Disaster
The party sell some of the magic items that they found and the party goes shopping in the city of Suzail. Feng has Laskur's Bane enchanted.
Rizzit detects that the bottle is an Eversmoking Bottle: and the shield carried by Beltain is a +1 Wooden Shield of Arrow Deflection
"Well" Rizzit concludes smugly "If we are finished we should head back, who knows what may have happened in our absence? Let's hope Lord Hawklin can gain something from that Zhent"
"Ooh. That Bottle is a truly marvellous item of wonder. I think we should keep it. I would happily use it. As it is both useful and none damaging. And I can think of a lot of uses for it in conjunction with illusions."
"Or you could jam it up someone's arse" Feng tells him "Now I have Laskur's Bane enchanted as befits a hero, I'm good to get outta here."
"I hope the Zhents sent some more troops out lookin' for the prisoner - I'd hate to think of them gettin' away."
"I say. The horn and the bottle are similar in use but different enough for them to be used in conjunction. I'd like to have the bottle if possible please? I will donate the 1100 gold pieces I have in my possession to party funds. To cover incidentals. Would that be fair?" asks TW Nosnibor, "Why don't you just carry it Nos, it will be cheaper for you..." Limara smiles "It's useful treasure so we aren't going to sell it to the vendors. When we share out the loot at a later date you can have it as one of your choices if you like."
As they go to leave the city Lord Hawklin smiles at Limara and then bows "A most generous gift to my troops" he tells her "I'm sure Miss Dunmen's men will appreciate the gesture, I'm sure she will to, although she would be loathe to admit it." He turns to the rest of the party "Safe travels. I will see you soon"
the party head off, passing through the Purple Dragon camp and reaching the ancient ruins without incident.
Beltain looks around and immediately notes that the bodies of orcs, humans and ogres are missing as is the pile of mundane treasure items "Watch out!" he warns his companions "We have had visitors"
"Lets hurry inside, this sunshine hurts my eyes" moans Rizzit, "I wonder what that plant is there, I don't remember seeing it last time? Any know about such things?"
Beltain, who is a herbalist, goes and examines the plant carefully. His herbalist skills do not let him down. Beltain carefully gathers the plant, taking care to leave some to grow again and stores it against future need
"Interesting," says Rizzit "But something for the clerics I think" and wanders off bored.
"Feng" calls Rizzit "You brave enough to rush down there and surprise any enemies?"
"Never failed to be, yet." grunts Feng and grabs his axe in both hands and charges down the stairs "FENG KILLS! FLEE IN TERROR! FENG COMES!"
Rizzit smiles "Works every time" mumbles the Kobold to himself as he follows Feng at a more sensible pace (mother always said not to run with sharp axes)
Beltain too, moves swiftly to the top of the stairs eager to pursue those who had scavenged the party's mundane loot
The Wizard Nosnibor proceeds at a more leisurely pace, ties up Robinson and picks up Pussy and wanders towards the others. "I wonder if fog would be useful in this situation?" he mutters to himself.
Beltain looks at The Wizard with alarm "Don't use the horn without someone in the lead asking" he requests quickly "We need our wits about us and to be able to see what's ahead"
"Does anyone remember if the other stairs went down to the same room as this set?" asks Rizzit "Otherwise it may be worth clearing them later and checking what goodies lay below"
Elinor leaves Legend with the other horses, hefts her sword, and follows Feng and Rizzit down the stairs alongside Beltain.
Rizzit moves slowly forward, cautiously moving as quietly as possibly and using the shadows, he listens intently for any sounds ahead (and sends wizzy first so can u put him on the map pls)
The area is empty. Indeed the slain orcs and the loot the party left behind is gone. The portal stands, glowing softly. Hard wall can be seen within the portal
[Beltain] I am back at the keyboard.
While he waits Beltain goes and examines the Southern edge of the cavern looking for evidence of a collapsed ceiling or a sign that the blocked stairs, seen from ground level emerged here. Beltain ascertains that the southern end is intact, it hasn't collapsed. But the stairway down is strewn with rubble, the ceiling there collapsed. It seems the rocks were cleared from the inside...someone dug out!
"What are Mr Nosnibor and Limara doing our there? I shudder to think" says Rizzit to Beltain looking innocent. The cleric looks back towards the stairs before he realises that the kobold is taunting him.
"Well, there's nothin' doin' here at the mo'" says Feng "Belt, do you want to take a look up top and see if there's owt we've missed? Prap's there is another way down. Prap's the scavengers and cleaners up after..." He furrows his brow "Unconsidered trifles" Grins "Lives in the ruins, and not thru the portals. Gotta be worth taking a butchers. - You comin'?"
"Ill wait down here for Lim and the others to join us" replies Beltain "I'm sure that we can open this portal with the correct words, but I think they wouldn't want to... to well miss the fun!"
Feng shrugs "OK, Stay put, and I'll take a look topside" and so saying he goes up to the surface and takes a look for another way down, or for tracks or marks made by the removal of the bodies."
"Right-ho" agrees the cleric "See you soon, and send word if there's owt going on upstairs" he says with a wide grin.
"You'll hear the screamin', right enough." laughs Feng and starts to look for tracks
"You could use your tracking skills to determine where the people came from and where they went after cleaning up" says Rizzit helpfully "Up top that is"
"There were bodies down here too" points out Beltain "And it would be interesting to known if they, whoever they are, took those bodies upstairs or through the portal..."
"Bah. It's almost against the grain to try to track such slinking, cowardly bastards. But than, they may have some wealth that they might be persuaded to share?"
The Wizard Nosnibor comes down the stairs holding his Horn. "Are you sure you don't want something fogged up? I can't wait to try this out. It's so exciting." he implores. "Oh! Where is all the equipment gone? It looks like someone has appropriated it. Oh that's so nice. I hate to see things go to waste."
Meanwhile Limara searches the area to see if there is any clue as to where the bodies and loot went then she follows the trail of blood down the stairs.
Feng finds no tracks and although he looks around upstairs for another way down, he finds that the other staircase upstairs is completely blocked.
"Open this portal and lets get in guys" says the kobold impatiently
"I agree" agrees Beltain "Just as soon as the others come up. Perhaps we should also see if there are words of power that will close the gate too? Things like '[close, pull, shut, draw] the veil of the universe for me.' might do it" he adds
Limara calls for her dog..."here Gypsy.."
Beltain touches the archway, his fingers tracing the arcane writings. He speaks the words "Part the veil of the universe for me" The archway seems to change colour slightly as if the stone were a lighter shade of grey than before. The air around it has a peculiar odour, like that after a lightning bolt spell has been cast, the temperature feels like it has dropped a bit. The space within the archway becomes illuminated with a foggy light...
Elinor takes a look through the portal- all she can see is the dead griffon from earlier. "Let's go" she says, and steps through. Rizzit and Wizzy follow Elinor through the portal and Feng bustles up, unwilling to lose point to the Paladin "Move aside, there and give me axe-room!" he calls out.
The Wizard Nosnibor takes a tentative step through the portal. "I do hope we don't have to do anymore torturing today"
Worried about the possibility of scavengers about Beltain remains with the horses for a while. "I will stay guard out here, I don't want another Zhentarim sneaking up on us. Come and get me if you find anything interesting"
"Is there any evidence that our loot or the bodies came through this way?" Rizzit asks Feng.
"I feel so much safer knowing Beltain is out there saving us from any rampaging Zhentish hordes" the kobold says laughingly
Feng grunts, "Let's try this gate - someone say them mystical words." he exclaims "I reckon whoever removed the bodies and nicked the loot lives in the ruins - look, the body of the griffon is still here." and he readies "Laskurs Bane"
"Come on Pussy." says the wizard "We'll see which wonderful place this portal takes us. It'll be such an adventure."
"Mr Nosnibor could you open a portal for us please?" the kobold asks him politely.
"Absolutely Learned Rizzit. If I am able" says TW Nosnibor with a smile. The Wizard Nosnibor goes up to the portal and traces the Arcane writings in much the same way that he saw Beltain do it earlier. "Part the veils of the Universe for me."he says cheerfully "I do hope this works Pussy" he mutters to his cat.
"This is exciting, what new realms await us on the other side of the doorway to the unknown" says Rizzit peering through the portal
The archway seems to change colour slightly as if the stone were a lighter shade of grey than before. The air around it has a peculiar odour, like that after a lightning bolt spell has been cast, the temperature feels like it has dropped a bit. The space within the archway becomes illuminated with a foggy light...
Elinor moves up to the portal. "Step aside Nosnibor, I'm going to take a look" and she leans forward and looks through the portal. "Looks rather arid" she comments after a moments study "Can't see anybody around"
"Doesn't look very promising through there, lets try a different one" says Rizzit in a bored tone.
"Oh no" interrupts Nosnibor quickly "We've opened it now. Oh do let's go through. Oh Please! Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?" says The Wizard Nosnibor like a whinging little brat.
"Off you go then, shout if you see anything nasty" says Rizzit with a shrug.
"I will accompany the wizard," says Feng stoicly " Just in case some harm should befall him."
