Syed, panting heavily, looks down at the venomous wound on his fur-covered chest. He feels the poison gnawing at his muscles, but his eyes shift quickly to Kolette, who is now paralyzed by the vicious centipede. His resolve hardens. No time to heal. She needs help. “Mellow, protect Kolette!” he commands, and the loyal mastiff immediately spins on his paws, growling as he charges at the centipede that has latched onto Kolette (D). Mellow leaps into the air with surprising agility.
Meanwhile, Syed grits his teeth, focusing on the centipede before him. His tusks still slick with the previous enemy's blood, he lunges at the centipede (B) that had just struck Mellow. With a furious snarl, he aims to sink his tusks deep into the insect’s tough hide.
Action: attack @B with Sharp Tusks, attack 20 for 4 piercing and 1 psychic damage. Mellow: attack @D with a bite but fails with a natural 1
William snarls when Herbert is destroyed... his familiar disappearing in a burst of smoke. A moment later a blast of necrotic energy bursts from his wand once more towards the closest centipede!
Seeing the bugs begin to fall inspires Shayara as she lets attempts to push her closest assailant (E) back and the last of her dice shoots from her hand toward the the centipede.
Shove back 5' = 14 strength save to resist
Eldritch Blast Attack: 12 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.
(Action) Attack @Centipede A with Longsword for 19 A Hit. ---> Centipede A takes 11 slashing damage ----> Centipede A is nearly dead
The battle rages on between man and bug. Sparkles saw her cervan friend taken out by one of these hideous monstrosities (D) and takes revenge, smacking down her quarterstaff at its own low point but somehow missing. The quarterstaff hits the wall and ricochets back and smacks her own side, leaving her a bit winded. Instead of leaving it there, huffing and puffing, the monk decides it's better to leave weapons alone and go for what she's really good at: using her own hands. Sparkles smashes down upon the dying centipede's head and crushes it beneath her claws. It lays there to wither, alive no more.
Mellow and Syed are on the attack. They seek to protect their friend who has become now paralyzed by the mutated bug's venom. Mellow lunges forth only to miss the beast (B) by mere inches; his dogged slobber splatters across the centipede's face. Syed takes it by surprise and rams his tusks into the creature's side. If only it could comprehend the physic damage there other than 'ah I'm dying'. If there is any way for a bug to go down it is this. Naturally. Prey vs. predator. Its hemolymph sprays across the floor, scarring the moss with dark purple.
William sees the brown centipede approaching. This is the one that took out his faithful companion. It (E) writhes there in the moss, waiting. The undertaker shows it no mercy. He sprays out a sickening splash of green necrotic energy. But something about the fact that the hail stopped makes him think for a moment, yet there it goes. The blast lashes out, striking the spot where the centipede had once been, not realizing for the fact that Shayara had shoved it backwards. The centipede struggles with being flipped over for a second, squirming. Its pincers open and close in rabid fury. Click. Click. Click.
The warlock follows up with her first shove. The die in her hand wails through the air before leaving a big hole into the side of the centipede's abdomen. Out gushes some of the most neon green guts you've ever laid eyes upon. The centipede near crumbles to the floor. With a zip, the magic floating die returns back safely to her hands, though covered now in some of that awful goo.
Facing the last of the remaining centipedes all by himself, Zeren lifts up his arm and stikes down upon the centipede (A) out in front of him. The way his armor clanks makes the centipede scuttle back a bit but the clanking fighter finds its. The sword goes slicing down. It chops its head off.
Centipede A (Full Health)
(Action) Bite @Zeren for 17 < 18 AC A Miss. ---> Zeren takes no damage
End of Round: ((-11 HP)
Centipede B ((-6 HP))
Move 10 ft south
(Action) Bite @Sparkles for 23 > 16 AC A Hit. ---> Sparkles takes 4 piercing damage ---> Shayara is now at 2/10 HP
Sparkles's Constitution Save nat 20! + 2 = 22 > 11 CON SAVE A Critical Success. ---> Sparkles is doing fine.
End of Round: ((- 11 HP))
Centipede D ((-10 HP))
End of Round: Dead
Centipede E (Full Health)
Move 5 ft east and 5 ft northeast diagonally
(Action) Bite @Shayara for 16 > 14 AC A Hit. ---> Shayara takes 4 piercing damage ---> Shayara is now at 6/10 HP
Shayara's Constitution Save 1 + 2 = 3 < 11 CON SAVE A Critical Failure. ---> Shayara takes 10 poison damage and drops to -4/10 HP and now unconscious and poisoned for 1 hour
End of Round: ((-4 HP))
The head of the beheaded centipede (A) tries its best to bite you, Zeren. Its slow moving pincers barely make it to open and close on time. Still it moves, just like a reflex. It is like the way when cockroaches die their legs still twitch. Alive but not quite. Maybe just put it out of its misery?
