"Oh...oh... I think I remember now... Ankheg... right? I believe it went by a different name back home... large insectoid monstrosities, right?"
Words don't do it justice, the monster that it is. An ambush predator with crushing mandibles and grasping claws, the ankheg is nothing to balk at. Their ferocity and hunger is well-known and feared. Korbiña remembers stories of nesting ankheg pairs laying waste to whole forests and game-rich fields to satisfy their craving for fresh prey, feeding on humanoid and beast alike. She also remembers stories of hunters and adventurers, finding grizzled remains of ankheg victims torn asunder and melted with powerful digestive acid. The creatures don't normally hunt together, but that's not to say true colonies have never existed. If the party indeed faces more than one ahead, they will need to do so with great caution.
Through the trees and squelching mud, Lelantus spryly scuttles. The thick undergrowth is no match for his lithe frame. He's having quite the time leaping ahead of the others... so much so that when he slips off a dead log and lands in quicksand, he's already waist-deep by the time Korbiña catches up, having been closest behind him.
The pit quicksand itself is a wide pool, and it seems like it isn't too deep for a normal human. Unfortunately for Lelantus, he's a halfling, and very much in peril.
Just in case Lelantus can't get ouf otherwise, Korbiña detatches the rope from her backpack, wraps one end of it around a trunk several times and holds onto the end while throwing the other end to Lelantus, so he can pull himself out with it.
The little halfling is quick spinning in quick succession, freeing himself from suction momentarily. It's enough that he has a chance to grab Korbiña's rope.
[I'll spare you a pointless Athletics roll.]
In moments, Lelantus is back on "dry" land, the mud suddenly not so bad, given the alternative. The two are a tad spent from their little ordeal, so much so that they only now notice the trees thinning and the lack of birds or animals around them. Just a distant "clicking..."
"Very much so" Korbiña is whispering "We should go back a bit..."
Korbiña withdraws with the least amount of noise possible. "I'll try to create a distraction so we can see how many we are up against... if it's too many, run!"
She used her metamagic to cast her Thaumaturgy ability without verbal component (Sublte Spell metamagic) to create a tremor of the ground... while this has no inherent effect, shaking ground often can startle creatures out of a hiding place, which Korbiña is hoping for...
The noise of distant clicks and clacks diminishes slightly, but does not cease altogether. It appears Korbiña's assumption is correct. The party has indeed wandered into ankheg territory. If this is where the bugbear was headed, perhaps there are signs of his heading, or at the very least some proof he made it this far...
Does lelantus see any fur as he's sprinting full speed?
[You'd have to roll Perception at Disadvantage]
Korbina thinks deeply trying to recall if she ever heared of such...
Nature: 19
"Oh...oh... I think I remember now... Ankheg... right? I believe it went by a different name back home... large insectoid monstrosities, right?"
Words don't do it justice, the monster that it is. An ambush predator with crushing mandibles and grasping claws, the ankheg is nothing to balk at. Their ferocity and hunger is well-known and feared. Korbiña remembers stories of nesting ankheg pairs laying waste to whole forests and game-rich fields to satisfy their craving for fresh prey, feeding on humanoid and beast alike. She also remembers stories of hunters and adventurers, finding grizzled remains of ankheg victims torn asunder and melted with powerful digestive acid. The creatures don't normally hunt together, but that's not to say true colonies have never existed. If the party indeed faces more than one ahead, they will need to do so with great caution.
[...Oh, Lelantus. Dex Save, DC: 13]
...9.
Through the trees and squelching mud, Lelantus spryly scuttles. The thick undergrowth is no match for his lithe frame. He's having quite the time leaping ahead of the others... so much so that when he slips off a dead log and lands in quicksand, he's already waist-deep by the time Korbiña catches up, having been closest behind him.
The pit quicksand itself is a wide pool, and it seems like it isn't too deep for a normal human. Unfortunately for Lelantus, he's a halfling, and very much in peril.
Lelantus tries making a whirlpool in the quicksand
[He needs to be able to move, first (Athletics, DC 16).]
20 not nat
Just in case Lelantus can't get ouf otherwise, Korbiña detatches the rope from her backpack, wraps one end of it around a trunk several times and holds onto the end while throwing the other end to Lelantus, so he can pull himself out with it.
The little halfling is quick spinning in quick succession, freeing himself from suction momentarily. It's enough that he has a chance to grab Korbiña's rope.
[I'll spare you a pointless Athletics roll.]
In moments, Lelantus is back on "dry" land, the mud suddenly not so bad, given the alternative. The two are a tad spent from their little ordeal, so much so that they only now notice the trees thinning and the lack of birds or animals around them. Just a distant "clicking..."
Asher arrives as they are finished with there ordeal. " Something seems wrong here " he says quietly
"Very much so" Korbiña is whispering "We should go back a bit..."
Korbiña withdraws with the least amount of noise possible. "I'll try to create a distraction so we can see how many we are up against... if it's too many, run!"
She used her metamagic to cast her Thaumaturgy ability without verbal component (Sublte Spell metamagic) to create a tremor of the ground... while this has no inherent effect, shaking ground often can startle creatures out of a hiding place, which Korbiña is hoping for...
The noise of distant clicks and clacks diminishes slightly, but does not cease altogether. It appears Korbiña's assumption is correct. The party has indeed wandered into ankheg territory. If this is where the bugbear was headed, perhaps there are signs of his heading, or at the very least some proof he made it this far...
Asher takes the opportunity to carefully inspect there surroundings
(Do I need to roll investigation)
[What's your passive?]
[11]
[...Yeah, should probably roll]
2