid. There looks to have been more than a dire boar carcass to have been dragged down at one time as well. You do not see any ants working on the carcass at the bottom of the tunnel, though it is very dark, and the carcass itself is barely silhouetted in the minimal light seeping down the tunnel.

 

[Kobold Stew]

"Well, friends. As I see it, we have two choices. We can go down here, or we can plug up the hole, wait for them to build a new one, plug that one up, and so forth until they decide to come out and deal with us in the open. The second option will take more time, but is probably safer for us. It looks like they have used this location for some time now--interrupting traffic is going to catch their attention. What do you think?" asks Courage, as she reaches again for her bow and axe.

 

[Mista Collins]

"Too be honest, I'd rather go in. I'd like to experience an ant farm first hand. Plus, maybe these tunnels will lead us to the tower. Who knows what could be in there." Tanith says as she looks down the tunnel. "Besides, maybe whomever is responsible for those nuts resides in there."

 

[Kobold Stew]

"Is that what they mean by the criminal underground?" asks Courage without cracking a smile. "Who has a rope?"

 

[Mista Collins]

"Not I. Anyone else?"