With the battle over, Lelith could feel the exhaustion finally start to seep into her mind and muscles. However, she had one last thing she needed to do. Lelith flew over to the dead Gohma that had devoured Kora and with her rapier, she started to gut them in search of the fairy's corpse.
Rum stands amongst the spider creature corpses breathing heavily, his fur matted with their ichor like blood and his claws dripping with the substance. His eyes dart about the chamber searching for other prey, his ears swivelling this way and that with the same purpose.
As he comes to the realisation that there are no more left to fight, he stops for a moment, staying perfectly still as he centres himself. His ragged breathing slows and his claws retract as he takes a number of very deep breaths in, releasing them slowly.
He looks over at Lelith with a sad look on his cat like face, ears drooping slightly as he sees her cutting open the spider creatures.
"It seems there was a high price to pay, fellow Embers", he says meekly. "If Kora hadn't helped save me...", he starts but trails off, unable or unwilling to finish the thought.
"I am sorry, friend Sorry", he says finally, after moving over to kneel before her.
Ro keeps a grip on his shield and his free hand raised, still ready to cast Toll the Dead at any other gohmas that may have been hiding. But as time passes and no other threats make themselves known, Ro allows his body to relax.
Ro walks slowly over to where Lelith and Rum are. He looks at Kora's remains and curses under his breath, Dammit. If only I were stronger...
Ro puts a hand on Rum's shoulder and squeezes it slightly in a small attempt to comfort his tabaxi friend. He then kneels by Lelith, and though he feels her actions are futile, he offers to help her in her efforts to scavenge Kora's remains.
The Guard Gohma crumples as Ro's toll...well. Takes its toll. It curls in on itself and slips forward into the fog and the roots and the dark...and there, the last of the Gohmas die.
With the Gohmas dead, the fog begins to lift, and the band can see the interior of the room much better than before. There are egg sacks pulsating everywhere, and the dried husks of humanoids cocooned everywhere. Of those cocooned, only a few look 'fresh', though they're still obviously dead.
There are at least four sticky filaments dangling from the ceiling looking to snare a free meal as it moves about down below...
Greko solemnly walks over to Kora and lays his hands on her. “Greko ask Great Deku Tree one more time for your aid. Help Greko bring our friend Kora back to life. Greko need help without components for spell. Please aid us Great Deku”
Oten holds a glowing orb aloft to light his way and starts walking around to the cocooned victims, being careful to avoid the hanging filaments from above. Reaching the first one, he attempts to tear it open and pull the person out from inside.
"We should slaughter all of these cocoons, and exterminate this pest from the surface of Hyboria," Lelith suggested the complete extinction of the Gohma.
The victim that Oten frees spills out onto the ground, their dried carcass a testament to the cruelty of the Gohmas. It's been drained of fluids and is missing hunks of flesh.
Finding Kora's body is no easy feet, nor is seeing the state it is in. It's been chewed up and shredded between two different Gohmas. The flesh is tainted with poison and the organs have been separated from the thoracic cavity. The little Fairy isn't even recognizable as having been a sapient being only moments before.
Lelith sighed, there was very little the Eladrin could do with what she had at hand. She decided to clean the remains of Kora with her Cleansing Stone before gathering them all in a bag which she subsequently put into her Bag of Holding. "Death is transient. We will breathe new life into Kora if possible. We can demand some answers from the Great Deku Tree, it now owes us as well Kora for our help."
"However, our mission remains our primary goal,, the lost life of one cannot take priority over the many," Lelith spoke sadly. "The Twilight Embers must not linger for long on a fallen friend. We may have not known her for long but the short time together was a pleasant experience. She had no obligation to help us in our tasks yet she still did, Sorry as well. You have our thanks."
Lelith set about hacking away with great pleasure at the cocoons with her rapier. "With no fire, we can only do this the hard way."
Ro nods in agreement with Lelith's statement. He watches as everyone begins move on to their own devices and decides to do the same. The elf-dwarf looks at all the gohma carcasses laying on the floor, especially at the Queen Gohma. There was so much raw material that could be put to interesting use.
Ro begins to pull out several miscellaneous tools and begins to harvest various parts from the gohmas. Natural armor plating, organs that produced poison and webbing, claws and eyes; not a single body part that held some remote use was spared from Ro's harvest.
(ooc: lemme know if I need to make any checks to determine Ro's harvesting skills).
Rum cannot bear to look at the remains of the once Fairy, turning away with shoulders slouched.
"Great Dragon, find Kora's spirit and keep her safe, give her a place of honour by your side. And if it be your will, let us find a way to return her to us", he whispers in Draconic.
