A smirk crosses Kashika's features. The creatures had tried their best to gnaw on her flesh and her clothes but she proved just a bit too agile for them, one only coming close, but never making contact.. perhaps it was due to her size, or the nature of her past or some combination of both... Regardless, she avoided taking anything that could be considered damage, meanwhile having (with the rogues help) literally melted a large chunk of the enemies. Her last group hadn't been intelligent enough to make full use of her spell, but it seemed this rogue was smart... and for a moment, her eyes lingered on him with slight respect. For Kashika, Respect was earned - not given. Two of the group had so far earned atleast the thinnest veil  thus far. Would they continue to do so was the question. And so far, no one had ... tried to... She shook her head, breaking that thought.

And simultaneously to her shock, and to her expectations Mordred flew into combat in all his valiance. And while Kashika still hated the man, she was a creature not wont to spit on someone assisting her, though he would get only the barest of appreciation. Mmh. Thank you. she said flatly. Perhaps he would take offense, perhaps not. Regardless... she had other things to worry about right now anyway.

With a gesture, and a quickly encanted spell, she would cast.. Poison Spray at Swarm C as mordred was closer to the other, and may have drawn their ire, intent on finishing the most direct threat to herself.

(Poison Spray: DC 14 CON, or take 24 Poison damage)

Round 2

Seeing the swarms and bettles melt from the one-two punch of both halves of Kashika's spell, Zalten can't help but admire the efficiency of it, the joint waves of posion and acid having decimated the insects rather quickly. He looks for a moment to Nygil beset by multiple swarms, but decides he's not too keen on helping the elf out. Besides, it looks like despite his arrogance, he's holding his own well enough. He pulls out his daggers from his belt, twirling them a bit as he rushes towards the two swarms attacking Kashika and Mordred. He swipes at the upper one twice, trying to cut down the last few bugs of the swarm that Mordred didn't already kill, shouting "Looks like we've almost got them finished off!" to the others as he strikes

Movement: 20ft to between Mordred and Kashika
Attack (Dagger): Attack: 12 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.
Bonus Action: Two Weapon Fighting (Dagger): Attack: 25 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.
Sneak Attack if either hits: 8

Damage rolls do not appear to be showing up for me, so here's new ones:

Attack 1 Damage: 8
Attack 2 Damage: 3

Round 2

(OOC: I can't see the map at the moment so I'm flying blind lol)

Nygil dashes over to whatever foe is still breathing, delivering flying kicks and open handed strikes as he goes. "Yes! This isn't to difficult now is it? These vermin didn't stand a chance!" 

Attack: 9 Damage: 7

Attack: 13 Damage: 4

Attack: 27 Damage: 12

If his first attack kills the target, he will move to whatever the next...most alive looking one is lol. 

Morded had held his sword and shield up, Kashika had offered him a minimalist sense of appreciation. Though Mordred didn't seem angry nor happy by her gratitude or lack thereof depending on how one would view her tone. Mordred had glanced over for any wounds.

"Thankfully you aren't hurt."

He said rather curt, it was almost as if the interaction before hadn't mattered to him. Though his words seem rather kind his expression was still as sunken as before. His tone was direct and rather low. It was a contradiction to his actions and toward's his words. It was hard to tell how he really had felt in that moment. Looking forward he saw Nygil in a flurry of many punches and kicks he was able to make so many attacks in such a short period of time. Mordred couldn't help but find his fighting style rather impressive, to fight using one's own body and nothing else was rather courageous even if it did look rather reckless. He had a talent, each spin and kick there was a level of displine behind the open palmed strikes he wasn't relying on just pure brute force as Mordred had. He was studying these creatures and making well placed strikes. He had shown some foresight and a inner wisdom that Mordred was a bit surprised to see. He had looked over to see no one was too badly hurt. Zalten had swung in headlong just as Mordred had done. He seemed swift and elegant, Mordred couldn't help but quietly admire the Assimar in action as he rallied the group with a call of tides turning. The tides could turn easily if more were to show up, but a celestial creature such as he had somewhat inspired Mordred even if his expression was still the same as before.