The others are not yet so willing to go into the light. The brown centipede (E) comes back with a vengeance. It doesn't understand where the vulture has just gone, only that an enemy has gone. Now, more emboldened than ever, it searches right for that girl with the die. It doesn't want to risk being killed in the way that its brethren did with the spiny guy. No, it will go for a much more easier target. Its pincers grab across at Shayara, trying bring her down. As soon as it sees her leg slip, it drags her down onto the mossy floor before it scrambles, biting her again while she throws her hands up, trying to push it away both mentally and physically but finds she can't.
Slowly, the venom courses through her veins until she finds it hard to keep moving. Oh no. Just like her friend. She can barely crane her neck over just to see the centipede right down on top of her. Its pincers opening back and forth in mad victory almost as if it were laughing. She can't find it within herself to scream.
Upon realizing that it was surrounded, the mustard yellow centipede (B) unleashes its worst upon Sparkles, not really knowing what to do. Bite the dog? No. Bite the rat? No. It already saw what they can do to it. Bite the human? Yes, yes that will do. It attacks the girl, though not knowing who or what she is (not really human but close enough to it), it was closer to a certainty that it had ever really known. Biting, its pincers sear deep into Sparkle's calf and flesh as the centipede itself scrambles up her body.
Sparkles finds it on top of her head as it latches onto her hair, trying to keep up with her trashing movements. Perplexing the venom didn't paralyze her. The centipede had been banking on it when it crawled up to get a better vantage point and be away from the barking dog and the biting squirrel. Now it will have to contend with being up here in a not so smart move of being too close to your enemy. Whoops.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Sparklesis pretty irritated to have one of these pests crawling around her feathery hair, and is starting to feel fatigued. More than fatigued actually, she's starting to struggle to stand. She hadn't noticed previously, but the bites she's suffered have gone much further than expected, and now she's losing quite a bit of blood from the pockmarks, even though she's more than resist to their venom. She tries to swipe the centipede from her hair, but struggles seeing as she can't see her target and is trying to not punch and kill herself in the process [Quarterstaff and Unarmed Strike to hit: 8]
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
William growls though clenched teeth as his spell misses his mark. As the centipede races back and bites Shayara, The undertaker snarls and lunges towards the insect, attempting to bite the creature himself!
as he lunges towards the centipede with his sharp jaws, he would use his free hands to quickly pull out a healing potion before moving to give it to Sparkles.
What one critter can do, another surely can do, too. In hot pursuit of the centipede, Syed follows the yellow centipede and runs up onto Sparkles as if climbing a tree. With Sparkles flaying wildly, Syed has to keep a firm grip or might be launched off Sparkles. Finally, on Sparkles' head, he finds the centipede who appears to have just as much trouble hanging on. Without a second though, Syed goes in for the bite hoping to finish it off quickly.
Sharp Tusk attack @B hit 13 for 4 piercing and 4 psychic damage.
Mellow, on the other hand, runs to the other side and snaps at the centipede that had gotten its pincer too close for comfort around Shayara.
Mellow Bite attack @E hit 15 for 6 piercing damage
(Action) Attack @Centipede E with Bite for 15 A Hit. --> Centipede E takes 6 piercing damage and is near death (like very near)
Sparkles finds it too difficult to whack at the yellow centipede (B) when its caught in her feathery hair. in the midst of trying to be careful the most she could do was to loosen its grip a little. You've heard of hair being a bat's nest but this was just a little too literal even for you. You definitely need some rest after this one.
William notices his companion's struggles so he tosses out one of his potions from earlier, luckily she catches it just in time, though the centipede-for-bangs really does put a dent in her peripheral vision. He unleashes an attack of his own, baring his teeth at the creature before lunging. Just like Sparkles before, he finds the jumble of teeth and hair and insect legs way too much for his liking. Thus, he too misses his mark, taking in a mouthful of feathers. It has no distinct flavor.
Back at his own corner, Zeren unceremoniously brings down his own sword onto the insolent bug. He slices the already writhing served head in clean half with amazing swordsmanship. Its distinct neon hemolymph slowly pools onto the ground.
Then comes Syed and Mellow to the rescue of the fatigued monk. They each take a chomp out of the creature, with Syed actually racing up the poor girl's spine to her head and finishes off the dying centipede in one amazing feat. The ratatosk finds it easy to jab the centipede's side with his tusks, finding some of the guts spray into his mouth on the way out. It raises its head at you, preparing for another attack but then fizzles out as it lays its head down limp. It looks like whatever physic damage you dealt may not have been comprehended, but it sure was felt. It went straight for its head.
Mellow then throws the last centipede (E) off of Shayara's unconscious body, knocking it off like a wrestling in combat. He sink his own set of teeth into it, making it hiss back in return. He puts his paws down to stave off the length of the creature but it slithers away, like a salamander it detaches part of its abdomen to get away. Very much not normal centipede behavior.
Centipede A ((-11 HP))
End of Round: DEAD
Centipede B ((-11 HP))
End of Round: DEAD
Centipede E ((-4 HP))
(Action) Bite @Syed for nat 20! + 4 = 24 > 15 AC A Hit. ---> Syed takes 4 x 2 = 8 piercing damage ---> Syed is now at -7/10 HP
Syed's Constitution Save 10 + 3 = 13 > 11 CON SAVE A Success ---> Syed does not take poison damage but is still unconscious
End of Round: ((-10 HP))
You all can't believe this nasty bug is still around...
