Session V: Battle Toads Report

General Summary

The party, rested after yesterday's encounter, return to the original caves, in hopes that the men in there may still be rescuable. When they arrive, they enter more cautiously this time, prepared for the Troglodytes they know are waiting for them. Quickly dispatching the pair near the entrance, they move forward as fast as they can, using the element of surprise to their advantage. Niamh, shapeshifted as a Direwolf to mask her scent, overextends with her extra speed, however, and is caught alone at the bottom of a drop with three Troglodytes, two brandishing spears. Managing to escape while the others fend off more attackers, she climbs out of the water and back up to the others however, when she looks back down, the warriors have vanished from sight.   They move deeper into the caves, surmising the stream must connect to the one further in they saw last time. Testing this with a stick that Niamh drops in one end, they find that the river picks up massive speed somewhere along the way as the stick shoots out the other side much faster than expected. They jump down, following the screams they heard last time, but are ambushed by Troglodytes hiding under the water as soon as they land. Arthur is almost dragged under but manages to kick free as a brawl erupts.   Moving deeper, so as to avoid the natural advantage the Troglodytes have in the water, they feel the frigid air begin to freeze around them. Spotting large clumps of brown mould, they realize that it's likely an ectotherm that feeds on heat. With Arthur unconscious and Niamh on her last legs, she grabs him, making a break for the water and telling Gek to light up the mould.   As a firebolt launches down the tunnel, it collides with the mould, causing it to violently erupt and grow outwards, reaching the Troglodytes. A cascading domino effect causes it to engulf and kill them all in less than a second, then expanding through the rest of the cave, killing everything in its path.   The party leave to rest, gravely injured and sure that there's no one left to save regardless.