Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

The barbarian's maul crashed slidelong into the ankheg's waiting maw with all the gracefulness of a collapsing building. Both of its large, grasping manibles were torn free along with most it is smaller, nameless mouthparts.

The creature fell away from Minsys, rolled over on its back and pulled its remaining legs in close in the universal position of insectoid death...

(OOC: ANKHEG 1 is dead!)

ANKHEG 2 - (Recharge 6): 1 Acid splurted and sputtled from the bug's mouth, but no stream of caustic death shot forth. The giant insectoid took a few cautious steps ahead before his able pincers snapped out at Minsys:

Attack (Bite): 9 vs. AC 14+2 (Minsys, shield of faith); dealing Unable to parse dice roll. slashing damage and Unable to parse dice roll. acid damage on a hit. Minsys is grappled by the ankheg.

(Note, on map, Connak should be next to the wagon.)

Connak watches Minsys wriggle out of the dead Ankheg's pincers, only to let the next one grab him right after.  He mumbles to himself, "Note to self, I need to write on my arrows 'Minsys, if you can read this, you are too close!''"

Shaking his head, Connak nocks an arrow and lines up his shot...

Longbow Attack: 22 Damage: 15

... and scores a hit on the appendage grappling Minsys.

Vaxis seeks to end this quickly. Vaxis whispers a prayer, and a dolorous bell tolls, wracking the ahkeg's mind!

( Toll the Dead on ahnkeg attacking Minsys, DC 13 Wisdom Save, 6 Necrotic Damage)

AK 2 - Wisdom (Save): 7 vs. DC 13 (Vaxis; toll the dead)

A loud, flat clang fills the air as if a massive anvil had been struck by a fire giant at his forge. The tone gave everyone a shiver up their spine, but the ankheg screeched in pain as the sound reverberated throughout its body, causing it to release its vice-like grasp on the half-orc barbarian!

"Whisker! Sic him!" Tink calls out as she backs away from the ankheg. She loads another orange liquid filled vial into the crossbow and fires at the creature.

As she does, Whisker, rushes up to the ankheg and tears at it with her claws.

Blow after blow comes pouring in from all sides against the ankheg. Still unsteady from Vaxis' spell and surrounded by the purplish fire of Tink's concoction, the creature had nearly no defenses left against her flaming projectile or mechanical canine. Though reeling from the rapid-fire attacks, the ankheg (2) was not yet done in.

Meanwhile, the pitiful old man writhed in agony from his acid burns and dashed out into the river in an attempt to wash the thick, viscous digestive juices from his body, screaming like a banshee the entire time.

ANKHEG 3
Acid Spit (RECHARGE 6): 4

Hovering 20 feet above and just to the south of the old man, the levitating ankheg kicked and struggled, but with nothing to push against, went basically nowhere. It hissed and spat, but with its acidic bile ducts empty, the wriggling insectoid had been rendered largely harmless (for the moment).

Tabesha'l advanced a few paces more on the floating insect, stopping well away from the range of its acidic spit. All the while she kept her concentration and as she raised her arms, the struggling figure of the ankheg slowly climbed upwards... inexorably.

** Moves 10 feet to the east, Ankheg rises another 20 feet (bringing it to 40 feet up). **

Somewhere in the air around the ankheg, her familiar's mocking snicker could be heard.

Minsys will takes a deep breath through the pain he's been dealth and presses on.  "Only good big is a dead big." He grunts out as he attacks again.

Attack: 19 Damage: 14

The half-orc's maul slams through the ankheg, dislodging its head fully from its thorax. The creature's decapitated lower half gallops about for a few seconds, rears onto its hind legs and promptly spills over backwards into the "dead bug" position.

As much as Connak is amused by watching a headless bug trot around with Minsys in its grip, the scout turns his attention to the flying Ankheg, "Flying is a neat trick!  But it won't help you against elven made longbows!"

Longbow Attack: 21 Damage: 23

The eleven arrow streak across the sky and blasts through the tender flesh of the ankheg's muscular tissue connecting its head and body. It passes clean through and out the other side eventually ending its trajectory in the river beyond.