He carries on freeing the cocooned bodies until they are all excavated, ensuring they are not part of the breeding process and merely a food source. He then takes his staff in hand for the first time in a long time and sets to work bashing in the egg sacs, ensuring no more spider creatures will be born in the Great Deku Tree.
"Before we leave, we still have the matter of the trap door, friend Embers".
Breaking open the cocoons and the husked bodies reveals that they are simply a food source, not part of the breeding process. The pulsating egg sacks, on the other hand, are clearly part of the breeding process as when they're broken small, fetal spiders are spilled out all over the roots of the floor.
Clearing the room takes some doing. None of the cocooned humanoids are still alive, and there are enough egg sacks to have produced hundreds more Gohma. There is nothing else of interest in the room.
Rum stands head bowed amongst the other Embers, his fur matted and filthy with the blood and gore from the annihilation of the Gohma presence in the Great Deku Tree.
He lifts his head up slowly, "We are not done yet. We need to see what is down the trap door", he says mentioning the trap door more forcefully this time, as if he would not take no for an answer.
"Once we are done, we can honour Kora properly", he says more gently.
Rum wanders over to the hole in the roof that is the only way out of the nest they were currently in. Well, former nest.
"Time to go, fellow Embers. I will help up those who need it", he says, his voice still fairly monotone and revealing nothing like his usual optimism.
For those that take up the offer, he will reach down and cup his hands, giving them a boost up towards the hanging vines.
Once everyone else has departed, and only then, will he take a last look around the cavern, committing to memory the place of their greatest battle so far. And both their greatest victory and greatest loss so far.
He will then jump up and climb up through the tunnel with his usual ease, not looking back.
The Deku Tree seems quieter now that all of the rooms and floors have been cleared. While it wasn't exactly loud before...things are different now. Peaceful even.
Breaking the trap door is easier than anticipated, and getting down reveals no threats in the room below. It seems someone has already raided the room, for the most part, having gone through barrels and crates and breaking a number of amphoras and pots. One chest is in the south part of the room, unopened...
The arrows belt the Gohma...but it does not die. It begins to slink away into the darkness, dragging its bulk...
Updated Post Order
Greko
Tuto
Lelith
Ro
Oten
Rum
Guard Gohma
Guard Gohma
Sorry
It is Ro's turn
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ro points a finger to the last gohma and the sound of bells fill the air once again.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
With the battle over, Lelith could feel the exhaustion finally start to seep into her mind and muscles. However, she had one last thing she needed to do. Lelith flew over to the dead Gohma that had devoured Kora and with her rapier, she started to gut them in search of the fairy's corpse.
Rum stands amongst the spider creature corpses breathing heavily, his fur matted with their ichor like blood and his claws dripping with the substance. His eyes dart about the chamber searching for other prey, his ears swivelling this way and that with the same purpose.
As he comes to the realisation that there are no more left to fight, he stops for a moment, staying perfectly still as he centres himself. His ragged breathing slows and his claws retract as he takes a number of very deep breaths in, releasing them slowly.
He looks over at Lelith with a sad look on his cat like face, ears drooping slightly as he sees her cutting open the spider creatures.
"It seems there was a high price to pay, fellow Embers", he says meekly. "If Kora hadn't helped save me...", he starts but trails off, unable or unwilling to finish the thought.
"I am sorry, friend Sorry", he says finally, after moving over to kneel before her.
Ro keeps a grip on his shield and his free hand raised, still ready to cast Toll the Dead at any other gohmas that may have been hiding. But as time passes and no other threats make themselves known, Ro allows his body to relax.
Ro walks slowly over to where Lelith and Rum are. He looks at Kora's remains and curses under his breath, Dammit. If only I were stronger...
Ro puts a hand on Rum's shoulder and squeezes it slightly in a small attempt to comfort his tabaxi friend. He then kneels by Lelith, and though he feels her actions are futile, he offers to help her in her efforts to scavenge Kora's remains.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
The Guard Gohma crumples as Ro's toll...well. Takes its toll. It curls in on itself and slips forward into the fog and the roots and the dark...and there, the last of the Gohmas die.
With the Gohmas dead, the fog begins to lift, and the band can see the interior of the room much better than before. There are egg sacks pulsating everywhere, and the dried husks of humanoids cocooned everywhere. Of those cocooned, only a few look 'fresh', though they're still obviously dead.
There are at least four sticky filaments dangling from the ceiling looking to snare a free meal as it moves about down below...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko solemnly walks over to Kora and lays his hands on her. “Greko ask Great Deku Tree one more time for your aid. Help Greko bring our friend Kora back to life. Greko need help without components for spell. Please aid us Great Deku”
Oten holds a glowing orb aloft to light his way and starts walking around to the cocooned victims, being careful to avoid the hanging filaments from above. Reaching the first one, he attempts to tear it open and pull the person out from inside.