Running afoul of the humanoids it encountered, the bug still strives for one last accomplishment. (Multiple) Sidestepping of the dog in front of it, it closes in on the last creature it saw dismantled its buddy. It heads straight for Syed, hissing. In moments it too is on top of Sparkles head, competing for space with its now dead brethren. It takes up its pincers and bites. Syed feels the pain like a fire throughout his body, much worse than how it felt before. Luckily he doesn't feel the side-effects, his body doesn't give out like the others. Must be that Yggdrasil blessing. You feel fine, well as fine as one unconscious would be, your mind to drifts into some sort of sleep. You hear Mellow whine from far behind you.
((literally hoping one last hit will deal it out because ahhh I'm so sorry for dragging this one out. there will be more funnier ones in the future I promise))
Syed feels the searing pain of the centipede's bite coursing through his veins, his small body trembling as he clings to consciousness. Each breath comes with difficulty, but he fights to stay awake, his vision darkening around the edges. His grip on life is tenuous at best, yet in his mind, all he can think about is Mellow.
Death Save: 7
"M-Mellow... protect," he barely whispers, his thoughts strained and fading. His mind drifts toward an icy darkness, but he holds on, barely clinging to the light as he collapses against Sparkles’ back.
Mellow, sensing his master's distress and the urgency of the moment, lets out a deep, guttural growl. His muscles tense, and without hesitation, the mastiff lunges forward with a fierce determination, teeth bared. The centipede still clings to Sparkles, but Mellow won't let it win. He leaps, jaws snapping shut around the creature’s wriggling body, shaking it violently in his mouth.
Mellow's action: attack E hit (23, crit) for 9 piercing damage.
Sparkles quaffs the healing potion given to her by Will but is then distraught to see little Syed fall unconscious upon her, but sighs as she sees the last centipede get bitten and killed by Mellow. She plucks Syed from her back, his claws gripping to her tunic, and she lets healing magic flow through her palms and into him to try and heal his wounds and rouse him from his unconsciousness. As he recovers, she strokes Mellow with a free hand and soothingly tells him 'Good dog, he'll be fine...' [Healing Hands on Syed: Recover 6 HP]
End of Round: paralyzed and poisoned (for 59 minutes and 48 seconds)
Kolette (6/10 HP) andparalyzed and poisoned (for 59 minutes and 42 seconds)
Mellow (1/5 HP)
(Action) Attack @Centipede E with Bite for nat 20 + 3 = 23 A Critical Hit. --> Centipede E takes 9 piercing damage and DIES
Sparkles (2/10 HP)
(Free Action) Drink the potion and regain 9 HP for a total of 10/10HP
(Action) Cast Healing Hands on Syed for 6 HP ---> Syed is now at 6/9 HP
End of Round: 10/10 HP
The centipede oozes out in Mellow's jaws, covering his muzzle in all sorts of neon gunk. It tastes bad, like real bad.
Sparkles gulps that potion William handed her real quick then returns the favor onto Syed as she tucks him in her claws and heals him. Soon enough what was once lightning and thunder subsides into a light rain. You all stand wet, bloodied, and battered (some paralyzed) in someone else's basement.
End of Encounter
You all gain 200 XP and may now level up!
((you want to check around in the basement, use centipede parts for stuff? help your friends get out? ))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
As Sparkles completes her healing on Syed, she sets him down and is about to help the rest of the party when she notices that there are now small, radiant scales on the back of her palms that assuredly appeared just after she had used her healing magic. They’re fairly translucent and blend in with her feathers, but shimmer like little stars upon her skin, and she feels a new power emanate from within her, like her innate magic, yet different. She then notices another set of shiny scales, this time on her knees, and when she stretches, she feels faster and lighter somehow.
After she comes to terms with these developments, she is fairly stuck on what to do. Shayara is unconscious and paralysed but seems to be stable, and Kolette is conscious, yet also paralysed, but there isn’t much she can do about this. Although, now the rain has passed, she’d like to find Starry and the horses. But then again, they came down here to explore, so they might as well do so before they leave. She leaves this decision to the rest of the party (well, the ones that can speak at least…)
William let's out a sigh of relief when the last if the bugs is killed. with a sigh he bends over and checks Shayara for a pulse. Once he realizes she is still alive, he quite easily picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder. before leaving the basement, William casually looks around to see if any if the canned goods could be useful or of there is anything else of value in the basement.
Investigstion 8
"We should search the basement for any supplies... let's hope we didn't fight those creatures for nothing... they probably don't even taste good." William grumbles.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
After the poison wears off Kolette will take a look around.
Perception check 9
After looking around, she will gather up armloads of grain, Prestidigitation them clean and haul them up for the animals.
Once inside the cabin, she will conjure her hearth so everybody can warm and and dry off. At the end of the rest (Presuming we take a short or long rest) a prayer and a sprinkle of divine sugar dust, creates two special cupcakes.
