Eya is growing really weary of this conversation but a few things catch her attention enough to inquire further, "Calliaste? Who is that? And...uh toad people, what are they? Fallen spirits? Is this place haunted? So many questions now...hmm. Say, Jurak, if this place is so evil, then perhaps we could help purify this evil?"

She reaches into her bag and pulls out what appears to be a Holy Symbol of Mitra. "Me and my friends command powerful magic from Mitra himself. We can handle the evil. Just show us where it is."

Jurak nods, "Very much haunted, yes, and not just by the victims of the temple. Calliaste is a friend of mine, her music is incredibly beautiful, she's a lillend, the only one I've ever met."

"The toad people are... the toad people, I don't know if you have another word for them. Look and swim and croak like toads, but walk on two legs and talk and carry metal tools like you humans. They cause lots of problems."

When Eya mentions cleansing the temple, Jurak starts to shake his head, then frowns, "I've seen others with the same symbol go in and never return. But maybe, maybe you could help me clear the lower caverns. Those parts are not so quite so dangerous. The toad people live there, and it would be good to rid this place of them, but they hide in holes that I cannot reach into whenever I approach. If you promise not to go any further, we could go there together and flush them out."

Eya turns to the rest of the group, "What do you all say? We should help right?"

Grinning from within his priestly disguise, Blau merely nods, wary of this huge tree  creature.

Respar nods in agreement.  "Clearing the toad people out might be enough for us to learn the fate of the missing people we seek."

Kiven responds to Calarel with a lie about the plague happening either way, but wanting to stay in the game to influence events and have access to the cure, not to be confused with the plague happening either way, wanting to stay in the game, and have access to the cure, a common mistake.

15

Jurak the elder smiles, the sound of groaning wood accompanying the facial shift. "Very well then friends, off we go, this way. Perhaps we could stop and check in on a family of foxes along the way? They were expecting a few kits last I heard, new life is always..." The big walking tree continues to talk most of the way, rambling on  as he slowly strides through the woods, only his long "legs" allowing for a decent pace of travel. The treant will occasionally pause his stories about the forest and the life within to offer sage sounding advice about life and how to approach it.

As cute as the fox kits might have been in the eyes of some, no doubt the journey is interminable to most of the group. But soon enough you are standing before a rock spire, covered in vegetation. From a distance it did not look notably different than the others, but from here there's an aura of menace that can be felt.

Thanks to the vegetation, it is a bit difficult to spot until you are almost on top of it, but a cave entrance lies at the bottom of the spire, a wide maw, toothed with rock formations. As you approach, a pair of figures carrying spears start up at the sound of Jurak's footfalls and flee within. They looked as the treant described, large toads perhaps the size of a dwarf, and with more humanoid features than the animal they resemble.

Entering proves somewhat of a physical challenge, as slick mud and fetid pools of water suck at your feet, even as you have to step around the many stalagmites. Still, it merely proves to be an annoyance, and soon enough you pass the obstacle.

You find yourself within the cave, two passages can be seen here, one to the north and another to the east. You think you can hear the sound of liquid dripping water to the east, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be anything to differentiate the two paths.

Eya points at her party members and whispers into her hand to send a message to them, "Can anyone hear which way they went?"

She carefully tries to listen to which direction the toads may have gone. 

Perception: 22

"I think I hear them coming from this way," Eya says over the mental link as she points to the east. "Shall we?"

She continues keeping her eyes peeled as they move along. 

Perception: 5

Jurak states slowly, "I am likely to slow you down in here my friends, and the toad people always seem to know I'm coming. So I think it wise for me to remain here. I can catch any of them that try to flee, while you chase or lead them to me. Be cautious, and watch what you touch, this place reeks of evil."

The group proceeds towards the sounds as best they can discern. The first room they cross features a pool of what looks to be clear water near the northern wall. An acrid stench alerts you that something is off however. Eya is quickly able to determine that the pool is filled with a potent acid.

The room after that is filled with murky water. Pale blind cavefish are seen within.

Forced to turn north again, the group finds themselves at a crossroads. A large series of caverns can be seen to the north, but the passage that way is especially narrow. Abraxxus would have to both squeeze and crawl to get through, and Grumblejack doesn't stand a chance of making it.

The passage west is larger, but winds around such that it is difficult to see what lies ahead.

Eya sees that the path to the North looks appealing but notices that it's far too small for Grumblejack. She etches some infernal runes into her skin as they burn in. Then, she retrieves her spellbook as her eyes glow with dark purple arcane power. She suddenly flips through the book with incredible speed and scans a page quickly with her new eyes before suddenly snapping the book shut. 

She puts her spellbook back into her bag and turns to Grumblejack. "Grumblejack, I need you to trust me okay? You can't fit through here but I want you to stay near me, so I'm going to shrink you for a few minutes until we get through. Ready? Don't be scared, I would never hurt you."

She watches for his reaction, knowing he's not the biggest fan of magic. When ready, she says some words in Infernal and a dark, shadowy glow surrounds Grumblejack as he shrinks to half his normal size. 

