After another approximately 35 feet, the corridor opens out into another cavern. This bizarre chamber looks as if it has been tilted on its side. Stalagmites and Stalactites are growing from the walls, rather than floors and ceiling! In the center of the room is a pit covered with an iron grate. Milling slowly about the bottom of the pit are a number of giant mushrooms, their color varying from light green to bright blue.
Alora doesn't like this room at all. She isn't happy about sideways stalactites and moving mushrooms. If anyone wants to come with her, Alora will check for traps on the grate and see if it is locked. Otherwise she is going to leave this room and go back and try the centre corridor instead.
With most of the party going after Alora, the ducks and Culum follow. The ducks quack musically as they waddle along. Culum is looking around, wide-eyed. "I'm an adventurer!" he says with a grin.
The next area is proximately 40' by 30'. The edges of the room are full of stalactites and stalagmites, but the center of the room has been cleared of them. Pockmarks and stumps are all which remain of what used to be rock. There are three exits out of this cavern you can see: one to the south (which you entered by), one to the west and slightly north-ish and one straight east.
Alora will go east. She will keep checking for traps as she goes and will keep an eye out for stalactites that may fall on her.
OOC: I'm heading to bed now. If you want to keep exploring Alora is happy to scout ahead and check for traps. If she feels there is any danger she will run back and hide behind the others.
Jaheira's most interested in the mushrooms, hoping to recall something that might help her understand what she is seeing. Moving mushroom monsters are known to exist in The Realms, but she has never encountered such before. "More perversions of nature! I would restore balance to all, if I had the power!"
As Jaheira steps in to take a closer look at the mushroom creatures, there is a whooshing sound from the wall. One of the Stalagmite/Stalactites fires off the wall at her. Khalid pushes her down, but not quite fast enough. The thing… creature, she realizes, hits her back, stripping off a large patch of skin and armor (3 damage). Jaheira feels pain and smells and sees the spatter of her own blood as Khalid falls atop her, protecting her from any further assaults on her person.
Luckily, there are none of the things/creatures this low, but they are going to have to crawl backwards to get out of here safely. (i.e. without being attacked again)
"Oh no!" says Culum from the doorway. "Not… Horizontal Jet-Propelled Piercers!" He claps his hands to his cheeks in horror. "Are you all right, ma'am and sir?"
Alora, hearing Jaheira's cry of pain, hurries back to see what is going on. When she finds out what has happened it occurs to Alora that the hole in the ground might be some kind of prison. She crawls on her belly over to the grate and says:
"Hey, you mushrooms, are you all right down there?"
"Jaheira!" Aerie rushed to the druid's side, palms ready to call her magic. "A-Are you all right? Do you need healing?"
"I am unsure," Jaheira replied. It felt like a normal wound: painful, but nothing that made her feel as if she'd been poisoned. "But I believe so." Now that she's down, she tries to get a good look at the mushrooms, wondering if they fed on the remains of those unfortunate enough to be killed by what attacked her. Additionally, she suspected they were dangerous, but had no way to confirm this directly.
As Aerie goes in to tend to Jaheira, another piercer targets her from off the wall. Luckily, it misses, but she is forced to drop and crawl on her belly to get to the Druid.]
Alora doesn't get any verbal response from the mushrooms, but they start to leak growing green stuff from the tops of their heads.
Watching from the enterance way Anomen slowly starts thinking of a plan to remove the foolish people from the room.
OOC: My question is, do the Horizontal Jet-Propelled Piercers return to their orginal position or do they reattach themselves on the other side of the wall. And, after watching one attack Aerie, did it fly in a straight predictable line, or did it fly towards her, changing course?
Alora beats a hasty retreat. If she is lower than piercer level she will run in a crouched position. Otherwise she will commando crawl out of here. And as she goes she will mutter loudly: "I said I didn't like the look of this room, I said we should go the other way but oh no, someone knew better. Someone had to poke her great big nose in. And she didn't even pay the entry fee and shouldn't be here in the first place."
The muttering continues unabated until Alora gets out of the cavern
@deltago The piercers fly in a straight line. The ones that land seem to roll over to the wall and are extending tendrils from their bottoms towards the wall. it seems to be an achingly slow process, though.
Minsc charges in and is targeted by three of the piercers on each wall. He is hit by two from the north wall and one from the south wall, and they impact him solidly. He takes 8 points of damage, total, and is knocked to the ground.
These fools are all going to be killed if we don't help.
If I can get one of these creatures attention to attack me, I will block it with my shield, stopping it for an easy flank attack by you. You warn me if another fires and I'll hit the deck. Shall we try?
OOC: only if @lolien is game, Anomen will focus on parrying/blocking the first stalagmite with his shield. When the creature hits the shield, Arkanis will attack it from flanked position. During this time, Anomen makes sure he only grabs the attention of one stalagmite at a time, having Arkanis warn him if on is coming from behind. If Arkanis misses his attack, Anomen will attempt to crush it with his mace when it is one the ground.
"Wait Anomen," shouts Alora, "You don't need to fight these things. They can't hit you if you stay low."
@LadyRhian Is Minsc incapacitated? Can he crawl out of the room or does he need help?