"Nygil.. Zalten let's finish this."

He had looked over to Jack, who he had used his shield on before hopefully he'd manage to stay outta harms way for just a while long. Brandishing his blade he had stepped forward with heavy force. Raising his blade as he focused the angle of his strike, though he couldn't be as quick or agile as Nygil he'd use knowledge of swordplay to land a decisive blow or at least try to. Stepping forward he lunged his blade forward to try and thrust into as many of the insects as he could.

11

To hit

Damage

10

He had spun around swinging yet again in rapid succession at the incoming swarm.

Attack 2

To hit

7

Damage

11

OOC
I see the swarm next to Mordred on the map, if it's still standing he'll strike Swarm A. If it goes down he'll use his second strike on Swarm C (After moving a few feet forward.) This is all when his turn actually comes. Course he's really on the turn order so they may be dead if that is the case the next nearest target as Aroc said for Nygil lol.

Also if Swarm A is still alive he has advantage on Swarm A specifically (His vow move)

So here's the extra dice rolls for those two attacks if they are still alive.

Attack 1

22

Attack 2

9

Most of Swarm F quickly turns to ash upon being hit by Tamara's fire bolt. Though she did not kill them all, the remainder are cleaned up by Nygil, who franticly hacks and slashes at both Swarm F and B.

It is now Jack's turn.

Tamara

Nygil

Jack

Zalten

Kashika

Jumble

Swarms

Rethan

Mordred

Beetles

Jack hisses and writhes in pain as a few of the insects in the swarm dig under his armor, scratching and biting at his skin. In that moment, he can only think of one thing: retaliation. He hits himself all over, managing to squash them before they can do any significant damage. The adrenaline is getting to him. "Ha ! Looks like we have! Now let's get rid of the almost, hm?" He yells out to Zalten, a fire building in his heart. In one swift circular motion, he brings his dagger and sickle on the nasty bugs. (Swarm G)

Action: Two-Weapon Fighting

Dagger (NOT thrown):
To Hit: 20
Damage: 2

Sickle:
To Hit: 9
Damage: 4

Turns out, there were only a few bugs left in swarm g, which are now smashed under Jack's armor, Jack easily disposed of the remainder of the flying insects with his dagger.

Zalten rushes Swarm A, with a few agile flicks of his daggers the bodies of the beetles fall to the ground, wings fluttering down shortly after.

Luckily, Zalten held off on attacking Swarm C as Kashika has it under control. (Con save 2.) With a wave of her tiny talons, the swarm rains down onto the sand in a gooey puddle as soon as the acid hits them.

Jumble rushes up beside Nygil. He leaps up, thunder engulfing his blade as he slams it down into the sand, barely missing the tiny insects that make up Swarm B. Despite his futile attempt, he doesn't hesitate to encourage Rethan, inspiring him for his next attack.

Angry that a thundering blade whizzed so close to them, Swarm B, the last swarm alive, starts to attack Jumble. A few of them crawl up the sleeve of his sword arm, while the rest buzz in his face biting any flesh they come into contact with as they go. (To hit 7 damage 3)

ROUND 2

Tamara

Nygil

Jack

Zalten

Kashika

Jumble

Swarms

Rethan

Mordred

Beetles

"Thanks," Rethan says and gives Jumble a fierce grin as he moves in to try to finish off the final swarm, swinging his axe broadside at the insects like a giant fly-swatter.  "I'm a bit out of shape after a while in retirement, but it's coming back quickly."

Attack: 28 Damage: 20

Extra Attack: 20 Damage: 13

Apparently Rethan's retirement hasn't affected his physical strength to much! The fighter takes out the entire swarm with a single swing of his axe. Now he's gonna have to give that thing some major cleaning, as there are bug guts splattered all over it.

Mordred takes a moment to admire the fighting styles of his companions as they slash, hack and punch through the swarms. By the time he readies his attack, the only enemy left is a single giant fire beetle, which is still under Jumble's spell. Unwilling to leave a single evil insect alive, the paladin makes his way over to the charmed bug and cleaves it in two. 

End of combat.