The creature wails screams and flails in mid-aid but is clearly still alive though seriously injured.

Vaxis seeks to end this quickly, as these creatures are deadly if left unchecked.

Muttering a prayer to Bahamut, a dolorous tone sounds off, targetting the ankheg!

(Casting Toll the Dead, Wisdom save DC 13, 5 necrotic damage)

AK 3 - Wisdom (Save): 12 vs. DC 13 (Vaxis; toll the dead)

The ringing of Vaxis' holy chime reverberates through the ankeg's floating form until it reaches the perfect resonant frequency at which all biological matter breaks down into its constituent parts...the writhing insectoid creature literally liquifies in mid-air, but instead of splashing to the ground, the two-ton pool of acid is held aloft by Tabesha'l's levitation magic.

(END OF COMBAT)

Vaxis beathes a brief sigh of relief, before looking at Tabesha'l.

"My esteemed wizard....do you want to explain  this...demon famiiliar?"

He looks at Tink.

"Welcome to our friendly group, friend. You are a welcome addition, and a capable warrior."

Minsys pours a little bit of water out from his water skin onto his maul and then picks it up to examine.  His new weapon is showing a few nicks, scuffs and pit marks but now structural issues.  Satisfied, he puts it down.  He cracks his knuckels and looks at the two bugs by his feet.  Happily, he says, "These two will make fine trophies.  I'll carve them up now."  With that he begins to whistle and sets about breaking the corpses down.

Survival for 1st 19

Survival for 2nd 17

"Like wise I'm glad to have met capable friends such as yourself. I must say that trick earlier was certainly interesting. Freeing that ankheg from the shackles of the gravity and setting it adrift was certainly a most effective strategy. Perhaps one day I could try that on you too Whisker! Wouldn't you like that?" Tink chatters on as Whisker hisses and runs to hide behind a large rock.

Connak runs towards the river, dropping his bow and arrows at the shore before jumping in to rescue the old man.  "You must be the luckiest human I've ever met.  Except for those acid burns, that's not so lucky.  But you still live after those things attacked twice!"

" Hum. Quite..." Tabesha'l says, both in answer to Tink's praises and Connak's comments on the old man's luck. Satisfied that the survivor's needs are being properly tended to, she looks up at the pool of acid and insect parts still hovering high up in the air, gives a small shrug and simply turns away. Instantly, the remains of the ankheg come raining down on the tent circle and campfire below, soon leaving nothing at the point of impact but a hissing and bubbling crater.

" Oh, thou must mean Arvi ?" the elven magus approaches Vaxis with an innocent smile and a small pout, while looking around for signs of her invisible Quasit familiar. " I must admit his... appearance during the ritual was... well, shall we say 'less than ideal'? But as we art now tied by arcane bonds, I shall have to do the best of yon unexpected situation, as he probably also must. Shall I introduce him to thy own invisible companion ?" she finally asks, her smile a little ironic as she arches an eyebrow, " I didst notice thee talking to thy own self. Expect it wasn"t  thy self, now, was it ?"

Vaxis is taken aback. He seems at a loss for words.

"I...you...yes, I am followed by a dark spirit, of which the details I wish not to speak of at this particular moment. If that's a demon....and I'm sure it is...get rid of it. Demons bring nothing but death and despair in their wake. Your very soul is at stake, and I will not let your heart having darkness just for a quick and easy path to power. I may suggest an elemental or....whatever it is you arcanists are having binding to your exceptional will."

He looks off in the distance and points angrily behind Tabesha'l at....seemingly nothing.

"NOT NOW fiend, I'm in much less humorous spirits than usual, and you are not helping!"

He looks back at Tabesha'l. "You are good and dear friend. Heed my words. Let not your soul be tainted and your thoughts corrupted by that....thing."

He says the last word with utter disgust.

It takes around 4 hours, but Minsys is able to harvest two fine pieces of ankheg carapace from the remaining corpses.

Both weigh roughly 29 pounds and the half-orc believes that each one would be worth around 22 gold pieces if sold in their current condition.