Limara looks at the opened gate to see if there is any clues to where the loot and bodies were taken.. "I wonder where it goes... The Anvil perhaps..?" she frowns, "If its hot we will need a lot of water.... and medium and heavy armour might be a problem too.." she pauses, "And a bucket & spade for Nos".
"It got colder when we opened the portal" says Rizzit grumpily "Well I don't like the look of it there, looks cold and barren. It must be my turn to open one" he says rushing over to a portal. "Part the veils of the Universe for me." he intones.
"What? Do you not enter here, wizard?" Feng asks puzzled "Someone choose swiftly, Laskur's Bane grows thirsty"
"Oh I am so honoured that you'd trust me so. You chaps are just the best. " and The Wizard Nosnibor puffs out his chest and strides through the portal in a brave and confident fashion.
"Look, we have got to search all the portals" she patiently tells Rizzit "We will have to check it. Lets get it over and done with.. C'mon Feng... let's go and find you something to hit" she states as she walks boldly through the second portal.
Elinor follows Nos and Limara through the portal and without further word, Feng stalks after Nosnibor. 'Some things are bound to end in tears' he thinks.
"Ooo very restful" says Rizzit glimpsing the other side of the third portal "Hey where did everyone go?"
Rizzit moves to the second portal and with a deep sigh follows the party moving into the greyness.
Limara circles the area around the portal searching for any evidence of other travellers and the direction they took.
"Why are we here, the other portal had trees and grass" moans Rizzit
"So Rizz... are you going to tell anyone what you saw through portal three ?..." asks Limara
"Trees and grass!" says the kobold looking around the party expectantly.
"Arr..trees, something to look forward to..." Limara smiles, "Anyway, how come you don't like the hot desert?" she asks Rizzit
"There were probably little fluffy bunnies there to" he says glancing at sideways at Nos, "Its boring here" he continues "And it's too bright here for my poor eyes"
"Hopefully" says Limara sympathetically "We won't have to stay here too long.. You need some sunglasses"
"Your right" the kobold says squinting "I like the heat though"
"Yes" agrees Limara "It's a nice change to feel some heat from the sun... "
"So where do we go from here?" asks Rizzit, "It all looks the same"
Limara shrugs "I guess we head towards the mountains over there, we need to try and identify where we are. If we can't find any sign of activity then we head back and try portal three."
Limara checks the architecture to the north of the portal to see if there are any clues as to its origin. She sees no evidence that anyone came through here or any sign of the lost loot. The huge chunks of stone littered about are indeed very old. The stone has been worked in ways she has not seen before.
"Someone decide what to do and I will follow, I can't see too far myself" says Rizzit, fed up with the barren place, suggests a move "I dont like it here, can't we go to the woodland portal, fluffy bunnies Mr Nosnibor"
"Let's get back" agrees Feng "I only got one waterskin and I don't fancy traipsing around a desert with that."
"I agree" says Elinor. She looks a little flushed, and runs a finger around the neck opening of her armour. "Let's go somewhere a little less hot. We're just not equipped to travel here, and there's no sign of passage" and with that Elinor moves back towards the portal and steps through. "Hello Wizzy" she says to the small creature that greets her return.
Rizzit and Feng head back to the nexus
"Trees" says Feng "I like the idea of trees. If need be I can track and ambush in woods - I did most of my growing up in places like that."
and he and Rizzit with wizzy head off through the third portal.
"Oh" says The Wizard Nosnibor, disappointed "But I wanted to make a sand castle. Oh well." and looks around one last time before he follows the others through back through the portal.
"Come on everyone, it looks lovely in here" calls Rizzit from the woodland glade "This is much nicer" and he looks around and listens for any unusual sounds
"Stay loose" advises Feng " This area is great for an ambush." and he thumbs his axe's edge as he takes cover behind the wall.
The Wizard Nosnibor too follows the others through the next portal.
Limara returns from the sun-blasted portal with her dog and goes through, just in time to see Nosnibor's leg disappearing into the adjacent gateway, she goes to follow him ... but before she goes through she remembers Beltain and pops back to tell him that we are going through portal three. They return together and go through portal three to join the others.
Limara's dog gypsy, passes through the portal into the glade, once it reaches the other side the dog becomes very nervous, barking and making whimpering noises. It then turns and flees back through the open portal. Rizzit notices it is very quiet, no sounds of wildlife. Feng does not spot any tracks..
"Hey its very quiet here" says Rizzit "Wow I actually noticed something. What's up with your dog Limara?"
"Hmm" Feng considers the situation "A reason to be careful; animals don't lie to themselves - they trust their instincts." He Carefully scans the woodland for signs of movement, or anything out of place. "I see an uprooted tree over there - I'm thinkin' of checking it out. Cover me." he tells the others
"I got you covered bud" says Rizzit and mentally prepares for a fireball
"If there's nothin' here, I'll check the mound" says Feng with a smile "In the old days folk used to bury their valuables before Banks got invented.". He grasps Laskur's Bane in an easy grip, and brings it up to his shoulder as he approaches the fallen tree
Elinor closes her eyes and tries to get a feel for the area. "It's true that it's unusually quiet, but does that make it evil?" she thinks, using her abilities to sense the presence of evil.
As Beltain looks around, his mind flips back to the days before he started adventuring and he was growing up amongst the elves of the High Forest. He looks around trying to sense the 'wrongness' that Gypsy detected. He wonders if he has every heard of such a place in the stories from his youth
Rizzit too scans the area, outside of this clearing is thick forest. Feng looks around but doesn't spot anything unusual. Elinor tries to detect evil, her powers fail to reveal anything. Feng begins to walk over to where a tree has been uprooted, Beltain watches as he does so. Suddenly the low mound begins to move...it appears as if its Alive!!!
"Wow that things just tendriculously huge" exclaims the kobold, "This looks like one for the fighters I think, a very heroic battle Does anyone know what this thing is, I never heard tales of such a beast in the Underdark"
"Strewth!!!" says Beltain agreeing with Rizzit "If you want to hang the head of that on a wall you'll need a manor-house, no a castle!!"
"Ha Ha!" says Feng dismissively "A walking tree moves towards FENGS AXE!"
"Make sure it don't topple on top o' you when I cut it down" says Feng with a smile "A walkin' shrub ain't gonna get the best of FENG!"
"I've never seen such a thing," Elinor admits, "But I suspect something flaming might have an effect Rizzit" She readies her sword and swallows nervously
Rizzit look at Elnor blankly, wondering what is wrong…
"Haven't you got anything" she starts and then continues, ".....as I was saying, haven't you got anything burning that you could throw at it?"
"I could use a fireball if you think it would help" say Rizzit with a grin, "That's a flaming good idea" he chuckles
"Yeah, or summon some locusts" says Feng missing the pun.
"This is no time for lunch Feng" snaps Rizzit
"Or have you got something like composter's revenge?" suggests Elinor joining into the spirit of the conversation.
"That sounds more like Mr Nosnibors line of magic" admits Rizzit.
"Not yet, Nosnibor has not cooked recently" says Feng with a wide smile
"I have tendency towards the flaming destruction school and he has gone for the totally pants school of magic" responds Rizzit
"If' he's got a pair to strangle this sucker, so much the better for him." Feng resposts
"Maybe he could use his horn of fog or bottle of smoke and we could all run away?" suggests Elinor in jest.
"I suspect he'll try to offer it a sweetie, tho'." says Feng with a sigh "Which should be good for a laff, at least."
"Except of course a paladin would never run away" injects Elinor, just in case anyone though that she had made the suggestion seriously.
"What, not even when you are up against something you can't beat and yer widdlin' yer drawers?" asks Feng in surprise.
"I think that what might cause the paladin or even the barbarian to back away a little, is the thought of Rizzit just itching to lob a few fireballs in!!" grins Beltain
"Run away?" aasks Rizzit "This is a new and interesting concept, maybe we can discuss it after I have cooked this overgrown lettuce"
"I'll have you chaps know" starts the Wizard Nosnibor, as he gets all huffy. "I am a graduate with merit of the Cerilian School of Thaumaturgy, Evocology and Nercromancy. The most prestigious college of the arcane in my whole dimension. And I feel that you may be stretching it just a touch to say that you actually went to a academy of learning. I thought sorcery was just something that happened to you. Something that was given away free in breakfast cereal."
"You are absolutely right Mr Nosnibor," says Rizzit, not to be upstaged "My magic just comes from the power of dragons past that runs through my veins. I would certainly not wish to imply that it would be as good as the magic that comes from late nights reading books. I will endeavour to leave something of this beast for you 'book' magic to deal with just so there can be no doubts. I feel sure it will succumb quickly to one of your riotous jokes"
"You both have great magics," Beltain tells the sorcerer and wizard, "Rizzit's magic extols the inherent might of magic such as the untamed force of the fireball, while Nosnibor's is more subtle such as the varied colours in the dancing flames of his ball of fire and his ability to move it, with the power of his mind"
Beltain gazes in astonishment as more and more of the of the animated plant emerges from the ground. "It's the size of a small house!" he exclaims "From the size of its maw it could swallow one of us – whole" and he shudders in disgust. "I will attempt to summon some denizens of the celestial planes to hold it back until we can despatch it, or if it proves too difficult, then allow us to withdraw and plan our next action" he suggests.