If he needs help, Alora will take her rope and give one end to Anomen (so long as he isn't planning to go into combat) and she will then crawl in and tie the other end of the rope round Minsc's ankles so Anomen can haul him out. Alora will then crawl out herself.
If Minsc can get out under his own steam Alora will stay where she is, out of the firing line.
I am not crawling on the ground like a toddler. These creature need to taken care of before some other fool wanders into this room unprepared and gets themselves killed.
@LadyRhian - are they situated so that we can get beside them, vice in their line of fire? Thinking a club would knock them from the wall quite nicely! Can't help thinking they kill prey that falls into pit for mushrooms to, well, mush...
Aerie flinched as another spike breezed just above her head as she dropped to the floor. But before she could reach Jaheira, Minsc let out another howl and charged the piercers. Aerie raised her hand, about to yell at him to wait, but could only sit helpless as he was skewered by three at once. It didn't take much for her to realize that his wounds were much more severe than Jaheira's.
She turned to Khalid. "I-I probably needn't tell you, but take care of her until I get back." And she began to crawl to Minsc's side, eyes glancing to and fro at the nearby piercers.
OOC: Assuming she gets to him a-okay, Aerie will cast Cure Light Wounds on Minsc.
"Enough pawing at me," Jaheira grumbled, most loudly, for she didn't want anybody thinking her soft. Pain was part of the balance, too, so she didn't need to be coddled like some young bratling. Instead, she elbow-shuffled her way out of what she understood to be the field of fire, before standing to survey the situation. The Rashemenite idiot was large, indeed, but she was pretty sure that she could drag him out of there at need.
Arkanis holds up his palm before Anomen and whispers "Wait" , then yell to Minsc "What a wise move from you to stay low Minsc! These evil creatures wouldn't count on you to attack them from the ground like an angry badger! And that you keep your cool head in this battle against these wicked monsters is truly admireable! Boo should be proud of you!"
Aerie heals Minsc totally. Counting, you see that there are 24 of the creatures. 8 of them have fired off so far. The others lie on the ground, apparently helpless- they move very slowly after they have fired. You can't see how they attach to the wall. Presumably with whatever tentacles they are using to move. You are unsure if you'd be able to detach them with a blow from a club.
Comments
The next area is proximately 40' by 30'. The edges of the room are full of stalactites and stalagmites, but the center of the room has been cleared of them. Pockmarks and stumps are all which remain of what used to be rock. There are three exits out of this cavern you can see: one to the south (which you entered by), one to the west and slightly north-ish and one straight east.
OOC: I'm heading to bed now. If you want to keep exploring Alora is happy to scout ahead and check for traps. If she feels there is any danger she will run back and hide behind the others.
Luckily, there are none of the things/creatures this low, but they are going to have to crawl backwards to get out of here safely. (i.e. without being attacked again)
"Oh no!" says Culum from the doorway. "Not… Horizontal Jet-Propelled Piercers!" He claps his hands to his cheeks in horror. "Are you all right, ma'am and sir?"
"Hey, you mushrooms, are you all right down there?"
Alora doesn't get any verbal response from the mushrooms, but they start to leak growing green stuff from the tops of their heads.
OOC: My question is, do the Horizontal Jet-Propelled Piercers return to their orginal position or do they reattach themselves on the other side of the wall. And, after watching one attack Aerie, did it fly in a straight predictable line, or did it fly towards her, changing course?
The muttering continues unabated until Alora gets out of the cavern
Minsc thoughtlessly charges at the piercers his sword in hand.
OOC I seriously considered going berserk but Aerie wasn't injured
Minsc charges in and is targeted by three of the piercers on each wall. He is hit by two from the north wall and one from the south wall, and they impact him solidly. He takes 8 points of damage, total, and is knocked to the ground.
OOC: I have WiFi. In my hotel room. For free. Awesome.
These fools are all going to be killed if we don't help.
If I can get one of these creatures attention to attack me, I will block it with my shield, stopping it for an easy flank attack by you. You warn me if another fires and I'll hit the deck. Shall we try?
OOC: only if @lolien is game, Anomen will focus on parrying/blocking the first stalagmite with his shield. When the creature hits the shield, Arkanis will attack it from flanked position. During this time, Anomen makes sure he only grabs the attention of one stalagmite at a time, having Arkanis warn him if on is coming from behind. If Arkanis misses his attack, Anomen will attempt to crush it with his mace when it is one the ground.
@LadyRhian Is Minsc incapacitated? Can he crawl out of the room or does he need help?
If he needs help, Alora will take her rope and give one end to Anomen (so long as he isn't planning to go into combat) and she will then crawl in and tie the other end of the rope round Minsc's ankles so Anomen can haul him out. Alora will then crawl out herself.
If Minsc can get out under his own steam Alora will stay where she is, out of the firing line.
She turned to Khalid. "I-I probably needn't tell you, but take care of her until I get back." And she began to crawl to Minsc's side, eyes glancing to and fro at the nearby piercers.
OOC: Assuming she gets to him a-okay, Aerie will cast Cure Light Wounds on Minsc.
Arkanis holds up his palm before Anomen and whispers "Wait" , then yell to Minsc "What a wise move from you to stay low Minsc! These evil creatures wouldn't count on you to attack them from the ground like an angry badger! And that you keep your cool head in this battle against these wicked monsters is truly admireable! Boo should be proud of you!"