By the time Kolette can move around again, Shayara will be awake with 1 hp.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Syed’s eyes flutter open as Sparkles' healing magic flows through him. His body feels stiff and sore, but he's alive, thanks to her and Mellow’s efforts. He gives Sparkles a grateful nod, and as he sits up, he notices Shayara lying unconscious nearby. Her shallow breathing and the signs of life in her pulse reassure him, but her paralysis is evident.
“Ah, you’re still with us… good,” he murmurs to Shayara as he lays his small hand on her forehead, channeling healing energy into her. [Cure Wounds for 16 HP] He watches her wounds close, her colour return, but she remains limp, her muscles frozen by the centipede's venom. "Blast it," Syed mutters under his breath, disappointed that the poison lingers despite his healing.
Standing back, he surveys the situation, feeling his own limitations keenly. He can't carry his unconscious comrades like William, and he can do little about the poison coursing through Shayara’s body. His frustration grows as he realises that his small size will always hinder him from contributing physically in these situations.
"I guess... I’ll look around," Syed says quietly, unsure of what more he can do. His mind drifts back to the strange markings on the wall—the children, Haley and Ardin. What happened here? A chill runs down his spine as a dark theory takes root in his thoughts. What if the children hadn’t simply left this place? What if something far worse befell them down here?
With a grim determination, Syed quietly searches the basement, his tiny form navigating through the dusty corners and old crates. His mind races as he half-expects to stumble upon a grisly revelation, but he steels himself for whatever he might uncover. He’s afraid, but curiosity—and the need for answers—drives him on.
Investigation 27 (crit, and includes 2 from guidance)
William checks on Shayara and finds her unconscious... but with a pulse! He tosses her over onto his shoulder and carries her out the basement, finding nothing of the sort that would have intrigued him. It was too bright still with Kolette's horns glowing, a feat she managed even with the centipede nearly knocking her out. (You were right, though; the centipedes did not taste delightful. You taste some goo from them once you hoist Shayara up; some neon liquid splatters onto you and drips into your mouth. Yuck).
The cervan herself isn't doing so well. It takes her in a few breathes before she becomes fully stable, then another couple of minutes for her to be able to blink again. The perpetual eye-opening dries them out for a bit. She was forced to stare while Syed surveys the place for any bits and pieces that might be useful. The ratatosk had already been helpful in resuscitating Shayara (her wounds closed and her face flushed); this time he was even more on a roll. He takes in careful inventory of the place, and, with his size, it turns out to be even more of an advantage. He takes in ever nook and cranny.
The crates contain jars and the jars contain pickles. Pickles of all kinds: onions, cabbage, carrots, chilis, and the usual cucumber. Either hanging off shelves or in small packs nestled between the jars, you find mustard seeds, some cloves of garlic, and even some cinnamon sticks as well. Sometime within Syed starts seeing some jars in the back that are a bit off-color. Set off to the side where the others are, what you first was thought to be another pickle was actually a finger, a really huge inflamed thumb. It takes up the size of what a human hand should be. It is green and missing a fingernail. It floats inside a liquid that smells of vinegar and acid. You look more closely and you start to see a pattern among this specific collection of vials and jars. None of those inside could be anything considered to be once human, but they sure have the look of it. You find one that is a severed cloven hoof-hand (much like Kolette's) but with a tentacle growing at the base of the fetlock. You look behind you and find that time has already flew by you.
It turns out that cervan heal pretty quickly, and, sure enough, Kolette is up and out the cellar by herself. She wakes up even before Shayara.
Syed soon stumbles upon something. Accidentally brushing his tail around the corner, he uncovers something hard among the soft mossy moss in the far back wall: the edges of white brittle bone. You know that centipedes don't have any bones, so this is definitely not any of theirs. You continue to brush along the base of the bone, finding it a bit hard with all that compact dirt. Luckily, you have just the paws to do it. And you find that is a skull, a kid-sized skull. You think you are starting to begin to know what happened here...
Everyone gets a short rest!
William, Kolette, and Shayara spend their time upstairs. Eren open their mouth wide, shocked to see the state of you all. "Are ya'll okay? What happened down there?"they cry. They run over to the comatose Shayara and help lift her up onto the bench. They give her a warm blanket and try to help as much as they can. Kolette, though a bit unsteady after all that has happened down there, managed to make cupcakes from divine sugar dust and the grain bags from the cellar that she miraculously hauled out of there. She finds it a bit harder to work with her hands, but it's alright. That cervan vigor is what shakes her out of it. Eren thanks her for the cupcakes.
Shayara awakes to find herself nearly covered in blankets, added with some extra bedrolls that Eren saved from the caravan during the storm. The light rain still falls outside, but with a strange fog that just seemed to roll in. It obscures the rest of the view even if you had open windows.
Sparkles tries some centipede, but even to her uncaring palette it still tastes awful; seems the closer the party makes it to Drakkenheim, the worse the food is and the freakier the wildlife gets. She's also happy to see Kolette come back to her senses, along with all the jarred and pickled goods Syed points out, and then she collects any of it that she can tell is still good to eat. Then, she very briskly leaves, just before Syed makes his grim discovery. She'd rather stay blissfully unaware to the unusual horrors and tragedies that are locked away in that basement; pickles and centipedes are enough to cure her curiosity.