"What's with you church boys and girls and 'running away', 'withdrawing'" Rizzit protests "I was under the impression we were heroes, if you worried just make sure Feng doesn't get killed and imagine us two can sort out this compost heap." He says complete with sarcastic voice and bunny ears
"Nobody, least of all me is suggesting running away" says Beltain tersely "You must be reading too much into what I said. And best not to antagonise it too much, I should think that after pretending to be a hill for so long, the one thing it will HATE MOST OF ALL will be rabbits. Why wait, rather than banter words with us, why don't you barbeque it with one of your super-fireballs now?"
"Antagonise it? It's a bloody plant, its not like I am waving a bottle of salad cream in its face is it." snarls Rizzit, in a bad mood.
"A plant it maybe, but not like any plant that I've seen before." replies Beltain "You notice that there are no forest creatures around here? That's because this plant has either killed or frightened them off. It certainly isn't going to be smart but sure as elves have pointy ears, it will be pretty pissed off by furry creatures, however cute, burrowing into it and nibbling its innards. I stick by what I first said, rabbits are not one of its favourites. - Now where's the fireball you promised?"
Beltain looks expectantly at the two magic-users
"Whoosh" says Rizzit pointing a finger at the big plant and a glowing pea sized bead streaks toward its target. It detonates with a low roar, flames engulfing the Tendriculos
Beltain grins inanely and gives Rizzit a 'thumbs up', that was even better than the one on the Zhents! he exclaims
"Thank you Beltain, I try to please" says Rizzit now smiling again.
"What the hell is that?" Limara exclaims, pointing at the bad tempered plant thing", no wonder Gypsy legged it... lets get this thing dropped quick-sharp, I gotta go - get my wayward pet " she sighs "... and magi, your magic is the same whichever hole you squeeze it out of... it all comes from the weave". She winks at Nos "do you have anything useful to cast Nos because its massive and I think its gonna hurt us, a lot....please say you have "
The beautiful cleric then turns her charm on Beltain "Well Bel my sweet, if this turns nasty at least we have a quick escape" she smiles, "Worst case scenario, or plan B as I like to call it.."
"Mmmm. I think this has the potential to turn pretty nasty pretty quickly." Elinor judges "I will try and bow and arrow it, has anyone got anything more effective up their sleeve?"
"Wow my fire hardly touched it," says Rizzit sadly "This is going to take more than a couple of spells to take down, are we going to put some nice tough armoured people between the mages and that thing?"
"So you think that you and Feng are not going to sort out the compost heap by yourselves now?" Beltain asks Rizzit with a false air of innocence "You aren't thinking of defence or, dare I say it, retreat already are you?"
"Most definitely not, I don't believe I have ever fled the battlefield..." Rizzit respons huffily "Or died on it" he says with a smile
"Then let's get to it and fricassee this legume" Beltain replies "How about it Nosni - any of your long-lasting balls of fire available?"
"Mr Nosnibor please show us a dazzling display of magic" asks Rizzit more in hope than expectation.
"I will just reach into this here book and see what I can find chaps." says The Wizard, "However, as we didn't think to actually rest when we went back through the portal I have not got any more spells than I did at the end of the fight with the ogres. So it's either an acid arrow or silent image" and a magical arrow of acid springs from the wizard's hand and speeds to its target. "Crikey." he exclaims in surprise as the missile hits.
"Well it was a close thing but at least it hit" he says with a cheery smile.
Beltain calls on the forces of his god to aid him and far away, on the Celestial plain, the call is heard. Fire Beetles respond and three start the journey to aid the cleric in his need.
Elinor, with the bravery installed through years of training and devotion dashes forwards and strikes out at the Tendriculous with her longsword. Sadly she misses "I was hoping that would be tree-mendous...." she quips.
"I just knew Elinor would be brave enough to face it with bared steel" says Rizzit , "You could take a few lessons there Beltain, that's real bravery"
"Yes, that's true, don't you feel proud of her! Don't be sad that you aren't as brave Rizzit, you help the party in your own way too!" Beltain consoles the kobold
"Twiggery pokery" says Elinor, confusing everyone.
"Better luck next time M'lady" says Rizzit galently
"Bah!" roars Feng "Too far away for my axe to reach! I will distract in order to draw it away from Elinor." and jumps up and down shouting loudly "FIGHT FENG!"
Rizzit looks slightly shocked by Fengs apparent caution in the face of an enemy "Hmm, dying really does seem to have affected poor Feng's courage then, lucky we still have the ladies to brave this foe"
"I think Elinor is the best at puns" says The Wizard "But I might Hedge my bets on that one", says the Wizard Nosnibor while giggling like a girl.
"Leaf it out Nos..." responds Limara in kind "I reckon you are bark-ing up the wrong tendriculos there..." she grins
Rizzit looks confused "Just hit it" he asks
"Sap" says Limara, on a punning roll.
Limara takes out her magic crossbow and targets the creature but the bolt flies wild.
"Bark-ing up the wrong tree? Hahaha" laughs The Wizard "Very good Limara. I think you've got to the ROOT of the problem there."
The huge plant creature grabs Elinor with one of its huge tentacles, crushing her. She attempts to struggle free but the creature's hold is to strong as it lifts her up and brings her to hits huge maw. The party are shocked as Elinor is bafly hurt.
Rizzit speaks for all when he says "Oh no this is not good at all"
It then grabs Feng pulling him toward it huge mouth and biting at the barbarian, who nevertheless manages to whack it hard with his axe as he approaches it.
Rizzit points his finger and the beast is again engulfed in flame
"Well we're in trouble now. He's got us by the Conkers an' no mistake." says The Wizard with a frown
"We need the special branch..." says Limara grimly
"That was acorn-y one Limara. Kekeke.", says The Wizard Nisnibor sounds a little like the late Poacher.
Limara giggles
The Wizard mutters arcane words and two boring old magic missiles with absolutely no distinguishing features what so ever fly from the his hands. He watches as they impact on the big planty thing as he giggles childishly.
"I know a man that has his missiles look like clacking and biting skulls.... not boring at all.." says Limara conversationally to the wizard.
"Can you target a specific tentacle with those missiles boys?" she asks the two magic users.
Rizzit tells the others "Everyone needs to hurt this thing fast" unnecessarily.
"Indeed...." says Limara "Mental note...take notice when my dog legs it, it for a reason!!!"
Three fire beetles appear and scurry toward the plant creature.
Beltain gulps as the creature manages to hit and pick up the mighty barbarian. He conjures a spiritual weapon hoping to damage the creature more but although he hits he is disappointed with the small damage from the weapon of force.
"BLOODY PLANT IS TOUGH!" yells Feng "FINALLY AN ENEMY WORTHY OF THE MIGHTY FENG!"
Beltain thinks back to his days of priestly training, recalls that these creatures can indeed swallow whole. He has also heard that the digestive juices inside a Tendriculos have a paralyzing effect..
Elinor struggles in the creatures grasp but the plant creatures grip is firm, and Elinor cannot break free.. "I....almost...made...it....." she gasps
Feng mighty thews bulge as he pits his strength against the gigantic plant... but he is no match for the beast "Bugger" he exclaims in disappointment
"Bad luck!" agrees Beltain sadly "The thing seems to have both massive strength and the odds on its side"
"Perhaps if we gave it some baby-bio. Or some other plant food. Then it may leave us alone." jokes The Wizard Nosnibor Limara conjures a spiritual weapon and tries to cut the tentacles with her spiritual weapon, but misses "Damn!" she mutters and reloads her crossbow.
"Wish us luck...." Elinor gasps as she wrestles helplessly with the sinewy tentacles and she struggles as the tentacle draws her to the creatures huge open mouth. She fights hard...but it is not enough, she is swallowed whole.
Beltain groans with despair at the plight of the fighters. The creature seems to have a huge amount of hit points, it can hit with ease and once it does it can win the grapple with no problems and drag even the strongest of the party to its maw. "What can be done? Has anyone a plan with any chance of success?" he asks grimly
"Mr Nosnibor" says Rizzit "Please take this scroll of ray of enfeeblement from me to use on it, may make it weaker and help anyone grappled"
Inside the creatures mass, Elinor is coated in digestive juices! She fights off their paralysing effect, she is burned by acid, but her armour stops the damage - for now!.
"Nooooo not the fair Elinor" groans the kobold Meanwhile another tendril crushes the life out of Feng. Feng's body falls to the floor...dead
"ughh, not again" bemoans Rizzit
Rizzit moves close to Mr Nosnibor and casts his last fireball "here this scroll may be of use"
The plant is hit but seems to regenerate a little. The damage done by Nosnibor's acid is still apparent though….
"I have scorching rays next but i need to get closer" gulps Rizzit "Anyone else able to summon creatures up? I don't like to say this but unless we retreat now we will lose more."
"The choice is retreat to fight another day or die bravely (but foolishly)" says Beltain very sadly "I just can't see how we can do it. I don't want to raise false hopes, and this is a very slim chance, but last time you left Feng for dead he materialised back outside the city. If he is so beloved by his one-eyed god, perhaps the same thing may happen again, and if for him then why not for the Lady Elinor?" asks Beltain in hope...
