Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1599372" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 154 “Mole!” Zenna cried, watching in horror as the giant sloth consumed her friend.  For a moment an unnatural quiet hung over the clearing...“GET THAT THING, NOW!” Arun roared, putting his own words into action as he leapt forward, tossing his shield aside to strike two-handed at the creature.  He avoided the front of the creature, knowing that Mole was somewhere inside its gullet, instead taking aim at one of its front legs.  The sloth, slower now that the loss of blood was having an effect, started to turn, but it could not react in time to stop the hammer that came down on its front right limb, right at the joint.  There was a sickening crack, and the sloth sagged, keening in sudden pain.  From the opposite side Morgan rushed back into the fray, his sword shining in his hand as he raised it high, driving it deep into the creature’s side. Hodge rushed it from the rear, bringing his axe around in a mighty blow that nearly severed one of its hind legs.  The sloth reared up, clearly in agony now, tottering on its ruined limbs.  Suddenly an arrow sprouted from the base of its skull, the black feathered shaft quivering as a shudder passed through the creature.  Then, as the companions drew back, it hissed and fell. “Hurry... cut it open!” Zenna cried, rushing in even as the dead sloth’s bulk settled to the ground.  “Where?” Hodge said, examining the body of the creature with a look of disgust in his face.The question was answered for them a moment later, as an inch of steel suddenly jutted from a spot in the creature’s belly, twisting slightly as it tried to work a wider hole. “There!” Zenna said, but the others were already there.  “Careful, don’t cut her!” she added, as Morgan and Hodge used their blades to slice open the creature’s belly.  It only took them a few moments to widen the hole enough to reveal Mole.  The gnome looked rather the worse for wear, her skin blotched where the stomach acids of the creature had scored it, her entire body covered in digestive juices and gore.  But she was able to flash them a wry grin as they helped her out from the creature. “Well, now I know how an apple feels like!”Dannel, having made his way back down from his treetop perch, jogged over to them.  “Everyone all right?” he asked. “More or less,” Mole said, holding her arms out from her body as she examined herself with a deep frown on her face.  “I may need a bath, though.”“It’ll be dark soon,” Arun said.  “We need healing, food, and rest, in that order.  And it seems as though there’s a ready shelter at hand.”  With his hammer, he pointed toward the nearby cave at the foot of the slope. “That place has an ill look about it,” Morgan said, a trace of uneasiness in his voice. “True enough,” the paladin said.  “But unless you’d rather camp out in the jungle, it’s our only option. “I’m going to go look for a stream,” Mole said, starting toward the forest.  “No wandering off alone,” Dannel said.  “I’ll go with you, and we can look for some wood that’ll burn as well.”“Yer ain’t hot enough already?” Hodge asked. “I was thinking more of dinner,” the elf said, with a nod toward the sloth.  The dwarf grinned.  “Ah, in that case, I’ll go with ye as well.  Yer others can get our new digs set up, all domestic-like.”Zenna rolled her eyes, but she, Morgan, and Arun started toward the cave, while the others returned to the forest.  “Watch yourself... those archers may still be about,” Arun cautioned.”“We won’t go far,” Dannel promised.And the twilight shadows deepened, as night settled down over the jungle.  The moon was new, Selûne’s glow temporarily absent from the sky, and the stars seemed tentative this night, faint glimmers in an expanse of pure black. The cave wasn’t especially spacious, and it stank of rotting hides among other unpleasant odors that were thankfully not fresh.  But it was defensible, and given the two hostile encounters they’d already had since entering the jungle, the complaints against the accommodations were not that vociferous.  They cooked slabs of sloth meet on kebobs that Dannel fashioned from spent arrows, and enjoyed a filling repast.  Mole produced a bulging aleskin from her bag of holding, and for a time they were able to banish their internal rivalries and the complex feelings feeding the tension within the group, and simply be companions, enjoying a life of adventure and shared challenges overcome.  Even Morgan was brought to smile by a joke Mole told, although his eyes still avoided Zenna, shrouded in her cloak at the edge of the firelight, far from both the cleric and from Dannel.  The elf did not press the matter, and after the meal he drew out his silver flute, and played a few melodies that evoked feelings of camaraderie and victory after long struggle, through which was woven a faintly sad undertone that told a story of loss and regret.  The others listened in silence as the elf wrought his music, and when it was done, Zenna turned away to conceal the tears that had gathered in her eyes.  The brief interlude passed quickly, though, with the realization that further dangers awaited them tomorrow in the jungle.  After a brief discussion to include Morgan in their usual watch schedule, they banked their fire and retired to catch what sleep they could while the night remained.</blockquote>

Verification