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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 4151900" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dungeon Crawl Classic #3 The Mysterious Tower Level 3-5Turn 95: Stag Party.“What’s that?” Anya’s awake in an instant.The other members of the Gang are also getting up.“YAHOOOOOO.”It’s Newt, he sounds… very well actually- certainly upbeat, the far door is open- through to the ex-Owlbear den. “GET ‘EM SCAT, SICK ‘EM.”The Gnome sounds like he’s having far too much fun, the Gang scramble and rush through the door, following the sound of his voice, and the sound of fighting.“What the…” Jim stops mid-stride, in the largest of the caverns Owlbear Momma is bleeding badly, she’s being attacked by another Giant Stag Beetle, the Beetle is in turn being attacked by a flailing Scat, riding on the back of Scat is Newt, he’s fashioned some sort saddle and reins contraption.The Gnome waves and reloads his crossbow; he’s tied down so there’s no chance of him falling off during the operation.“Newt?” Jim continues to stare open mouthed.CRUNCHCas however is all action, his longsword gouges into the Beetle’s carapace.“DINNA. DINNA. DINNA.” Scat chants, which is a little off-putting.FWUNGNewt’s crossbow sings, but is slightly off tune, causing Jim to take emergency evasive action.“Sorry my bad.” Newt calls over.“Sorry doesn’t begin to cover it.” Jim shakes his head and leaps into the fray.CRUNCHThe Beetle attempts to turn as the Goodman Gang hammer on its carapace, it’s desperate to get at them, ignoring the tottering Owlbear ahead of it.CRUNCHAlas, for the Beetle, the operation is spectacularly unsuccessful, the huge creature gets wedged in mid-turn, it’s helpless- legs kicking in the air.Momma Owlbear seizes the opportunity, bites down and rips the side out of her attacker. Cas attacks from the other side, his new sword, although seemingly made of wood, slices easily through the armoured miscreant.The Beetle is almost cut in two, soon dead, still high and dry, its little legs stop flailing and finally rest- Momma Owlbear continues to rage however, which also signals the Gang’s retreat, with Scat of course, although the Otyugh is reluctant to say goodbye to his “DINNA.”“Get back, get back.” Jim calls.The Gang fan back to the cave entrance.“What the hell were you doing?” Jim stares hard at Newt.“I dunno. I thought we could take him.” Newt shrugs.“Why didn’t you wake me, I mean us?”Newt shrugs again, sighs and looks skyward.“We’re all alright aren’t we? Nobody’s hurt?”“She is.” Jim points at the female Owlbear that has ceased raging and is licking its wounds now, in between taking bites from the Beetle carcass, the young Owlbears are also feeding.Newt stares at the family scene.“So. None of us were hurt. What’s your point?”“My point is it could have been, scratch that, it was dangerous, we’re a team.”“Whatever, you know who you sound like…” Newt shrugs and grins- impish, then giddy-up’s Scat off back towards their sleeping chamber.“Newt. NEWT. We’re not finished. Newt.”The Gnome doesn’t even look back.“Leave him Jim. I can heal her.” Ala stares at Momma Owlbear, “if you can keep her calm?”Jim nods, moves off cautiously, advances towards the Owlbear and her kids.The rest of the Gang, except Cas, head back to the camp.“I’ll keep an eye out from here, in case anything untoward should happen.” Cas states.Jim nods back, looks crestfallen, then gets back to the job at hand.The Paladin grins, from ear-to-ear.Ten minutes later Ala and Cas return to the other members of the Gang, Jim is staying on with the patched up Owlbear, who still has a number of wounds. The procedure being only partially successful, it seems Owlbears are not keen on having anybody touch them, even female Clerics of Correllon that mean well.Back at camp there’s an impenetrable silence, Newt probably knows he’s in the wrong, the others are certain of it, however their certainty is less apparent when it comes to taking sides. This is Newt after all; the wrong thing is often the right thing for the Rogue.Two hours later Jim returns.“I’ve cleared away what’s left of the Beetle, out of the lair- I don’t want predators attracted to the smell, that’ll give her half-a-chance…” Jim trails off.It seems nobody else cares.“We’d better get on.” The Ranger states, and then turns to Scat.“This is goodbye…”“DOWNUT LEAF ME. DUW-UNT.” Scat blubs and flails his tentacles at Jim, and Newt.“Scat Bad, singy songy, od yure ad-went-yure. Scat gud Bad.”Jim rubs Scat between the eyes, coating his hand in drying dung.“We need to get into the Tower Scat, to rescue the Ghost of Balthazhar, we can’t stay here. You’ve been very helpful… Besides I’ll come back to see you, we all will.” Jim goes looking for confirmation, Newt nods back vigorously, Cas half-smiles, Anya and Ala go for their most expressionless look, Bec is definite, the Barbarian shakes his head.