But Rizzit dismisses the possibility "He had a ring last time I think, didn't that go afterwards?"
Beltain shugs "I don't know, you were with him so I guess that you will know" he answers dejectedly "Everything is blurring now"
"Buck your ideas up there laddy, the battle is not lost yet" says Rizzit with false cheerfulness "Although it will be if you give up all hope"
"I don't see that hope has anything to do with the reality of this situation, it's the facts and the lack of a plan with a chance of success" Beltain groans "Just tell me, what can we do that stands a chance of freeing Feng or Elinor?" he asks "Tell me, if you can"
"I agree with Rizzit." The Wizard admolishes "What sort of heroes will we be if we give up hope now. We have two comrades in dire need. We MUST save them. Did anyone else notice that it didn't regenerate the acid damage? Perhaps it is vulnerable to acid."
"Thank you Mr Nosnibor, we will save Elinor and recover the brave Feng's body to raise" replies Rizzit
The Wizard Nosnibor take a scroll from Rizzit and to cast at the big bush-like beastie.
"I have some acid splash spells, and a flask of acid" Rizzit ponders
"I suggest trying the acid flask fair Rizzit." suggests The Wizard Nosnibor
"Please, please don't move forward Nosni, we are out of its reach - at the moment - if you go forward you just add another person to be rescued!" implores Beltain
Nosnibor reads the scroll, and a coruscating ray springs from Nosnibors hand reducing the plant creature's strength.
Beltain casts another Spiritual Weapons spell and then will direct all his efforts in breaking through the skin where he thinks Elinor is, it hits but does little damage.
"I can see nothing, beyond what I am doing, that gives even a slim chance of success. Unless the situation changes, I intend to retire next round either into the woods to fight on from there but only if you others will join me. Otherwise I will go through this and the next portal. To stay here and attempt to engage the beast in melee is suicide and pointless." says Belatin "I implore and urge you to do the same. Feng and Elinor gave their all to buy us time to live on, don't let their sacrifice be in vain"
"We are screwed here guys," admits the kobold "Let's head back through the portal shut it down and sort out what to do next. Wizzy, what you doing over there, I told you to stay with me, now get back into the portal quickly"
Elinor can feel her limbs getting heavy, but fights off the effects of the digestive juices and makes one last attempt to scramble up and out towards the light. Her feet and hands fail to get a grip on the slippery surface of the creatures guts and she slides back again.
"If only we could help Elinor" says Beltain "Does anyone have anything they think could aid her escape?"
"I'm afraid i myself am completely stumped too." The elven wizard tells Beltain "I have no spells left but a mage armour and sleep spell. My bow will hardly do damage to a creature of that size and my knowledge of Horticulture leaves me at a loss for a plan. If acid does hurt it, try using your flask Rizzit to see if it does. Then perhaps we can come back armed with acid arrows, spells and flasks and retrieve the bodies of our fallen companions to have them brought back from the dead. That at least we can do!"
"We already know acid works Mr Nosnibor, unfortunately I cant throw one very far and will make easy picking if I get that close to this beast" say Rizzit in exasperation.
"My spells can neither help them nor kill it" the beautiful cleric tells the others sadly "I think we are all dead if we stay, I too say retreat thru the portal. Thou with heavy heart....". She picks up her shield and steps through the portal..."Let's go work out how to fix this mess.."
"Rizzit i understand that we do know acid can damage it, but I was hoping that acid did more damage" Nosnibor continues "Or damage that the creature cannot regenerate from. I would suggest that we can a comparison attack do double check this possibility. So I ask you not to go back through the portal just yet, but spend another minute or so ascertaining my hypothesis. For indeed information about this creature may seem to be power."
"No Nosni, we cannot stay! This round the tendriculos will kill the beetles and could move forward to bring us within AOO range. Observe now, as it makes its move, the damage done by your acid and how much of it has healed." says
Beltain urgently "We must go now, and consider our response, or linger here and surely die"
The Tendriculous pulls its self up with almighty strength, freeing itself for the roots and briars....
Rizzit and wizzy go through the portal, on the other side he will watch the beast through the portal, leaving Nosnibor and Beltain with the huge creature.
The wizard Nosnibor casts Mage armour upon himself and watches the beast emerge with interest.
Beltain takes a last look at the creature and notes if any of the damage hasn't re-healed, he then steps through the portal.
"Mr Nosnibor shall I throw the acid flask through for you to try?" calls Rizzit "Once we are all safely away we need to establish firstly if this thing is going to keep try to get after us, then rest up until we have our spells again. I would prefer to keep an eye on the portal so I can see what the beast does. Doesn't anyone have any magic items that may be useful?" he adds in frustration.
In the dark fetid guts of the creature, Elinor tries again to throw off the torpor that threatens to engulf her but finally succumbs to the creatures digestive juices.
"Ok chaps" says The Wizard, "The acid damage did not regenerate. I think that makes it pretty conclusive. We must fight this thing with acid. I suggest we go back to town. Kit our selves out with acid flasks, Melph's acid arrow scrolls and other caustic cantrips and come back here and get our friends."
"Your words have much wisdom Mr Nosnibor" says Rizzit "Let us rush with all haste to town and stock up. If three of us cast enough Melf's acid arrows whilst minor summoned creatures keep it occupied we will have the bounder down in no time, recover our fallen friends and be back in town for tea and crumpets"
"The problem is to keep it occupied for enough time to render it unconscious." muses Beltain "If that is possible for a plant, and then to deal it lethal damage" "Come on, get out of its reach, I am in the orc portal room" calls Beltain anxiously to those still within reach of the giant plant.
"Perhaps we could also bring some summon monster scrolls?" The Wizard continues oblivious to the danger he is in "To keep it busy...We should work out a tactic logically. If one of us summons monsters continuously the other two can cast spells at it as the big plant kills the summoned monsters as they arrive. Maybe we could come back invisible to get ourselves into position first."
"Good idea again Mr Nosnibor" agrees Rizzit "You are such a learned fellow. I wish I had the chance to have studied as you did" he sighs
"May I suggest learning to read as a first step dear Rizzit?" says the Wizard pointedly.
"I can already read Mr Nosnibor, I am not that much of a savage" protests Rizzit "So you can read but just choose not to? That certainly is an interesting standpoint to take" smiles the elf.
"Why do you think I do not read?" asks Rizzit
" I just presumed you couldn't Rizzit. I apologise. I thought sorcerers couldn't read, otherwise they'd have went to school instead of Doing the NVQ in magic." replies The Wizard. The Wizard Nosnibor giggles to himself "NVQ in magic. Hehehehe... I crack myself up sometimes."
"We must cling onto the hope that we can reclaim their bodies and take them back to the city for a raise. If there equipment has survived it will be a bonus" agrees Beltain
"Wizards are not common amongst Kobolds so there are no schools for mages in our clans" says Rizzit huffily "Our innate magical abilities come from the aeons past links to the great dragons, from time to time this surfaces in a kobold and they usually become sorcerers, you really should read up on it sometime, there is much more to Kobolds than most people think"
The huge plant creature moves towards Nosnibor, the ground trembling as it moves. It passes unhindered over the tiny fire beetles. As the flailing form of The Wizard Nosnibor is dragged toward the drooling orifice of the Giagantic Plant he looks sadly at his rapidly reducing companions and says. "Oh dear, it seems I'm done for. One of you chaps please look after Pussy for me. He has no one else. And every inter-dimensional super-intelligent Pussy-Cat needs a familiar. Don't let him pine away. Oh and I nearly forgot he loves liver on a …" but his final words are cut off.
The plant crushes the wizard as it picks him up, draws him to its huge maw, and bites. The wizard Nosnibor is killed instantly by the creature's powerful bite. "Get the hell out of there! And what in heaven's name was that scream...?" calls Beltain, his voice tinged with panic.
"Poor Nosnibor," says the kobold without too much feeling "Now can we please get going before anyone else dies". He picks up wizzy and leave, mounts up beaker and heads back to the purple knights camp
Limara crouches down comforting her unhappy pet, she patiently waits for the other three to come through the portal... what's taking them so long she wonders....
Limara "Geez, we've lost friends today Gypsy... I wish I had realised why the hell you ran off ... bugger" she mourns the loss of her colleagues... " I hope can persuade the Triad can help us with sister Elinor at least, but Feng is gonna be expensive..." she states to no one and looks down at her dogs friendly but clueless expression...
A tendril whips through the portal searching for further prey, Limara sees it hastily takes her dog and retreats to the surface of the ruins. Beltain smiles with relief as she emerges onto the light of day.
"Oh my god!" exclaims Rizzit "I am glad to be out of there alive but our poor friends" he weeps The remaining party members mount up and gets ready for the off. "Let us ride with all haste back to the purple dragon knight's camp, we must get back to Suzail" Rizzit says sadly.
Their hearts leaden, the three riders head back dispiritedly towards the knight's camp.
Their hearts leaden, the three riders head back dispiritedly towards the knight's camp.