"So cute," she says in the same manner one would a cute pet. She smiles at the smaller ogre then says,  "Feel okay, Grumblejack? Anyway, there's no time to waste. We're going north," Eya says as she points to the caverns ahead. 

Blau samples the acid pool with a touch and grins when he feels the surge of healing "This could prove most useful, later." he says, then follows as the group proceeds. At the junction he pauses and says, "This looks similar to places I grew up with, before Asmodeus led me out into the world. Quite relaxing, actually." Heading North, he watches carefully for possible issues with the tunnels, as well for deadfalls or traps he might recognize. 

Stonemasonry 2

Perception 27

Grumblejack gives a confused whine as he starts shrinking, and grumbles constantly as he squeezes through the narrow passage. "Coulda just made da hole bigger."

The knot ends up in a comparatively pleasant cavern with soft and dry soil underfoot. There doesn't seem to be anything here though. Moving on through the passage to the west, you find something rather odd. There's a mudpit to the north that appears to be boiling, On a spit of land on the other side lies a large and once sturdy chest, its lock broken and the lid flung open.

To the west, through both of the passages seen that way, you spot what look like mud covered huts. But before you can get a good look at those, Blau spots movement to the south and calls out a warning. Five Boggards come rushing out of the passage directly at you. The lead one is bigger than the rest, and wildly waving around a fine steel greatsword that definitely wasn't forged down here. He croaks out something you do not understand, but it sounds like a challenge, and then he and the others move to attack.

"Still want to talk to them?" Blau yells out as he moves forward to engage the lead boggart. "These frog-men aren't much on it!". He activates his Amulet and wades into battle

Initiative 16

Blau begins exuding a light sheen of liquid on his fists, feet and knees, his steps sizzling as he moves, the acid adding to the blood-red flames from Hell itself. He strikes out at the sword-wielder, grinning in anticipation of glorious battle for his Lord! 

Flurry of Blows - Attack 1 : 21 Damage: 14

Flurry of Blows - Attack 2: 7 Damage: 11

"This is decidedly NOT like where I grew up, although large volumes of stone would technically qualify as a commonality."  "You will forgive me if I get confused as to which one is you?" adds Kiven as he looks at a series of stalagmites.

Seeing the chest beyond the bubbling mud, Kiven asks Blau "do you happen to need a bath, or should we have Kili take a look?"

Otherwise Kiven is relatively quiet, using his excellent darkvision to navigate and watch for trouble, all the while keeping Calarel close and shielding her from any danger.

Initiative: 17

Eya sees the oncoming attackers and prepares to fight. Her eyes light up with arcane power and appearing from the flanks of the oncoming toad horde appear two hell hounds coming from portals of shadow and flame. This is the first time she has summoned more than one hound, and these two look more muscular and larger than the previous ones she has summoned. 

She grins wickedly and shouts out an order in Infernal, "Nar." The hounds maws alight, and two torrents of flames buffet the toads from each side. Meanwhile, Eya runs back behind a stalagmite and place distance between herself and the toads.

  Abraxxus smiles wickedly as they are attacked.  He laughs and then roars.   Gripping his axe he flaps his wings as he races recklessly towards the leader amidst the flames.   As the flames hit him he calls , " valignat astahi shio!!"  His great muscles flex as he swings his large axe recklessly towards the leader. 

Initiative: @Kyrroeth game_die
Result: 1d20 (17) + 1
Total: 18

Attack: @Kyrroeth game_die
Result: 1d20 (16) + 13
Total: 29

Damage: @Kyrroeth game_die
Result: 3d6 (5, 3, 2) + 16
Total: 26

Current AC is 15 due to rage and charging. 

Kiven calmly takes one long step in front of Calarel and begins to ready his bow.  Looking back over his shoulder he instructs her "take a moment, breath, then step out and aim when you are ready".  "These will be little trouble."

The elf is eager to try out the modifications he has made to the enchantments on his bow, but he still takes his time aiming the bow and whispering a word of elven to call upon its magic.  Soon he releases two arrows followed by a third coated in frost.

Attack 1: 14 , Damage: 6

Rapid Shot: 14 , Damage: 9

Ray of Frost Shot: 24 , Damage: 5 , 3 Cold

Respar draws his rapier as the creatures attack, and shakes his head.  He waits for Eya's new pets to do their worst, then he would move towards any of the enemies that look particularly injured, try for a flank from an ally, and attack.

The boggards are looking a little singed as they pass through the flames from the hellhounds, and then one of them takes a nasty wound from Respar as he moves up to flank with the newly summoned creatures. 

Kyrroeth and Grumblejack move up together and both strike at the boggard leader, but the creature has a surprisingly tough hide, and shakes off the blows. Even after a hit from Blau and two of kiven's arrows the thing is still moving.

It responds by striking out at Abraxxus twice, connecting with one blow but missing with the next. Two of its companions strike out at Grumblejack with their spears instead, one of them scoring a hit.

The last two boggards stop short of where the flames had engulfed their companions. and open their maws to emit an incredibly loud and threatening croaking noise.