Back in the house, she sits by Shayara as she slowly regains her motion. She enjoys the heat of Kolette's baking emanating through the place, and then greatly enjoys her first cupcake, trying to savour it but also peck away to get all the sweet flavour at the same time. She's had some baked goods before (the party has had rations of bread on their journey, of course) but she prefers it as either simple bread crumbs or the stale crust ends from a loaf, especially when it's hand fed to her by someone. Come to think of it, most of her early meals were just bread scraps she found in towns, some insects for protein and the occasional foraged tuber or root for the odd hit of sugar and starches.
By the time she's finished and Shayara has made her recovery, she hadn't even noticed the fog roll in around the house. Seems the sunlight was short lived. The bang on the door makes her jump at first, but then she becomes hopeful that it might be Starry, or one of the horses at the very least. She gets up from the blanketed bench and puts her newly scaled hand to the doorknob, looking to the party to see if they're happy for her to reveal what this mysterious creature may be.
Syed, panting heavily, looks down at the venomous wound on his fur-covered chest. He feels the poison gnawing at his muscles, but his eyes shift quickly to Kolette, who is now paralyzed by the vicious centipede. His resolve hardens. No time to heal. She needs help. “Mellow, protect Kolette!” he commands, and the loyal mastiff immediately spins on his paws, growling as he charges at the centipede that has latched onto Kolette (D). Mellow leaps into the air with surprising agility.
Meanwhile, Syed grits his teeth, focusing on the centipede before him. His tusks still slick with the previous enemy's blood, he lunges at the centipede (B) that had just struck Mellow. With a furious snarl, he aims to sink his tusks deep into the insect’s tough hide.
Action: attack @B with Sharp Tusks, attack 20 for 4 piercing and 1 psychic damage.
Mellow: attack @D with a bite but fails with a natural 1
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
William snarls when Herbert is destroyed... his familiar disappearing in a burst of smoke. A moment later a blast of necrotic energy bursts from his wand once more towards the closest centipede!
Attack: 11 Damage: 8
Seeing the bugs begin to fall inspires Shayara as she lets attempts to push her closest assailant (E) back and the last of her dice shoots from her hand toward the the centipede.
Shove back 5' = 14 strength save to resist
Eldritch Blast Attack: 12 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.
Zeren steps up and slashes at A.
To hit:
19
If it hits it deals
13
damage.
The battle rages on between man and bug. Sparkles saw her cervan friend taken out by one of these hideous monstrosities (D) and takes revenge, smacking down her quarterstaff at its own low point but somehow missing. The quarterstaff hits the wall and ricochets back and smacks her own side, leaving her a bit winded. Instead of leaving it there, huffing and puffing, the monk decides it's better to leave weapons alone and go for what she's really good at: using her own hands. Sparkles smashes down upon the dying centipede's head and crushes it beneath her claws. It lays there to wither, alive no more.
Mellow and Syed are on the attack. They seek to protect their friend who has become now paralyzed by the mutated bug's venom. Mellow lunges forth only to miss the beast (B) by mere inches; his dogged slobber splatters across the centipede's face. Syed takes it by surprise and rams his tusks into the creature's side. If only it could comprehend the physic damage there other than 'ah I'm dying'. If there is any way for a bug to go down it is this. Naturally. Prey vs. predator. Its hemolymph sprays across the floor, scarring the moss with dark purple.
William sees the brown centipede approaching. This is the one that took out his faithful companion. It (E) writhes there in the moss, waiting. The undertaker shows it no mercy. He sprays out a sickening splash of green necrotic energy. But something about the fact that the hail stopped makes him think for a moment, yet there it goes. The blast lashes out, striking the spot where the centipede had once been, not realizing for the fact that Shayara had shoved it backwards. The centipede struggles with being flipped over for a second, squirming. Its pincers open and close in rabid fury. Click. Click. Click.
The warlock follows up with her first shove. The die in her hand wails through the air before leaving a big hole into the side of the centipede's abdomen. Out gushes some of the most neon green guts you've ever laid eyes upon. The centipede near crumbles to the floor. With a zip, the magic floating die returns back safely to her hands, though covered now in some of that awful goo.
Facing the last of the remaining centipedes all by himself, Zeren lifts up his arm and stikes down upon the centipede (A) out in front of him. The way his armor clanks makes the centipede scuttle back a bit but the clanking fighter finds its. The sword goes slicing down. It chops its head off.
The head of the beheaded centipede (A) tries its best to bite you, Zeren. Its slow moving pincers barely make it to open and close on time. Still it moves, just like a reflex. It is like the way when cockroaches die their legs still twitch. Alive but not quite. Maybe just put it out of its misery?