The party sell some of the magic items that they found and the party goes shopping in the city of Suzail. Feng has Laskur's Bane enchanted.
Rizzit detects that the bottle is an Eversmoking Bottle: and the shield carried by Beltain is a +1 Wooden Shield of Arrow Deflection
"Well" Rizzit concludes smugly "If we are finished we should head back, who knows what may have happened in our absence? Let's hope Lord Hawklin can gain something from that Zhent"
"Ooh. That Bottle is a truly marvellous item of wonder. I think we should keep it. I would happily use it. As it is both useful and none damaging. And I can think of a lot of uses for it in conjunction with illusions."
"Or you could jam it up someone's arse" Feng tells him "Now I have Laskur's Bane enchanted as befits a hero, I'm good to get outta here."
"I hope the Zhents sent some more troops out lookin' for the prisoner - I'd hate to think of them gettin' away."
"I say. The horn and the bottle are similar in use but different enough for them to be used in conjunction. I'd like to have the bottle if possible please? I will donate the 1100 gold pieces I have in my possession to party funds. To cover incidentals. Would that be fair?" asks TW Nosnibor, "Why don't you just carry it Nos, it will be cheaper for you..." Limara smiles "It's useful treasure so we aren't going to sell it to the vendors. When we share out the loot at a later date you can have it as one of your choices if you like."
As they go to leave the city Lord Hawklin smiles at Limara and then bows "A most generous gift to my troops" he tells her "I'm sure Miss Dunmen's men will appreciate the gesture, I'm sure she will to, although she would be loathe to admit it." He turns to the rest of the party "Safe travels. I will see you soon"
the party head off, passing through the Purple Dragon camp and reaching the ancient ruins without incident.
Beltain looks around and immediately notes that the bodies of orcs, humans and ogres are missing as is the pile of mundane treasure items "Watch out!" he warns his companions "We have had visitors"
"Lets hurry inside, this sunshine hurts my eyes" moans Rizzit, "I wonder what that plant is there, I don't remember seeing it last time? Any know about such things?"
Beltain, who is a herbalist, goes and examines the plant carefully. His herbalist skills do not let him down. Beltain carefully gathers the plant, taking care to leave some to grow again and stores it against future need
"Interesting," says Rizzit "But something for the clerics I think" and wanders off bored.
"Feng" calls Rizzit "You brave enough to rush down there and surprise any enemies?"
"Never failed to be, yet." grunts Feng and grabs his axe in both hands and charges down the stairs "FENG KILLS! FLEE IN TERROR! FENG COMES!"
Rizzit smiles "Works every time" mumbles the Kobold to himself as he follows Feng at a more sensible pace (mother always said not to run with sharp axes)
Beltain too, moves swiftly to the top of the stairs eager to pursue those who had scavenged the party's mundane loot
The Wizard Nosnibor proceeds at a more leisurely pace, ties up Robinson and picks up Pussy and wanders towards the others. "I wonder if fog would be useful in this situation?" he mutters to himself.
Beltain looks at The Wizard with alarm "Don't use the horn without someone in the lead asking" he requests quickly "We need our wits about us and to be able to see what's ahead"
"Does anyone remember if the other stairs went down to the same room as this set?" asks Rizzit "Otherwise it may be worth clearing them later and checking what goodies lay below"
Elinor leaves Legend with the other horses, hefts her sword, and follows Feng and Rizzit down the stairs alongside Beltain.
Rizzit moves slowly forward, cautiously moving as quietly as possibly and using the shadows, he listens intently for any sounds ahead (and sends wizzy first so can u put him on the map pls)
The area is empty. Indeed the slain orcs and the loot the party left behind is gone. The portal stands, glowing softly. Hard wall can be seen within the portal
[Beltain] I am back at the keyboard.
While he waits Beltain goes and examines the Southern edge of the cavern looking for evidence of a collapsed ceiling or a sign that the blocked stairs, seen from ground level emerged here. Beltain ascertains that the southern end is intact, it hasn't collapsed. But the stairway down is strewn with rubble, the ceiling there collapsed. It seems the rocks were cleared from the inside...someone dug out!
"What are Mr Nosnibor and Limara doing our there? I shudder to think" says Rizzit to Beltain looking innocent. The cleric looks back towards the stairs before he realises that the kobold is taunting him.
"Well, there's nothin' doin' here at the mo'" says Feng "Belt, do you want to take a look up top and see if there's owt we've missed? Prap's there is another way down. Prap's the scavengers and cleaners up after..." He furrows his brow "Unconsidered trifles" Grins "Lives in the ruins, and not thru the portals. Gotta be worth taking a butchers. - You comin'?"
"Ill wait down here for Lim and the others to join us" replies Beltain "I'm sure that we can open this portal with the correct words, but I think they wouldn't want to... to well miss the fun!"
Feng shrugs "OK, Stay put, and I'll take a look topside" and so saying he goes up to the surface and takes a look for another way down, or for tracks or marks made by the removal of the bodies."
"Right-ho" agrees the cleric "See you soon, and send word if there's owt going on upstairs" he says with a wide grin.
"You'll hear the screamin', right enough." laughs Feng and starts to look for tracks
"You could use your tracking skills to determine where the people came from and where they went after cleaning up" says Rizzit helpfully "Up top that is"
"There were bodies down here too" points out Beltain "And it would be interesting to known if they, whoever they are, took those bodies upstairs or through the portal..."
"Bah. It's almost against the grain to try to track such slinking, cowardly bastards. But than, they may have some wealth that they might be persuaded to share?"
The Wizard Nosnibor comes down the stairs holding his Horn. "Are you sure you don't want something fogged up? I can't wait to try this out. It's so exciting." he implores. "Oh! Where is all the equipment gone? It looks like someone has appropriated it. Oh that's so nice. I hate to see things go to waste."
Meanwhile Limara searches the area to see if there is any clue as to where the bodies and loot went then she follows the trail of blood down the stairs.
Feng finds no tracks and although he looks around upstairs for another way down, he finds that the other staircase upstairs is completely blocked.
"Open this portal and lets get in guys" says the kobold impatiently
"I agree" agrees Beltain "Just as soon as the others come up. Perhaps we should also see if there are words of power that will close the gate too? Things like '[close, pull, shut, draw] the veil of the universe for me.' might do it" he adds
Limara calls for her dog..."here Gypsy.."
Beltain touches the archway, his fingers tracing the arcane writings. He speaks the words "Part the veil of the universe for me" The archway seems to change colour slightly as if the stone were a lighter shade of grey than before. The air around it has a peculiar odour, like that after a lightning bolt spell has been cast, the temperature feels like it has dropped a bit. The space within the archway becomes illuminated with a foggy light...
Elinor takes a look through the portal- all she can see is the dead griffon from earlier. "Let's go" she says, and steps through. Rizzit and Wizzy follow Elinor through the portal and Feng bustles up, unwilling to lose point to the Paladin "Move aside, there and give me axe-room!" he calls out.
The Wizard Nosnibor takes a tentative step through the portal. "I do hope we don't have to do anymore torturing today"
Worried about the possibility of scavengers about Beltain remains with the horses for a while. "I will stay guard out here, I don't want another Zhentarim sneaking up on us. Come and get me if you find anything interesting"
"Is there any evidence that our loot or the bodies came through this way?" Rizzit asks Feng.
"I feel so much safer knowing Beltain is out there saving us from any rampaging Zhentish hordes" the kobold says laughingly
Feng grunts, "Let's try this gate - someone say them mystical words." he exclaims "I reckon whoever removed the bodies and nicked the loot lives in the ruins - look, the body of the griffon is still here." and he readies "Laskurs Bane"
"Come on Pussy." says the wizard "We'll see which wonderful place this portal takes us. It'll be such an adventure."
"Mr Nosnibor could you open a portal for us please?" the kobold asks him politely.
"Absolutely Learned Rizzit. If I am able" says TW Nosnibor with a smile. The Wizard Nosnibor goes up to the portal and traces the Arcane writings in much the same way that he saw Beltain do it earlier. "Part the veils of the Universe for me."he says cheerfully "I do hope this works Pussy" he mutters to his cat.
"This is exciting, what new realms await us on the other side of the doorway to the unknown" says Rizzit peering through the portal
The archway seems to change colour slightly as if the stone were a lighter shade of grey than before. The air around it has a peculiar odour, like that after a lightning bolt spell has been cast, the temperature feels like it has dropped a bit. The space within the archway becomes illuminated with a foggy light...
Elinor moves up to the portal. "Step aside Nosnibor, I'm going to take a look" and she leans forward and looks through the portal. "Looks rather arid" she comments after a moments study "Can't see anybody around"
"Doesn't look very promising through there, lets try a different one" says Rizzit in a bored tone.
"Oh no" interrupts Nosnibor quickly "We've opened it now. Oh do let's go through. Oh Please! Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?" says The Wizard Nosnibor like a whinging little brat.
"Off you go then, shout if you see anything nasty" says Rizzit with a shrug.
"I will accompany the wizard," says Feng stoicly " Just in case some harm should befall him."