"We should slaughter all of these cocoons, and exterminate this pest from the surface of Hyboria," Lelith suggested the complete extinction of the Gohma.
Rum nods solemnly to Leith and then shrugs as he gets up, "Fire would be best, if we can control it. But I have none left".
With that he heads across to help Oten open the cocoons and free the corpses within.
"It is surprising that som many got caught by the Gohma. I wonder how they came to be in the tree?", he asks absent mindedly.
The victim that Oten frees spills out onto the ground, their dried carcass a testament to the cruelty of the Gohmas. It's been drained of fluids and is missing hunks of flesh.
Finding Kora's body is no easy feet, nor is seeing the state it is in. It's been chewed up and shredded between two different Gohmas. The flesh is tainted with poison and the organs have been separated from the thoracic cavity. The little Fairy isn't even recognizable as having been a sapient being only moments before.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Lelith sighed, there was very little the Eladrin could do with what she had at hand. She decided to clean the remains of Kora with her Cleansing Stone before gathering them all in a bag which she subsequently put into her Bag of Holding. "Death is transient. We will breathe new life into Kora if possible. We can demand some answers from the Great Deku Tree, it now owes us as well Kora for our help."
"However, our mission remains our primary goal,, the lost life of one cannot take priority over the many," Lelith spoke sadly. "The Twilight Embers must not linger for long on a fallen friend. We may have not known her for long but the short time together was a pleasant experience. She had no obligation to help us in our tasks yet she still did, Sorry as well. You have our thanks."
Lelith set about hacking away with great pleasure at the cocoons with her rapier. "With no fire, we can only do this the hard way."
Ro nods in agreement with Lelith's statement. He watches as everyone begins move on to their own devices and decides to do the same. The elf-dwarf looks at all the gohma carcasses laying on the floor, especially at the Queen Gohma. There was so much raw material that could be put to interesting use.
Ro begins to pull out several miscellaneous tools and begins to harvest various parts from the gohmas. Natural armor plating, organs that produced poison and webbing, claws and eyes; not a single body part that held some remote use was spared from Ro's harvest.
(ooc: lemme know if I need to make any checks to determine Ro's harvesting skills).
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum cannot bear to look at the remains of the once Fairy, turning away with shoulders slouched.
"Great Dragon, find Kora's spirit and keep her safe, give her a place of honour by your side. And if it be your will, let us find a way to return her to us", he whispers in Draconic.
He carries on freeing the cocooned bodies until they are all excavated, ensuring they are not part of the breeding process and merely a food source. He then takes his staff in hand for the first time in a long time and sets to work bashing in the egg sacs, ensuring no more spider creatures will be born in the Great Deku Tree.
"Before we leave, we still have the matter of the trap door, friend Embers".
Breaking open the cocoons and the husked bodies reveals that they are simply a food source, not part of the breeding process. The pulsating egg sacks, on the other hand, are clearly part of the breeding process as when they're broken small, fetal spiders are spilled out all over the roots of the floor.
Clearing the room takes some doing. None of the cocooned humanoids are still alive, and there are enough egg sacks to have produced hundreds more Gohma. There is nothing else of interest in the room.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko sees an arm and picks it up to hand to Lelith
“I’d like to quickly bury Kora outside if that’s ok with everyone if there’s no way to uh reassemble her?”
Rum stands head bowed amongst the other Embers, his fur matted and filthy with the blood and gore from the annihilation of the Gohma presence in the Great Deku Tree.
He lifts his head up slowly, "We are not done yet. We need to see what is down the trap door", he says mentioning the trap door more forcefully this time, as if he would not take no for an answer.
"Once we are done, we can honour Kora properly", he says more gently.
Greko nods to Rum “AH you are right. Old Greko forgot about it. Lead the way friend. Greko will follow”
Rum wanders over to the hole in the roof that is the only way out of the nest they were currently in. Well, former nest.
"Time to go, fellow Embers. I will help up those who need it", he says, his voice still fairly monotone and revealing nothing like his usual optimism.
For those that take up the offer, he will reach down and cup his hands, giving them a boost up towards the hanging vines.
Once everyone else has departed, and only then, will he take a last look around the cavern, committing to memory the place of their greatest battle so far. And both their greatest victory and greatest loss so far.
He will then jump up and climb up through the tunnel with his usual ease, not looking back.
The Deku Tree seems quieter now that all of the rooms and floors have been cleared. While it wasn't exactly loud before...things are different now. Peaceful even.
Breaking the trap door is easier than anticipated, and getting down reveals no threats in the room below. It seems someone has already raided the room, for the most part, having gone through barrels and crates and breaking a number of amphoras and pots. One chest is in the south part of the room, unopened...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York