The others are not yet so willing to go into the light. The brown centipede (E) comes back with a vengeance. It doesn't understand where the vulture has just gone, only that an enemy has gone. Now, more emboldened than ever, it searches right for that girl with the die. It doesn't want to risk being killed in the way that its brethren did with the spiny guy. No, it will go for a much more easier target. Its pincers grab across at Shayara, trying bring her down. As soon as it sees her leg slip, it drags her down onto the mossy floor before it scrambles, biting her again while she throws her hands up, trying to push it away both mentally and physically but finds she can't.
Slowly, the venom courses through her veins until she finds it hard to keep moving. Oh no. Just like her friend. She can barely crane her neck over just to see the centipede right down on top of her. Its pincers opening back and forth in mad victory almost as if it were laughing. She can't find it within herself to scream.
Upon realizing that it was surrounded, the mustard yellow centipede (B) unleashes its worst upon Sparkles, not really knowing what to do. Bite the dog? No. Bite the rat? No. It already saw what they can do to it. Bite the human? Yes, yes that will do. It attacks the girl, though not knowing who or what she is (not really human but close enough to it), it was closer to a certainty that it had ever really known. Biting, its pincers sear deep into Sparkle's calf and flesh as the centipede itself scrambles up her body.
Sparkles finds it on top of her head as it latches onto her hair, trying to keep up with her trashing movements. Perplexing the venom didn't paralyze her. The centipede had been banking on it when it crawled up to get a better vantage point and be away from the barking dog and the biting squirrel. Now it will have to contend with being up here in a not so smart move of being too close to your enemy. Whoops.
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Sparkles is pretty irritated to have one of these pests crawling around her feathery hair, and is starting to feel fatigued. More than fatigued actually, she's starting to struggle to stand. She hadn't noticed previously, but the bites she's suffered have gone much further than expected, and now she's losing quite a bit of blood from the pockmarks, even though she's more than resist to their venom. She tries to swipe the centipede from her hair, but struggles seeing as she can't see her target and is trying to not punch and kill herself in the process [Quarterstaff and Unarmed Strike to hit: 8]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
William growls though clenched teeth as his spell misses his mark. As the centipede races back and bites Shayara, The undertaker snarls and lunges towards the insect, attempting to bite the creature himself!
Attack: 17 Damage: 4
Zeren contemptuously bring his sword down on the centipede (A) again.
21
If it hits then it deals
14
damage.
as he lunges towards the centipede with his sharp jaws, he would use his free hands to quickly pull out a healing potion before moving to give it to Sparkles.
healing 9
What one critter can do, another surely can do, too. In hot pursuit of the centipede, Syed follows the yellow centipede and runs up onto Sparkles as if climbing a tree. With Sparkles flaying wildly, Syed has to keep a firm grip or might be launched off Sparkles. Finally, on Sparkles' head, he finds the centipede who appears to have just as much trouble hanging on. Without a second though, Syed goes in for the bite hoping to finish it off quickly.
Sharp Tusk attack @B hit 13 for 4 piercing and 4 psychic damage.
Mellow, on the other hand, runs to the other side and snaps at the centipede that had gotten its pincer too close for comfort around Shayara.
Mellow Bite attack @E hit 15 for 6 piercing damage
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
Sparkles finds it too difficult to whack at the yellow centipede (B) when its caught in her feathery hair. in the midst of trying to be careful the most she could do was to loosen its grip a little. You've heard of hair being a bat's nest but this was just a little too literal even for you. You definitely need some rest after this one.
William notices his companion's struggles so he tosses out one of his potions from earlier, luckily she catches it just in time, though the centipede-for-bangs really does put a dent in her peripheral vision. He unleashes an attack of his own, baring his teeth at the creature before lunging. Just like Sparkles before, he finds the jumble of teeth and hair and insect legs way too much for his liking. Thus, he too misses his mark, taking in a mouthful of feathers. It has no distinct flavor.
Back at his own corner, Zeren unceremoniously brings down his own sword onto the insolent bug. He slices the already writhing served head in clean half with amazing swordsmanship. Its distinct neon hemolymph slowly pools onto the ground.
Then comes Syed and Mellow to the rescue of the fatigued monk. They each take a chomp out of the creature, with Syed actually racing up the poor girl's spine to her head and finishes off the dying centipede in one amazing feat. The ratatosk finds it easy to jab the centipede's side with his tusks, finding some of the guts spray into his mouth on the way out. It raises its head at you, preparing for another attack but then fizzles out as it lays its head down limp. It looks like whatever physic damage you dealt may not have been comprehended, but it sure was felt. It went straight for its head.
Mellow then throws the last centipede (E) off of Shayara's unconscious body, knocking it off like a wrestling in combat. He sink his own set of teeth into it, making it hiss back in return. He puts his paws down to stave off the length of the creature but it slithers away, like a salamander it detaches part of its abdomen to get away. Very much not normal centipede behavior.
You all can't believe this nasty bug is still around...
Running afoul of the humanoids it encountered, the bug still strives for one last accomplishment. (Multiple) Sidestepping of the dog in front of it, it closes in on the last creature it saw dismantled its buddy. It heads straight for Syed, hissing. In moments it too is on top of Sparkles head, competing for space with its now dead brethren. It takes up its pincers and bites. Syed feels the pain like a fire throughout his body, much worse than how it felt before. Luckily he doesn't feel the side-effects, his body doesn't give out like the others. Must be that Yggdrasil blessing. You feel fine, well as fine as one unconscious would be, your mind to drifts into some sort of sleep. You hear Mellow whine from far behind you.