Limara looks at the opened gate to see if there is any clues to where the loot and bodies were taken.. "I wonder where it goes... The Anvil perhaps..?" she frowns, "If its hot we will need a lot of water.... and medium and heavy armour might be a problem too.." she pauses, "And a bucket & spade for Nos".
"It got colder when we opened the portal" says Rizzit grumpily "Well I don't like the look of it there, looks cold and barren. It must be my turn to open one" he says rushing over to a portal. "Part the veils of the Universe for me." he intones.
"What? Do you not enter here, wizard?" Feng asks puzzled "Someone choose swiftly, Laskur's Bane grows thirsty"
"Oh I am so honoured that you'd trust me so. You chaps are just the best. " and The Wizard Nosnibor puffs out his chest and strides through the portal in a brave and confident fashion.
"Look, we have got to search all the portals" she patiently tells Rizzit "We will have to check it. Lets get it over and done with.. C'mon Feng... let's go and find you something to hit" she states as she walks boldly through the second portal.
Elinor follows Nos and Limara through the portal and without further word, Feng stalks after Nosnibor. 'Some things are bound to end in tears' he thinks.
"Ooo very restful" says Rizzit glimpsing the other side of the third portal "Hey where did everyone go?"
Rizzit moves to the second portal and with a deep sigh follows the party moving into the greyness.
Limara circles the area around the portal searching for any evidence of other travellers and the direction they took.
"Why are we here, the other portal had trees and grass" moans Rizzit
"So Rizz... are you going to tell anyone what you saw through portal three ?..." asks Limara
"Trees and grass!" says the kobold looking around the party expectantly.
"Arr..trees, something to look forward to..." Limara smiles, "Anyway, how come you don't like the hot desert?" she asks Rizzit
"There were probably little fluffy bunnies there to" he says glancing at sideways at Nos, "Its boring here" he continues "And it's too bright here for my poor eyes"
"Hopefully" says Limara sympathetically "We won't have to stay here too long.. You need some sunglasses"
"Your right" the kobold says squinting "I like the heat though"
"Yes" agrees Limara "It's a nice change to feel some heat from the sun... "
"So where do we go from here?" asks Rizzit, "It all looks the same"
Limara shrugs "I guess we head towards the mountains over there, we need to try and identify where we are. If we can't find any sign of activity then we head back and try portal three."
Limara checks the architecture to the north of the portal to see if there are any clues as to its origin. She sees no evidence that anyone came through here or any sign of the lost loot. The huge chunks of stone littered about are indeed very old. The stone has been worked in ways she has not seen before.
"Someone decide what to do and I will follow, I can't see too far myself" says Rizzit, fed up with the barren place, suggests a move "I dont like it here, can't we go to the woodland portal, fluffy bunnies Mr Nosnibor"
"Let's get back" agrees Feng "I only got one waterskin and I don't fancy traipsing around a desert with that."
"I agree" says Elinor. She looks a little flushed, and runs a finger around the neck opening of her armour. "Let's go somewhere a little less hot. We're just not equipped to travel here, and there's no sign of passage" and with that Elinor moves back towards the portal and steps through. "Hello Wizzy" she says to the small creature that greets her return.
Rizzit and Feng head back to the nexus
"Trees" says Feng "I like the idea of trees. If need be I can track and ambush in woods - I did most of my growing up in places like that."
and he and Rizzit with wizzy head off through the third portal.
"Oh" says The Wizard Nosnibor, disappointed "But I wanted to make a sand castle. Oh well." and looks around one last time before he follows the others through back through the portal.
"Come on everyone, it looks lovely in here" calls Rizzit from the woodland glade "This is much nicer" and he looks around and listens for any unusual sounds
"Stay loose" advises Feng " This area is great for an ambush." and he thumbs his axe's edge as he takes cover behind the wall.
The Wizard Nosnibor too follows the others through the next portal.
Limara returns from the sun-blasted portal with her dog and goes through, just in time to see Nosnibor's leg disappearing into the adjacent gateway, she goes to follow him ... but before she goes through she remembers Beltain and pops back to tell him that we are going through portal three. They return together and go through portal three to join the others.
Limara's dog gypsy, passes through the portal into the glade, once it reaches the other side the dog becomes very nervous, barking and making whimpering noises. It then turns and flees back through the open portal. Rizzit notices it is very quiet, no sounds of wildlife. Feng does not spot any tracks..
"Hey its very quiet here" says Rizzit "Wow I actually noticed something. What's up with your dog Limara?"
"Hmm" Feng considers the situation "A reason to be careful; animals don't lie to themselves - they trust their instincts." He Carefully scans the woodland for signs of movement, or anything out of place. "I see an uprooted tree over there - I'm thinkin' of checking it out. Cover me." he tells the others
"I got you covered bud" says Rizzit and mentally prepares for a fireball
"If there's nothin' here, I'll check the mound" says Feng with a smile "In the old days folk used to bury their valuables before Banks got invented.". He grasps Laskur's Bane in an easy grip, and brings it up to his shoulder as he approaches the fallen tree
Elinor closes her eyes and tries to get a feel for the area. "It's true that it's unusually quiet, but does that make it evil?" she thinks, using her abilities to sense the presence of evil.
As Beltain looks around, his mind flips back to the days before he started adventuring and he was growing up amongst the elves of the High Forest. He looks around trying to sense the 'wrongness' that Gypsy detected. He wonders if he has every heard of such a place in the stories from his youth
Rizzit too scans the area, outside of this clearing is thick forest. Feng looks around but doesn't spot anything unusual. Elinor tries to detect evil, her powers fail to reveal anything. Feng begins to walk over to where a tree has been uprooted, Beltain watches as he does so. Suddenly the low mound begins to move...it appears as if its Alive!!!
"Wow that things just tendriculously huge" exclaims the kobold, "This looks like one for the fighters I think, a very heroic battle Does anyone know what this thing is, I never heard tales of such a beast in the Underdark"
"Strewth!!!" says Beltain agreeing with Rizzit "If you want to hang the head of that on a wall you'll need a manor-house, no a castle!!"
"Ha Ha!" says Feng dismissively "A walking tree moves towards FENGS AXE!"
"Make sure it don't topple on top o' you when I cut it down" says Feng with a smile "A walkin' shrub ain't gonna get the best of FENG!"
"I've never seen such a thing," Elinor admits, "But I suspect something flaming might have an effect Rizzit" She readies her sword and swallows nervously
Rizzit look at Elnor blankly, wondering what is wrong…
"Haven't you got anything" she starts and then continues, ".....as I was saying, haven't you got anything burning that you could throw at it?"
"I could use a fireball if you think it would help" say Rizzit with a grin, "That's a flaming good idea" he chuckles
"Yeah, or summon some locusts" says Feng missing the pun.
"This is no time for lunch Feng" snaps Rizzit
"Or have you got something like composter's revenge?" suggests Elinor joining into the spirit of the conversation.
"That sounds more like Mr Nosnibors line of magic" admits Rizzit.
"Not yet, Nosnibor has not cooked recently" says Feng with a wide smile
"I have tendency towards the flaming destruction school and he has gone for the totally pants school of magic" responds Rizzit
"If' he's got a pair to strangle this sucker, so much the better for him." Feng resposts
"Maybe he could use his horn of fog or bottle of smoke and we could all run away?" suggests Elinor in jest.
"I suspect he'll try to offer it a sweetie, tho'." says Feng with a sigh "Which should be good for a laff, at least."
"Except of course a paladin would never run away" injects Elinor, just in case anyone though that she had made the suggestion seriously.
"What, not even when you are up against something you can't beat and yer widdlin' yer drawers?" asks Feng in surprise.
"I think that what might cause the paladin or even the barbarian to back away a little, is the thought of Rizzit just itching to lob a few fireballs in!!" grins Beltain
"Run away?" aasks Rizzit "This is a new and interesting concept, maybe we can discuss it after I have cooked this overgrown lettuce"
"I'll have you chaps know" starts the Wizard Nosnibor, as he gets all huffy. "I am a graduate with merit of the Cerilian School of Thaumaturgy, Evocology and Nercromancy. The most prestigious college of the arcane in my whole dimension. And I feel that you may be stretching it just a touch to say that you actually went to a academy of learning. I thought sorcery was just something that happened to you. Something that was given away free in breakfast cereal."
"You are absolutely right Mr Nosnibor," says Rizzit, not to be upstaged "My magic just comes from the power of dragons past that runs through my veins. I would certainly not wish to imply that it would be as good as the magic that comes from late nights reading books. I will endeavour to leave something of this beast for you 'book' magic to deal with just so there can be no doubts. I feel sure it will succumb quickly to one of your riotous jokes"
"You both have great magics," Beltain tells the sorcerer and wizard, "Rizzit's magic extols the inherent might of magic such as the untamed force of the fireball, while Nosnibor's is more subtle such as the varied colours in the dancing flames of his ball of fire and his ability to move it, with the power of his mind"
Beltain gazes in astonishment as more and more of the of the animated plant emerges from the ground. "It's the size of a small house!" he exclaims "From the size of its maw it could swallow one of us – whole" and he shudders in disgust. "I will attempt to summon some denizens of the celestial planes to hold it back until we can despatch it, or if it proves too difficult, then allow us to withdraw and plan our next action" he suggests.