“Anyway, I’ll come back to see you, I promise.”Jim heads off, and where Jim goes, apparently the Goodman Gang follow, Newt hugs one of Scat faecal covered legs, then scurries off after the others, wiping his hands frantically.Scat heaves and sobs, furiously waving all of his tentacles.Fifteen minutes later the Gang surround the hole they found earlier, which Cas fell down, only to be rescued by Newt, the former location of the defunct Immovable Rods.“HARK-SPIT.” Bec spits down the hole.“Oi. Don’t do that, I’ve got to walk about down there.” Newt lowers himself over the side, Bec grips tight to the other end of the rope.“Oh so it’s different now, okay for me to go ahead a little… Not so uptight now are you Mr. Ranger sir.”Newt grins at Jim, winks, and then waves at the others- Bec continues to lower the Gnome down.Newt looks below, into the sunrods flare, he ignites and throws another sunrod over to the right, light bathes the area- a large, damp cavern, roughly circular and about 100 feet in diameter, the ceiling 15 feet high. The edges of the room are surrounded by a dense undergrowth of giant mushrooms of all sizes and shapes. The growth is so thick that when Newt hits the cavern floor he can’t see much more than five feet through the fungal forest.“SAFE.” Newt half-whispers, half-shouts back up.Moments later Cas is being lowered down, the Paladin is just reaching the bottom when.“NEE-NAH NEE-NAH NEE-NAH.”“Shrieker”, then, “SHRIEKER.” Newt screams at Cas, then begins to hack at the offending fungi.“SAFE.” Cas calls up, the rope is hoisted away, Cas meanwhile, rushes over to help Newt smash up the wailing mushroom. About twenty seconds later, with the noisy mushroom chopped beyond recognition, they wonder why they can still hear the Shrieker.“NEE-NAH NEE-NAH NEE-NAH.”“Wrong one.” Newt giggles, and nods towards a similar looking mushroom less than five feet away.Cas nods and the pair set to hacking this terror to pieces.Bec meanwhile arrives, a bumpy journey, what with him being considerably heavier than any of the other members of the Gang.Cas and Newt are still swinging hard when Bec lands, takes a look about, shrugs his shoulders and then begins to slash furiously at the fungi surrounding him- all of it, its like making crop circles,“OOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooOOOoo.”“WAHWAHWAAHWAHWAHWAAHWAHWAHWAAH.”Which causes two more Shriekers in the chamber to make their presence felt.The first Shrieker destroyed Cas heads over to give Bec a piece of his mind.“BLOODY HELL BEC.”“WHAT?”“I SAID BLOODY HELL.”“BLOODY WHAT?”“HELL.”“YES, I’M VERY WELL THANK YOU.”“NO, I SAID…”“EXCEPT THERE’S SOMETHING IN MY EAR.”“WHAT?”“EAR.”“I’M NOT COMING ANY CLOSER, NOT UNLESS YOU PUT THAT SWORD DOWN.”Anya meanwhile is gingerly slinking down the rope, whilst trying to lift her robe over her head to block out the noise, and at the same time hang on, the word is ungainly.“Aaaaarrgghh.”Cas suddenly staggers backwards, a long way, he stumbles, falls into a patch of fungi, sending bits of mushrooms and toadstools everywhere.“Wha… Hel…” Is all he has to say on the matter.The Paladin rubs at his hand, its purple and covered with white blisters which pulse and swell.He chokes and vomits over himself.DM’s Interlude Cas went from full hit points to 10 hit points, and lost 3 strength and 2 constitution- now that’s more like it.Bec’s confused, as is Anya, the pair look about- what did that, both crouch- weapons facing forward, what just got Cas.Neither of them spot the Purple Fungi that slithers close to the gound, following its prey, which in this instance is the fallen Paladin.“Hot soup and blankets… too hot… spicey… kiss Anyaaaaaaarrrrgggggggggghhh.”Cas, starts off his soliloquy, clearly delirious, and ends it facing his attacker again, the Purple Fungi, an ugly spindly tendril covered plant which looms over the Paladin, before it strikes.Cas’ head thumps into the cavern floor, it gets very dark in there.“Where’s Cas go?” Anya worries, “where’d he go?”“He fell.” Bec points.The pair head over, in search of their lost Paladin.Behind them Newt faces off against the second Shrieker.“It’s just me and you pal, there’s nowhere left for you to run, no place to hide.” “OOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooOOOoo.”“That’s not my problem do you thing I like doing this, do ya?” “OOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooOOOoo.”“Are you wailing at me? I don’t see anyone else here. Are you wailing at me?”“OOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooOOOoo.”“Heh-Heh.” Newt giggles and grins.Then unleashes his heavy mace and goes to smash the second Shrieker into fungi heaven.POPSomething small and very important fails, or rather breaks, on the Gnome’s armour- result, he’s suddenly not wearing any armour, he’s tackle out, as it were.Newt reddens gathers his armour up and sidles off to fix whatever’s wrong.“OOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOoooOOOoo.”“There he is”, Anya points at the unconscious Cas, “Oh Pelor, Ala- get down here, it’s Cas, quick.” She rushes over.Next Turn: It gets worse.</blockquote>

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