((literally hoping one last hit will deal it out because ahhh I'm so sorry for dragging this one out. there will be more funnier ones in the future I promise))
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Syed feels the searing pain of the centipede's bite coursing through his veins, his small body trembling as he clings to consciousness. Each breath comes with difficulty, but he fights to stay awake, his vision darkening around the edges. His grip on life is tenuous at best, yet in his mind, all he can think about is Mellow.
Death Save: 7
"M-Mellow... protect," he barely whispers, his thoughts strained and fading. His mind drifts toward an icy darkness, but he holds on, barely clinging to the light as he collapses against Sparkles’ back.
Mellow, sensing his master's distress and the urgency of the moment, lets out a deep, guttural growl. His muscles tense, and without hesitation, the mastiff lunges forward with a fierce determination, teeth bared. The centipede still clings to Sparkles, but Mellow won't let it win. He leaps, jaws snapping shut around the creature’s wriggling body, shaking it violently in his mouth.
Mellow's action: attack E hit (23, crit) for 9 piercing damage.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
Sparkles quaffs the healing potion given to her by Will but is then distraught to see little Syed fall unconscious upon her, but sighs as she sees the last centipede get bitten and killed by Mellow. She plucks Syed from her back, his claws gripping to her tunic, and she lets healing magic flow through her palms and into him to try and heal his wounds and rouse him from his unconsciousness. As he recovers, she strokes Mellow with a free hand and soothingly tells him 'Good dog, he'll be fine...' [Healing Hands on Syed: Recover 6 HP]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
The centipede oozes out in Mellow's jaws, covering his muzzle in all sorts of neon gunk. It tastes bad, like real bad.
Sparkles gulps that potion William handed her real quick then returns the favor onto Syed as she tucks him in her claws and heals him. Soon enough what was once lightning and thunder subsides into a light rain. You all stand wet, bloodied, and battered (some paralyzed) in someone else's basement.
((you want to check around in the basement, use centipede parts for stuff? help your friends get out? ))
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
As Sparkles completes her healing on Syed, she sets him down and is about to help the rest of the party when she notices that there are now small, radiant scales on the back of her palms that assuredly appeared just after she had used her healing magic. They’re fairly translucent and blend in with her feathers, but shimmer like little stars upon her skin, and she feels a new power emanate from within her, like her innate magic, yet different. She then notices another set of shiny scales, this time on her knees, and when she stretches, she feels faster and lighter somehow.
After she comes to terms with these developments, she is fairly stuck on what to do. Shayara is unconscious and paralysed but seems to be stable, and Kolette is conscious, yet also paralysed, but there isn’t much she can do about this. Although, now the rain has passed, she’d like to find Starry and the horses. But then again, they came down here to explore, so they might as well do so before they leave. She leaves this decision to the rest of the party (well, the ones that can speak at least…)
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
William let's out a sigh of relief when the last if the bugs is killed. with a sigh he bends over and checks Shayara for a pulse. Once he realizes she is still alive, he quite easily picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder. before leaving the basement, William casually looks around to see if any if the canned goods could be useful or of there is anything else of value in the basement.
Investigstion 8
"We should search the basement for any supplies... let's hope we didn't fight those creatures for nothing... they probably don't even taste good." William grumbles.
After the poison wears off Kolette will take a look around.
Perception check 9
After looking around, she will gather up armloads of grain, Prestidigitation them clean and haul them up for the animals.
Once inside the cabin, she will conjure her hearth so everybody can warm and and dry off. At the end of the rest (Presuming we take a short or long rest) a prayer and a sprinkle of divine sugar dust, creates two special cupcakes.
By the time Kolette can move around again, Shayara will be awake with 1 hp.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Syed’s eyes flutter open as Sparkles' healing magic flows through him. His body feels stiff and sore, but he's alive, thanks to her and Mellow’s efforts. He gives Sparkles a grateful nod, and as he sits up, he notices Shayara lying unconscious nearby. Her shallow breathing and the signs of life in her pulse reassure him, but her paralysis is evident.
“Ah, you’re still with us… good,” he murmurs to Shayara as he lays his small hand on her forehead, channeling healing energy into her. [Cure Wounds for 16 HP] He watches her wounds close, her colour return, but she remains limp, her muscles frozen by the centipede's venom. "Blast it," Syed mutters under his breath, disappointed that the poison lingers despite his healing.
Standing back, he surveys the situation, feeling his own limitations keenly. He can't carry his unconscious comrades like William, and he can do little about the poison coursing through Shayara’s body. His frustration grows as he realises that his small size will always hinder him from contributing physically in these situations.
"I guess... I’ll look around," Syed says quietly, unsure of what more he can do. His mind drifts back to the strange markings on the wall—the children, Haley and Ardin. What happened here? A chill runs down his spine as a dark theory takes root in his thoughts. What if the children hadn’t simply left this place? What if something far worse befell them down here?