"What's with you church boys and girls and 'running away', 'withdrawing'" Rizzit protests "I was under the impression we were heroes, if you worried just make sure Feng doesn't get killed and imagine us two can sort out this compost heap." He says complete with sarcastic voice and bunny ears
"Nobody, least of all me is suggesting running away" says Beltain tersely "You must be reading too much into what I said. And best not to antagonise it too much, I should think that after pretending to be a hill for so long, the one thing it will HATE MOST OF ALL will be rabbits. Why wait, rather than banter words with us, why don't you barbeque it with one of your super-fireballs now?"
"Antagonise it? It's a bloody plant, its not like I am waving a bottle of salad cream in its face is it." snarls Rizzit, in a bad mood.
"A plant it maybe, but not like any plant that I've seen before." replies Beltain "You notice that there are no forest creatures around here? That's because this plant has either killed or frightened them off. It certainly isn't going to be smart but sure as elves have pointy ears, it will be pretty pissed off by furry creatures, however cute, burrowing into it and nibbling its innards. I stick by what I first said, rabbits are not one of its favourites. - Now where's the fireball you promised?"
Beltain looks expectantly at the two magic-users
"Whoosh" says Rizzit pointing a finger at the big plant and a glowing pea sized bead streaks toward its target. It detonates with a low roar, flames engulfing the Tendriculos
Beltain grins inanely and gives Rizzit a 'thumbs up', that was even better than the one on the Zhents! he exclaims
"Thank you Beltain, I try to please" says Rizzit now smiling again.
"What the hell is that?" Limara exclaims, pointing at the bad tempered plant thing", no wonder Gypsy legged it... lets get this thing dropped quick-sharp, I gotta go - get my wayward pet " she sighs "... and magi, your magic is the same whichever hole you squeeze it out of... it all comes from the weave". She winks at Nos "do you have anything useful to cast Nos because its massive and I think its gonna hurt us, a lot....please say you have "
The beautiful cleric then turns her charm on Beltain "Well Bel my sweet, if this turns nasty at least we have a quick escape" she smiles, "Worst case scenario, or plan B as I like to call it.."
"Mmmm. I think this has the potential to turn pretty nasty pretty quickly." Elinor judges "I will try and bow and arrow it, has anyone got anything more effective up their sleeve?"
"Wow my fire hardly touched it," says Rizzit sadly "This is going to take more than a couple of spells to take down, are we going to put some nice tough armoured people between the mages and that thing?"
"So you think that you and Feng are not going to sort out the compost heap by yourselves now?" Beltain asks Rizzit with a false air of innocence "You aren't thinking of defence or, dare I say it, retreat already are you?"
"Most definitely not, I don't believe I have ever fled the battlefield..." Rizzit respons huffily "Or died on it" he says with a smile
"Then let's get to it and fricassee this legume" Beltain replies "How about it Nosni - any of your long-lasting balls of fire available?"
"Mr Nosnibor please show us a dazzling display of magic" asks Rizzit more in hope than expectation.
"I will just reach into this here book and see what I can find chaps." says The Wizard, "However, as we didn't think to actually rest when we went back through the portal I have not got any more spells than I did at the end of the fight with the ogres. So it's either an acid arrow or silent image" and a magical arrow of acid springs from the wizard's hand and speeds to its target. "Crikey." he exclaims in surprise as the missile hits.
"Well it was a close thing but at least it hit" he says with a cheery smile.
Beltain calls on the forces of his god to aid him and far away, on the Celestial plain, the call is heard. Fire Beetles respond and three start the journey to aid the cleric in his need.
Elinor, with the bravery installed through years of training and devotion dashes forwards and strikes out at the Tendriculous with her longsword. Sadly she misses "I was hoping that would be tree-mendous...." she quips.
"I just knew Elinor would be brave enough to face it with bared steel" says Rizzit , "You could take a few lessons there Beltain, that's real bravery"
"Yes, that's true, don't you feel proud of her! Don't be sad that you aren't as brave Rizzit, you help the party in your own way too!" Beltain consoles the kobold
"Twiggery pokery" says Elinor, confusing everyone.
"Better luck next time M'lady" says Rizzit galently
"Bah!" roars Feng "Too far away for my axe to reach! I will distract in order to draw it away from Elinor." and jumps up and down shouting loudly "FIGHT FENG!"
Rizzit looks slightly shocked by Fengs apparent caution in the face of an enemy "Hmm, dying really does seem to have affected poor Feng's courage then, lucky we still have the ladies to brave this foe"
"I think Elinor is the best at puns" says The Wizard "But I might Hedge my bets on that one", says the Wizard Nosnibor while giggling like a girl.
"Leaf it out Nos..." responds Limara in kind "I reckon you are bark-ing up the wrong tendriculos there..." she grins
Rizzit looks confused "Just hit it" he asks
"Sap" says Limara, on a punning roll.
Limara takes out her magic crossbow and targets the creature but the bolt flies wild.
"Bark-ing up the wrong tree? Hahaha" laughs The Wizard "Very good Limara. I think you've got to the ROOT of the problem there."
The huge plant creature grabs Elinor with one of its huge tentacles, crushing her. She attempts to struggle free but the creature's hold is to strong as it lifts her up and brings her to hits huge maw. The party are shocked as Elinor is bafly hurt.
Rizzit speaks for all when he says "Oh no this is not good at all"
It then grabs Feng pulling him toward it huge mouth and biting at the barbarian, who nevertheless manages to whack it hard with his axe as he approaches it.
Rizzit points his finger and the beast is again engulfed in flame
"Well we're in trouble now. He's got us by the Conkers an' no mistake." says The Wizard with a frown
"We need the special branch..." says Limara grimly
"That was acorn-y one Limara. Kekeke.", says The Wizard Nisnibor sounds a little like the late Poacher.
Limara giggles
The Wizard mutters arcane words and two boring old magic missiles with absolutely no distinguishing features what so ever fly from the his hands. He watches as they impact on the big planty thing as he giggles childishly.
"I know a man that has his missiles look like clacking and biting skulls.... not boring at all.." says Limara conversationally to the wizard.
"Can you target a specific tentacle with those missiles boys?" she asks the two magic users.
Rizzit tells the others "Everyone needs to hurt this thing fast" unnecessarily.
"Indeed...." says Limara "Mental note...take notice when my dog legs it, it for a reason!!!"
Three fire beetles appear and scurry toward the plant creature.
Beltain gulps as the creature manages to hit and pick up the mighty barbarian. He conjures a spiritual weapon hoping to damage the creature more but although he hits he is disappointed with the small damage from the weapon of force.
"BLOODY PLANT IS TOUGH!" yells Feng "FINALLY AN ENEMY WORTHY OF THE MIGHTY FENG!"
Beltain thinks back to his days of priestly training, recalls that these creatures can indeed swallow whole. He has also heard that the digestive juices inside a Tendriculos have a paralyzing effect..
Elinor struggles in the creatures grasp but the plant creatures grip is firm, and Elinor cannot break free.. "I....almost...made...it....." she gasps
Feng mighty thews bulge as he pits his strength against the gigantic plant... but he is no match for the beast "Bugger" he exclaims in disappointment
"Bad luck!" agrees Beltain sadly "The thing seems to have both massive strength and the odds on its side"
"Perhaps if we gave it some baby-bio. Or some other plant food. Then it may leave us alone." jokes The Wizard Nosnibor Limara conjures a spiritual weapon and tries to cut the tentacles with her spiritual weapon, but misses "Damn!" she mutters and reloads her crossbow.
"Wish us luck...." Elinor gasps as she wrestles helplessly with the sinewy tentacles and she struggles as the tentacle draws her to the creatures huge open mouth. She fights hard...but it is not enough, she is swallowed whole.
Beltain groans with despair at the plight of the fighters. The creature seems to have a huge amount of hit points, it can hit with ease and once it does it can win the grapple with no problems and drag even the strongest of the party to its maw. "What can be done? Has anyone a plan with any chance of success?" he asks grimly
"Mr Nosnibor" says Rizzit "Please take this scroll of ray of enfeeblement from me to use on it, may make it weaker and help anyone grappled"
Inside the creatures mass, Elinor is coated in digestive juices! She fights off their paralysing effect, she is burned by acid, but her armour stops the damage - for now!.
"Nooooo not the fair Elinor" groans the kobold Meanwhile another tendril crushes the life out of Feng. Feng's body falls to the floor...dead
"ughh, not again" bemoans Rizzit
Rizzit moves close to Mr Nosnibor and casts his last fireball "here this scroll may be of use"
The plant is hit but seems to regenerate a little. The damage done by Nosnibor's acid is still apparent though….
"I have scorching rays next but i need to get closer" gulps Rizzit "Anyone else able to summon creatures up? I don't like to say this but unless we retreat now we will lose more."
"The choice is retreat to fight another day or die bravely (but foolishly)" says Beltain very sadly "I just can't see how we can do it. I don't want to raise false hopes, and this is a very slim chance, but last time you left Feng for dead he materialised back outside the city. If he is so beloved by his one-eyed god, perhaps the same thing may happen again, and if for him then why not for the Lady Elinor?" asks Beltain in hope...