(You may now decide to continue or to take a break. Lol even though you probably don't need one... You are still on the path, Tamara's dragon roar scared the beetles onto it rather than away from it, so you never actually left the path.)

Seeing the scattered bodies of his enemies around him, Nygil bursts out laughing. "Hahaha! Ew, gross..." he says, shaking his hands as he realizes that they are covered in bug guts. Picking up a clump of sand, he rubs it on his hands and arms to get the worst of it off. "That was exhilarating... though it wasn't much of a fight." He looks to Mordred and Kashika, "I thought you said these things were tough." He laughs again, "I guess we caught them by surprise, and...the rest of you are... a bit more competent then I had anticipated..." He trails off, looking down at the sand he was using to scrape off the bug guts. He seems more irritated at the goo then he is at the bites he'd received earlier. Tossing the sand to the ground, he shrugs saying, "Well, shall we continue?"

Mordred had easily dispatched the beast beguiled by Jumble's arcane arts. Swinging his claymore through the air to wipe any blood he could in one stroke he strapped the blade on his back once more. Clasping his hands together for a moment, though he wouldn't say anything it was a small prayer. Rethan had shown he was quite capable of using immense physical strength. Mordred had walked over to Jack hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder. He hadn't said much but he began to heal Jack's wounds minor as they were. (3Lay on hands HP.) 

"You did well."

He said rather curt, his voice devoid of any real expression and his eyes as blank as before. He had seemed more interactive while in the midst of raging combat. Mordred had looked to Nygil as he had gave the Kobold and him a look of surprise.

"Simple insects, there are more complex creatures in the Twilight. You fight well Nygil but do keep you're wits about you. Heh.. More competent eh? I take that you made assumptions based off our apparent "Failure." Well, I must admit you did better than I had expected, I'm sure we were all a bit nervous when we saw you crashing down those stairs."

He had offered a wry grin to Nygil crossing his arms for a moment before looking around. He was eager to get moving but he wanted to inspect the area himself get a feel of the area before moving on.

OOC
8

Perception check

Investigation Check

19

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

"Well, shall we continue?"

Jumble sheathed his rapier, and looked around. "I'm good with that," he began, before turning to everyone else, "although if anyone needs any healing first, I can provide a bit."

Zalten wipes off his blades as best he can on the ground before sheathing them away, and cleans off the any splattered bug guts on himself as best he can. Looking at his new companions, standing there near totally unscathed, he feels just a bit better about the upcoming journey, hoping that this group will be able to brave the dangers ahead. Still, having heard Tamara, Kashika, and Mordred's warnings, he knows not to get too confident. As Nygil continues to brag and go about his usual antics, Zalten has to force himself not to roll his eyes at the elf's continued arrogance. "He may be a better fighter than I thought, but he's going to get us all killed if he keeps acting like that", he thinks. Once he's done trying to clean up, he turns to the group and says:

"I agree, we should be on our way. I'd rather not stick around to see if there were more bugs were those came from. I'm ready to continute moving when you all are" Turning to Nygil, he continues: "Let's not get too overconfident. Were it not for Jumble and Kashika's magic, those bugs could have been far more dangerous. You've heard what Tamara, Kashika, and Mordred have told us about their previous expeditions. There are far more dangerous creatures out there. Lose our wits and we could very well end up dead" 

Soon, Kashika's magic fades from his body, and with it so does the warm glow of feeling magic flow through his viens once again. Even if it was for just a brief moment and of a kind deeply different from what he is used to, the magic's temporary presence filled him with a sense of peace that has lasted longer than the spell. As he waits for the others to get prepared, he relishes in that feeling, appreciating the brief moment of comfort in realm so distant from his god's light

Kashika shivered for a moment, as if reveling in the destruction of these insects. Her spell had worked.. even more effectively than it had the first time. Her eyes widened and she exhaled from her nostrils, before taking in another breath. She stood tall, and shuffled in place for a moment as the others spoke. She simply listened. And despite herself, she found Mordreds' comment humorous.. enough to stifle a nasal-chuckle, despite not having seen the tumble herself.. with everyone else having said it.. it must be true.