With a grim determination, Syed quietly searches the basement, his tiny form navigating through the dusty corners and old crates. His mind races as he half-expects to stumble upon a grisly revelation, but he steels himself for whatever he might uncover. He’s afraid, but curiosity—and the need for answers—drives him on.
Investigation 27 (crit, and includes 2 from guidance)
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
William checks on Shayara and finds her unconscious... but with a pulse! He tosses her over onto his shoulder and carries her out the basement, finding nothing of the sort that would have intrigued him. It was too bright still with Kolette's horns glowing, a feat she managed even with the centipede nearly knocking her out. (You were right, though; the centipedes did not taste delightful. You taste some goo from them once you hoist Shayara up; some neon liquid splatters onto you and drips into your mouth. Yuck).
The cervan herself isn't doing so well. It takes her in a few breathes before she becomes fully stable, then another couple of minutes for her to be able to blink again. The perpetual eye-opening dries them out for a bit. She was forced to stare while Syed surveys the place for any bits and pieces that might be useful. The ratatosk had already been helpful in resuscitating Shayara (her wounds closed and her face flushed); this time he was even more on a roll. He takes in careful inventory of the place, and, with his size, it turns out to be even more of an advantage. He takes in ever nook and cranny.
The crates contain jars and the jars contain pickles. Pickles of all kinds: onions, cabbage, carrots, chilis, and the usual cucumber. Either hanging off shelves or in small packs nestled between the jars, you find mustard seeds, some cloves of garlic, and even some cinnamon sticks as well. Sometime within Syed starts seeing some jars in the back that are a bit off-color. Set off to the side where the others are, what you first was thought to be another pickle was actually a finger, a really huge inflamed thumb. It takes up the size of what a human hand should be. It is green and missing a fingernail. It floats inside a liquid that smells of vinegar and acid. You look more closely and you start to see a pattern among this specific collection of vials and jars. None of those inside could be anything considered to be once human, but they sure have the look of it. You find one that is a severed cloven hoof-hand (much like Kolette's) but with a tentacle growing at the base of the fetlock. You look behind you and find that time has already flew by you.
It turns out that cervan heal pretty quickly, and, sure enough, Kolette is up and out the cellar by herself. She wakes up even before Shayara.
Syed soon stumbles upon something. Accidentally brushing his tail around the corner, he uncovers something hard among the soft mossy moss in the far back wall: the edges of white brittle bone. You know that centipedes don't have any bones, so this is definitely not any of theirs. You continue to brush along the base of the bone, finding it a bit hard with all that compact dirt. Luckily, you have just the paws to do it. And you find that is a skull, a kid-sized skull. You think you are starting to begin to know what happened here...
William, Kolette, and Shayara spend their time upstairs. Eren open their mouth wide, shocked to see the state of you all. "Are ya'll okay? What happened down there?" they cry. They run over to the comatose Shayara and help lift her up onto the bench. They give her a warm blanket and try to help as much as they can. Kolette, though a bit unsteady after all that has happened down there, managed to make cupcakes from divine sugar dust and the grain bags from the cellar that she miraculously hauled out of there. She finds it a bit harder to work with her hands, but it's alright. That cervan vigor is what shakes her out of it. Eren thanks her for the cupcakes.
Shayara awakes to find herself nearly covered in blankets, added with some extra bedrolls that Eren saved from the caravan during the storm. The light rain still falls outside, but with a strange fog that just seemed to roll in. It obscures the rest of the view even if you had open windows.
A clatter outside the door interrupts your peace.
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Sparkles tries some centipede, but even to her uncaring palette it still tastes awful; seems the closer the party makes it to Drakkenheim, the worse the food is and the freakier the wildlife gets. She's also happy to see Kolette come back to her senses, along with all the jarred and pickled goods Syed points out, and then she collects any of it that she can tell is still good to eat. Then, she very briskly leaves, just before Syed makes his grim discovery. She'd rather stay blissfully unaware to the unusual horrors and tragedies that are locked away in that basement; pickles and centipedes are enough to cure her curiosity.
Back in the house, she sits by Shayara as she slowly regains her motion. She enjoys the heat of Kolette's baking emanating through the place, and then greatly enjoys her first cupcake, trying to savour it but also peck away to get all the sweet flavour at the same time. She's had some baked goods before (the party has had rations of bread on their journey, of course) but she prefers it as either simple bread crumbs or the stale crust ends from a loaf, especially when it's hand fed to her by someone. Come to think of it, most of her early meals were just bread scraps she found in towns, some insects for protein and the occasional foraged tuber or root for the odd hit of sugar and starches.
By the time she's finished and Shayara has made her recovery, she hadn't even noticed the fog roll in around the house. Seems the sunlight was short lived. The bang on the door makes her jump at first, but then she becomes hopeful that it might be Starry, or one of the horses at the very least. She gets up from the blanketed bench and puts her newly scaled hand to the doorknob, looking to the party to see if they're happy for her to reveal what this mysterious creature may be.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!