Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

The man startles at the sound of Connak tapping in the window. He turns to see the elf through the window, and with a fearful scowl places an upturned finger in front of his lips in the universal sign of shushing while pointing to the ground.

Connak shakes his head no and makes the universal sign of 'open the f'ing door'.  Then he walks around the cabin to keep his party in plain sight while trying to figure out how to get inside the cabin.

Tink thinks she knows what sort of creature left the acid and drag marks:

When Connak checks the front door to the cabin, he finds it unlocked and slightly ajar.

Connak uses his bow to push the door fully open, keeping as much distance as possible from it.  He'll call out, "I have friends looking around your camp.  Come to the door and tell me what you're hiding from, before something happens to them."

"Horrible beasts!" the man cries from the other side of the door. "They burst out of the ground and... and... dear gods, it was an awful sight to behold! Spewing acid all over the men and then dragging them back into their underground tunnels...as they melted...alive!"  Connak continues to hear the sound of muffled weeping from the other side of the door.

Tink notices the outline of where a old building used to be as she walks over to where Tabesha'l and Minsys are inspecting the campsite. All that remains of this structure is a ruined fireplace whose chimney has mostly collapsed, and a stone foundation.

Vaxis overhears more of the conversation between Ando and the old man: "I've got some kinfolk in Neverwinter," Corwin says. "They would probably be willing to put me an' the boy up for a few nights, till we can get established in town and find work..." The conversation fades somewhat from the dragonborn's awareness as he closely watches as the others inspect the abandoned logging camp.

Minsys scratches his head at Tink.  "Uhh... I thought they just got pulled down but what you says sounds worse."  In response to his weight he says, "uh... I weight like three half a log.  Like half that log" he says pointing at a specific log in the pile of logs.

Getting no response to her question, Tink shrugs and carries on un-phased, "Let's say the two hundred pounds. So with that we can calculate gravitational pull on a person, and estimate the force required," Tink sticks out her tongue as she runs through calculations in her head. After a few moments she nods and says, "A whole lot of force! Taking into consideration the markings and the type of soil. I'd say we are dealing with a fairly large insectoid. Perhaps an ankheg." She concludes a matter of factly.

"Insecttatoid...  Bug?  You mean bug right?  Well, if it be a big bug then that's trouble.  Less if its like a mantis, alone unless mating.  More if its like a hive, then it'll pull food for the queen and if she be going though a camp full workers then she be layin eggs."

Connak tries to wave down Tabesha'l.

(If he manages to gain her attention...)

Connak waves his hands in the air like a wizard casting a spell, then makes a 'yap yap yaping' mime with one hand occasionally pointing towards Tabesha'l, while cupping his hear and making listening sounds with his other hand, occasionally pointing at himself.

Tink tilts her head slightly and fiddles with the goggles set upon them, "Hmm...I guess you could call it a bug. A really big bug that spits acid and has a really hard shell. We used to use them as blast shields to protect us from the more explosive inventions back when I was an intern at S.P.A.R.K. I heard they are supposed be very good for crops though, sort of like an over powered earthworm," there is a slight pause before she continues, "Only bigger. And with a shell. And legs. And acid spitting. But yes other than that it's like an earthworm."

** OOC: Passive Perception should allow Tabesha'l to stop focusing on her wrecked attire, talks of giant acid-spitting bugs and the comparative weight of a half-log...**

The elven mage catches Connak's signaling and addresses her companions: " If thee all would excuse me for a moment, I seem to detect our archer presently requires my attention. I shall be but a minute, but please do carry on as you were !"

She daintily walks over to the cabin, the rim of her bloodied skirts gathered in one hand, eyebrows raised questioningly at Connak: " What seems to be the matter, pray tell ? As for us, it would appear we have successfully identified alarming signs of bellicose intent on the part of a particularly large breed of acid-spitting mantis - I think. Thou wouldst have to ask our new friend yonder for specific details, however..." she says, gesturing towards Tink.

ANDO - Action (Divine Sense): The paladin grasps his amulet of Meilikki and kneels in prayer, concentrating all his focus on sensing the presence of evil or desecrated ground nearby, but finds none.

Afterwards, he walks down the short pier to where Vaxis is standing and places a hand on the cleric's shoulder. "Friend, I don't like the quiet emptiness of this place...it looks as though the others have spotted something of concern near that structure as well as the circle of tents over yonder. If danger reveals itself, I mean to immediately cut the raft's mooring lines and escort the old man and the child downstream to safety in Neverwinter. They are not adventurers and this cursed forest is no place for common folk. If I don't get the chance, please extend my apologies to the others for taking my leave of you in this way, but I must ensure these innocents are protected from the nature goddess' less goodly creatures."

Ando then places a small wand in the dragonborn's clawed hand. "Maybe one of the others can find some use for this, but I have no need of it," he says and offers a firm nod of acknowledgement before returning to the raft to wait and watch with Corwin and Pell.