I hate to agree with M-mordred, but yes. We caught them off guard, and if not for mine, and others ww-ider reaching spells, we would have been s-surrounded and s-swarmed. Perhaps we would have still won our lives, or perhaps half of u-us would be dead. And I'm glad that Z-zalten also agrees. I still have plenty of spell energy to s-spare, and can recover it immediately if need b-be. But the sooner we keep moving as the other few have said... the sooner we'll be at our destination and out of this danger. Though... While we have a moment, I-I-I... she sighed... I w-would suggest this though. Before we r-reach the other city, just outside the g-gates... we should rest and recover everything. I never made it to the other s-side but they may r-r-recognize us as outsiders ... well... s-s-ome of us. she says, casting a faint glance at Tamara, though Tamara would feel no insinuation thee.

U-ultimately I just want us all to be as prepared as possible.

Tamara watched as her companions quickly finished off the last of the insects. She was a little upset with herself for not being able to contribute more effectively, but it had been a while. And at least now I know these people are capable warriors even when I'm off. Looking over them, nobody seemed to have anything but minor scratches. She almost told Jumble to hold his healing for that very reason but held back. I'm not quite in charge here and I don't think they would appreciate that.

She rolled her eyes at Nygil's bravado. "Trust me, before we reach the crown we'll face things you won't want to get up-close with," she warned. He might be good in a fight, but she knew from her old life that dismissing your capable allies was a good way to get them to turn on you.

After she heard Kashika and Zalten speak, she said, "I think we're strong enough that nothing in the desert will truly threaten us, but it is better if we reach Dawn as quickly as possible. I agree that resting and planning is going to be very important when we reach the outskirts. Zoran doubtlessly has the crown even better protected that his sister did."

Rethan grimaces down at the bug guts covering his once-clean axe.  "Well, that's disgusting," he mutters, then drops the axe and walks over to the others.

"The bugs clearly weren't a problem this time," he says.  "I'm not sure about those worms Kashika mentioned though...."

"Speaking of the crown though," he adds, "I know Cyra told us if we steal the crown and return with it, she will send us back home."

He looks to the former champions.  "Given that you're still here in this realm, I'm going to assume that you haven't found any other ways to return.  But what about Zoran.  Given what we've been told of the nature of their contests, presumably he also has the ability to return people from this realm.  Do you think it possible to try to bargain with him to return us home in return for...not stealing the crown from him to begin with?"

Nygil waves a hand a Mordred, "Oh, no, I hadn't meant you. I was talking about..." He sweeps his eyes over his fellow new champions, then realizes he probably doesn't want to reveal who he had actually meant. "Never mind. First impressions can be misleading. You'd think I'd know that by now, but...well I won't lie, manners and formality were never my strong points." He says this rather dismissively. 

He raises an eyebrow at Zalten, "Overconfident? What are you talking about?" He shrugs, "Look, I'm not dismissing all of their tales. Clearly there has to be something more challenging out here, otherwise why did they fail?"

His eyes shift down to the stuttering Kobald, and he has to stop himself from saying the same thing to her that he'd said to the handmaid back at the castle. He hates it when people stutter, its to difficult to understand them. Oh well, he'd have to get used to it. 

Turning to Tamara he says, "Its not a matter of wanting to get up close with something, its a matter of whether or not I can." He shrugs, "I suppose I can always resort to darts if I must, but its so much more entertaining to strike with my hands...faster too. ...Besides, I'm sure those of you with...you know, magic can help out with that." He was vaguely aware of everyone else swinging swords and slinging spells during the fight, but he'd been so wrapped up in his own attacks that he hadn't been paying to much attention. 

When Tamara mentions Zoran having the crown well guarded he puts his fists together saying, "Good, a worthy challenge...." He trails off as Rethan asks if Zoran might bargain for a way home that doesn't involve stealing the crown. "...I suppose we can try that. ...Doesn't sound as fun though." He sighs, "I suppose it would be a good way to practice my diplomacy." 

(( During the discussions, Jumble has already pulled out a few pieces of paper and is doing his best to jot down a few notes about their encounter. He does so quickly, and places the paper and quill away without any fanfare. ))