But Rizzit dismisses the possibility "He had a ring last time I think, didn't that go afterwards?"
Beltain shugs "I don't know, you were with him so I guess that you will know" he answers dejectedly "Everything is blurring now"
"Buck your ideas up there laddy, the battle is not lost yet" says Rizzit with false cheerfulness "Although it will be if you give up all hope"
"I don't see that hope has anything to do with the reality of this situation, it's the facts and the lack of a plan with a chance of success" Beltain groans "Just tell me, what can we do that stands a chance of freeing Feng or Elinor?" he asks "Tell me, if you can"
"I agree with Rizzit." The Wizard admolishes "What sort of heroes will we be if we give up hope now. We have two comrades in dire need. We MUST save them. Did anyone else notice that it didn't regenerate the acid damage? Perhaps it is vulnerable to acid."
"Thank you Mr Nosnibor, we will save Elinor and recover the brave Feng's body to raise" replies Rizzit
The Wizard Nosnibor take a scroll from Rizzit and to cast at the big bush-like beastie.
"I have some acid splash spells, and a flask of acid" Rizzit ponders
"I suggest trying the acid flask fair Rizzit." suggests The Wizard Nosnibor
"Please, please don't move forward Nosni, we are out of its reach - at the moment - if you go forward you just add another person to be rescued!" implores Beltain
Nosnibor reads the scroll, and a coruscating ray springs from Nosnibors hand reducing the plant creature's strength.
Beltain casts another Spiritual Weapons spell and then will direct all his efforts in breaking through the skin where he thinks Elinor is, it hits but does little damage.
"I can see nothing, beyond what I am doing, that gives even a slim chance of success. Unless the situation changes, I intend to retire next round either into the woods to fight on from there but only if you others will join me. Otherwise I will go through this and the next portal. To stay here and attempt to engage the beast in melee is suicide and pointless." says Belatin "I implore and urge you to do the same. Feng and Elinor gave their all to buy us time to live on, don't let their sacrifice be in vain"
"We are screwed here guys," admits the kobold "Let's head back through the portal shut it down and sort out what to do next. Wizzy, what you doing over there, I told you to stay with me, now get back into the portal quickly"
Elinor can feel her limbs getting heavy, but fights off the effects of the digestive juices and makes one last attempt to scramble up and out towards the light. Her feet and hands fail to get a grip on the slippery surface of the creatures guts and she slides back again.
"If only we could help Elinor" says Beltain "Does anyone have anything they think could aid her escape?"
"I'm afraid i myself am completely stumped too." The elven wizard tells Beltain "I have no spells left but a mage armour and sleep spell. My bow will hardly do damage to a creature of that size and my knowledge of Horticulture leaves me at a loss for a plan. If acid does hurt it, try using your flask Rizzit to see if it does. Then perhaps we can come back armed with acid arrows, spells and flasks and retrieve the bodies of our fallen companions to have them brought back from the dead. That at least we can do!"
"We already know acid works Mr Nosnibor, unfortunately I cant throw one very far and will make easy picking if I get that close to this beast" say Rizzit in exasperation.
"My spells can neither help them nor kill it" the beautiful cleric tells the others sadly "I think we are all dead if we stay, I too say retreat thru the portal. Thou with heavy heart....". She picks up her shield and steps through the portal..."Let's go work out how to fix this mess.."
"Rizzit i understand that we do know acid can damage it, but I was hoping that acid did more damage" Nosnibor continues "Or damage that the creature cannot regenerate from. I would suggest that we can a comparison attack do double check this possibility. So I ask you not to go back through the portal just yet, but spend another minute or so ascertaining my hypothesis. For indeed information about this creature may seem to be power."
"No Nosni, we cannot stay! This round the tendriculos will kill the beetles and could move forward to bring us within AOO range. Observe now, as it makes its move, the damage done by your acid and how much of it has healed." says
Beltain urgently "We must go now, and consider our response, or linger here and surely die"
The Tendriculous pulls its self up with almighty strength, freeing itself for the roots and briars....
Rizzit and wizzy go through the portal, on the other side he will watch the beast through the portal, leaving Nosnibor and Beltain with the huge creature.
The wizard Nosnibor casts Mage armour upon himself and watches the beast emerge with interest.
Beltain takes a last look at the creature and notes if any of the damage hasn't re-healed, he then steps through the portal.
"Mr Nosnibor shall I throw the acid flask through for you to try?" calls Rizzit "Once we are all safely away we need to establish firstly if this thing is going to keep try to get after us, then rest up until we have our spells again. I would prefer to keep an eye on the portal so I can see what the beast does. Doesn't anyone have any magic items that may be useful?" he adds in frustration.
In the dark fetid guts of the creature, Elinor tries again to throw off the torpor that threatens to engulf her but finally succumbs to the creatures digestive juices.
"Ok chaps" says The Wizard, "The acid damage did not regenerate. I think that makes it pretty conclusive. We must fight this thing with acid. I suggest we go back to town. Kit our selves out with acid flasks, Melph's acid arrow scrolls and other caustic cantrips and come back here and get our friends."
"Your words have much wisdom Mr Nosnibor" says Rizzit "Let us rush with all haste to town and stock up. If three of us cast enough Melf's acid arrows whilst minor summoned creatures keep it occupied we will have the bounder down in no time, recover our fallen friends and be back in town for tea and crumpets"
"The problem is to keep it occupied for enough time to render it unconscious." muses Beltain "If that is possible for a plant, and then to deal it lethal damage" "Come on, get out of its reach, I am in the orc portal room" calls Beltain anxiously to those still within reach of the giant plant.
"Perhaps we could also bring some summon monster scrolls?" The Wizard continues oblivious to the danger he is in "To keep it busy...We should work out a tactic logically. If one of us summons monsters continuously the other two can cast spells at it as the big plant kills the summoned monsters as they arrive. Maybe we could come back invisible to get ourselves into position first."
"Good idea again Mr Nosnibor" agrees Rizzit "You are such a learned fellow. I wish I had the chance to have studied as you did" he sighs
"May I suggest learning to read as a first step dear Rizzit?" says the Wizard pointedly.
"I can already read Mr Nosnibor, I am not that much of a savage" protests Rizzit "So you can read but just choose not to? That certainly is an interesting standpoint to take" smiles the elf.
"Why do you think I do not read?" asks Rizzit
" I just presumed you couldn't Rizzit. I apologise. I thought sorcerers couldn't read, otherwise they'd have went to school instead of Doing the NVQ in magic." replies The Wizard. The Wizard Nosnibor giggles to himself "NVQ in magic. Hehehehe... I crack myself up sometimes."
"We must cling onto the hope that we can reclaim their bodies and take them back to the city for a raise. If there equipment has survived it will be a bonus" agrees Beltain
"Wizards are not common amongst Kobolds so there are no schools for mages in our clans" says Rizzit huffily "Our innate magical abilities come from the aeons past links to the great dragons, from time to time this surfaces in a kobold and they usually become sorcerers, you really should read up on it sometime, there is much more to Kobolds than most people think"
The huge plant creature moves towards Nosnibor, the ground trembling as it moves. It passes unhindered over the tiny fire beetles. As the flailing form of The Wizard Nosnibor is dragged toward the drooling orifice of the Giagantic Plant he looks sadly at his rapidly reducing companions and says. "Oh dear, it seems I'm done for. One of you chaps please look after Pussy for me. He has no one else. And every inter-dimensional super-intelligent Pussy-Cat needs a familiar. Don't let him pine away. Oh and I nearly forgot he loves liver on a …" but his final words are cut off.
The plant crushes the wizard as it picks him up, draws him to its huge maw, and bites. The wizard Nosnibor is killed instantly by the creature's powerful bite. "Get the hell out of there! And what in heaven's name was that scream...?" calls Beltain, his voice tinged with panic.
"Poor Nosnibor," says the kobold without too much feeling "Now can we please get going before anyone else dies". He picks up wizzy and leave, mounts up beaker and heads back to the purple knights camp
Limara crouches down comforting her unhappy pet, she patiently waits for the other three to come through the portal... what's taking them so long she wonders....
Limara "Geez, we've lost friends today Gypsy... I wish I had realised why the hell you ran off ... bugger" she mourns the loss of her colleagues... " I hope can persuade the Triad can help us with sister Elinor at least, but Feng is gonna be expensive..." she states to no one and looks down at her dogs friendly but clueless expression...
A tendril whips through the portal searching for further prey, Limara sees it hastily takes her dog and retreats to the surface of the ruins. Beltain smiles with relief as she emerges onto the light of day.
"Oh my god!" exclaims Rizzit "I am glad to be out of there alive but our poor friends" he weeps The remaining party members mount up and gets ready for the off. "Let us ride with all haste back to the purple dragon knight's camp, we must get back to Suzail" Rizzit says sadly.
Their hearts leaden, the three riders head back dispiritedly towards the knight's camp.
Their hearts leaden, the three riders head back dispiritedly towards the knight's camp.
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