Connak slaps a hand to his forehead in defeat as Tabesha'l wanders over to talk.  "Look, in the future, if I'm in eyesight and making yap yap mimes with my hand, I want you to use your magic talk to communicate quietly.  If I want to talk to you face to face, I can walk to you.

Now that you're here, this poor man is traumatized after watching beasts burst out of the ground, spit acid and drag the other workers below where they came from.  He warns us to get on solid ground, which is what I wanted to tell you while you were there, to pass on to the others.  But instead, can you please use your magicky talk to tell the others to get onto solid ground?  From here?  Suggest that foundation over there?"

With that, Connak walks into the cabin, to go talk to the frightened man.  "No point in staying here any longer.  There's a raft with a couple other civilians that will be heading further down stream.  Now is your chance to get out with an escort."

" Ah yes, silly me. Thou art of course quite right, Oh Wise Archer..." Tabesha'l says amiably, pointing her finger towards each of her companions and using the Craft of the Arcane to magically relay the information their dry-witted  scout just provided.

Satisfied with the first part of her little performance, she then proceeds to send a telepathic command to Arvithiix: " 'Tis now high time for thee to abandon thy bat-like antics and take to ground - I do mean by that, thy form of crawling centipede. Do thy utmost to patrol yon area and do warn me with urgent haste, should thee sense any sign of a nefarious presence underneath the soil..."

As she hears the small fiend's cackle reverberating through her mind, she adds: " And no, thou cannot crawl up into our new companion's trousers, most certainly not :  I daresay she would find this of very poor taste indeed. Now off with thee, pest !"

Whisker would hiss at the small fiend whenever it get's close to Tink.

Quote from Kerrec >>

With that, Connak walks into the cabin, to go talk to the frightened man.  "No point in staying here any longer.  There's a raft with a couple other civilians that will be heading further down stream.  Now is your chance to get out with an escort."

From the other side of the door, and angry voice hisses back at Connak: "You fool! You'll get us both killed! What are you doing inside the cabin?! Is it not apparent that I have barricaded myself on this side of the door for a reason?" 

At the same time, Tabesha'l's familiar morphs into a centipede as instructed and scurries off in the direction of the other group. A moment later, the floor timbers in the center of the cabin snap and break as a hulking, insectoid creature emerges from below and emits an other-worldly clacking sound.

ROLLING INITIATIVE!
19 - CONNAK
22 - TINK
16 - TABESHA'L
4 - MINSYS
7 - VAXIS
17 - ANKHEG
13 - COMMONER

(OOC: Rolled all PC initiatives for ease of tracking, however at present time, only Connak and Tabesha'l are immediately aware of the danger.)

Connak spins, draws and releases an arrow without hesitating...

Longbow Attack: 23 Damage: 12

Without waiting to see if his arrow punctured the shell of the creature, Connak yells back through the door, "You fool, your little door isn't going to stop that thing.  Jump out the window and make for the raft!"

If required: Persuasion: 7

Connak follows his own advice, moves along the wall (move left 3 squares) and tries to launch himself out the window.

Connak dives through the window as gracefully as a sea elf might dive from the deck of a ship into the waters below. The ankheg follows less-gracefully, plowing through the entire wall of the structure. The jagged, razor-tipped mandibles snap out in his direction:

Bite Attack: 10 Damage: 14 slashing/acid damage

Tabesha'l's eyes widen with shock as she witnesses the mayhem unfolding inside the house. " Oh, Sweet Lords of Astar' Yëh ! This is not good. Not good at all, indeed..." she frets as she enters the building in a few brisk steps and lifts her wand: the cobalt stone glows in a soft, blue-white light as a slow rain of silver dust showers the shape of the Ankheg that just plowed through the window.

' I most certainly hope this will do,'  the elven magus thinks to herself as she hurriedly backs out of the house and leans against the outer wall, all the while planning her next move...

** Walks 15 feet inside the house, casts Sleep at 2nd Level on the Ankheg (for need of a better strategy) - for 30 - then walks back out before taking cover outside, against the wall (just south of the entrance door, by the south-eastern corner of the building). **

The ankheg doesn't even notice Tabesha'l magical attempt to subdue it, and instead begins to widen its large, razor-sharp grasping mandibles open as it prepares to bathe Connak in digestive juices.

The commoner is too afraid to move from the realtive "safety" of the top of his desk in the other room (OOC: takes dodge action.)

When the ankheg bursts through the side of the office cabin, Ando snatches the old man and the boy back onto the raft and with a flick of his longsword cuts the short moorings free. He then uses his own rope to create a much longer mooring line, allowing the raft to drift out into the middle of the river about 40 feet away from the dock in an apparent attempt to put some distance between the helpless commoners and the ankheg threat.

 Meanwhile, Tabesha'l's familiar scuttles around the area near the stone foundation positioned in between the cabin that is under attack and the tent circle where Tink and Minsys are standing