NeMoren's Vault IV: The One Who Crawls!!


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Krusk said:
Looking decidedly crest-fallen at the prospect of RUNNING AWAY, Krusk grumbles something insufficiently incoherent about "Point-eared Surrender Monkeys"...
since the double-negative means his grumblings were audible.... :)

Alhandra tries to direct the others north aways while chiding the near-neanderthal : "My dear brute, you're more than welcome to stay there and be squashed like a bug by the flanking maneuver of the bug and whatever it is that's coming down that hallway, but we all haven't stayed alive this long by being foolhardy in the face of danger.

We'll need your strength and stamina to keep from having these forgotten horrors overwhelm us once their entire forces are aligned 'gainst us!

In other words, Krusk - if we all move up here, you won't get bitten in the butt while you're fighting the stuff from the hall.

What say you, my hulking companion?
You wanna turn 'em into pincushions if they peek out?"


Alhandra stands her ground at N20, her Mighty bow-twang still echoing in the large cavern after loosing a MW arrow at the bug.
Her body language invites Krusk to take up position next to her to form a front of ranged death at anything that advances.
 



Bah, I'll show you horror!

Bah, horrible like no ale horrible, horrible like a sixty year old whore horrible, or horrible in Regdar having to watch Terms of Endearment horrible?
 

Alhandra said:
since the double-negative means his grumblings were audible.... :)

OOC: That was precisely the point, my dear... Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered to type out what I was grumbling about, eh? Anyway...

Grrrr, Grumble Grumble.
Growl Grumble, Mumble Snort Growl.
Huff, Grumble Snort Growl.


Krisk grudgingly sidles up next to Alhandra to protect her flank for what ever might appear out of tunnel.

Krusk moves to N21, next to Alhandra, and then continues his readied action to shoot an arrow at the first enemy to make an appearance anywhere.
 

The small beetle-thing pauses at the edge of the chasm and chitters in fury... or in hunger? Hard to tell. But it's chittering, and eyeing Jozan like Regdar eyes an ale. It's less excited, though, as arrows bounce and clatter around it. Nebin's bolt manages to pierce its chitinous exoskeleton, as does Alhandra's; that kind of natural armor is great against blunt weapons, but lousy for piercing arrows and crossbow bolts! Then Regdar hefts a goblinoid and, sticking the tip of his tongue in the corner of his mouth as he gauges the distance, heaves. His aim is superb; it hits the beetle-thing and knocks it backwards onto its back.

Unfortunately, that means that the arrows from Hennet and Mialee stick in the goblin corpse instead of the monster. Not Krusk's, though; his pierces the flaccid corpse and staples it to the bug creature with one massive shaft. It screams out a high-pitched whine of pain as it tries to dig its way back into the rock.

Too late, though; Lidda is there. Her jump over the chasm was less than spectacular, but her tumble was nice, and she ends up right behind the creature. No one to help flank... but a critical strike downwards makes up for the lack of a sneak attack. Her short sword stabs down through the concealing goblin and right into the beetle-thing's skull! It spasms furiously and chips of rock fly up around Lidda's head, catching in her hair and scratching her face, but it finally goes still.

Oddly enough, Lidda can't help but notice that there is a leather and bone collar around its stubby neck.

Meanwhile, Jozan scrabbles up the side of the chasm with Kerwyn's and Ma'Varkith's help. As they drag - err, assist - him to the surface, he has a picture perfect view of the web burning. There's something BIG on the other side. They all move to the north, to find a more defensible position.

Devis changes his tune to a rousing little ditty, something designed to inspire his friends to greater glory. It's hard to sing with your eyebrows almost burning off, but he manages it neatly. He can almost see it through the flames... but he knows his friends are behind him to back him up. Grinning with confidence, he glances behind him - and sees almost everyone headed to the north end of the room. With a graceful precision, he fires his crossbow through the flame instead of retreating. There is no way to tell whether his bolt hit or not.

Perea growls with glee as Vadania's spell goes off. She rubs against her friend, and turns her massive shoulders as she looks for a target. Only Devis really gets a good look, though!

As the flames die out, he sees a huge version of the small creature that attacked Jozan. Easily 10 feet wide and probably as long, it fills the whole corridor, hulking there with mandibles twitching and claws ripping small clumps of rock from the stone floor. It has some kind of odd apparatus on its head, blinders like you'd see on a horse, and on its back is crouching two goblinoids with long spears. They're strapped into some kind of odd saddle device, hanging on to reins that are clipped to the mandibles, and they're also wearing helmets that restrict their field of vision. One of them gives an odd, whooping cry and shakes the reins; the other one smacks the creature's bluish shell with a gauntleted fist.

Issuing a hideous buzz, the monstrous mount steps forward, over the burning bodies of goblinoids sacrificed and burnt in order to remove the webs. Behind it in the shadows, the blind leader and several lackeys stand with a large grin displaying their sharpened teeth. The monster stretches out a claw almost casually... and as Devis ducks, a pig-sized chunk of stone is smashed from the wall above his head.

Actions?

Jozan, Kerwyn and Ma'Varkith: I moved you to the north. If you'd rather be elsewhere, let me know!
Nebin at L16. Jozan at N16. Kerwyn at L17. Ma'Varkith at N17. Alhandra at N20. Regdar at Q18. Kazak at J20. Lidda at R12. Dead bug-thing at R13. Mialee at I19. Krusk at N21. Hennet at P19. Devis at P23. Vadania at O20, Perea at O21. Great big monster at M25 and back!
 
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From his possition of (relative) saftey, Kazak biocurrents the beetle's riders.

"So Mialee lass, what's the formation for huge monster attack?"
 

Alhandra's voice rings out - "Back up until we reach the cave wall to the north!

Everybody loose whatever ranged attacks you have until this hideous monstrosity gets too close, then us front-liners'll take it out up-close and personal, if need be!

If anyone has a shot at the riders, or that over-blown blind ringleader of this psycho circus, than take it!


The warrior-born will pull taut her bow and let Heironeous himself aim her arrow of justice, hoping to pierce the black heart of the leader (if he shows his face), or a rider.
If there's no clear shot from where she's at, she'll try to hit the monster.
 

"Wow, Devis, you really are brave. But Alhandra says the new plan is to lure it north and shoot it on the way. I guess you're doing the luring part."

Figuring that Sleep isn't going to do much good at this point, Hennet casts Magic Missle at the beast and retreats 30' to the north to J19.
 
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