APoF 05: Rockwurm Falls...
General Summary
The rockwurm plummets from the cave ceiling high above, and in the process crushes a good portion of the citadel wall to rubble. Steve and Iris are both caught in the damage, with Mordollwen only just managing to dodge out of the way. Viper is knocked clean of the wall and plummets down into the darkness below, falling unconscious upon impacting the solid ground beneath. As the dust clears, it is revealed that by sheer luck, Steve is still perched on an unstable ledge, while Iris is nowhere to be seen.
At the same time, the party on the other side of the wall is only now realizing what has come to pass. However, in the darkness of the cave, neither Dr. Roth nor Zephyros can see what is going on, and even IkBroknard only has the faintest inkling of what has occurred. They can guess, however, based on the thunderous crash that followed the rockworm's steep descent.
Since battle plans had already been drawn beforehand, the three rush to the arbalests that they had managed to repair earlier, while wondering where the rockwurm had gone. They prepare the siege weaponry for firing, though they note that their ammunition is rather limited. On the opposite side of the wall, the rockwurm unleashes one of its horrific breaths in Mordollwen's direction, hoping to knock her out of the air, but Mordollwen is able to dodge out of the way.
Mordollwen flies over the wall and the rockwurm clambers after her, breaking down a section behind Steve's precarious position, leaving the druid with very little in the way of space to move in. While the rockwurm is in this position, Steve attempts to get a few hits in, but is ultimately not as effective as he would have hoped, while Mordollwen dances just out of the creature's reach, dodging and weaving, avoiding its claws and its tail. But unable to fight back effectively, and with Steve in a bad way, Mordollwen realizes that it might be best to bring the rockwurm along to the other side of the bailey, where the rest of her party is waiting.
The shardborn creatures that had been attracted earlier by the sound of the rockwurm's frantic burrowing have, at this point, entered the bailey, swarming over the pile of rubble that otherwise blocks the gap in the walls that the rockwurm created. They are attracted to the noise of the battle that's currently going on, but the party know that they can't let themselves be distracted. Broknard, Roth, and Zeph all work together to load, aim, and fire the arbalests to limited success.
Mordollwen, however, is still able to distract the rockwurm. If not for her, it might have attacked the battlements up on the wall. Running out of ammunition, Broknard runs to the third guard tower on the walls to retrieve more and brings it back. While this happens, the group notices that the monstrosities from below are starting to scale the walls, attracted by the lamplight up on the battlements. Realizing this, Dr. Roth flings his lamp over the wall, and when it shatters across the ground below, the oil catching fire, the creatures retreat.
The group continues to fire on the beast, not quite able to pierce its hide, but still doing some damage to the creature nonetheless. This continues, with Roth and Broknard running back and forth between the towers, cannibalizing ammunition for their own purposes as the battle continues. However, the group is unable to determine that the last piece of ammunition from the second guard tower is laced with unstable arcane energies, and upon firing it, it bursts into a crackle of lightning, knocking almost all three off of their feet.
But the explosive power of the bolt pierces the rockwurm's protective hide, and though it is normally impervious to lightning, the sheer strength of the magic behind the bolt is able to stun it briefly. Seeing an opportunity, Mordollwen flies high into the air and plummets straight downward, using her momentum to deliver a powerful blow to the creature. Although it staggers the beast, the rockwurm is ultimately able to survive the attack and recovers, using its breath immediately afterward to knock Mordollwen unconscious.
With the monk down, the rockwurm grabs her backpack, which contained the soothstone, and retreats, satisfied that it has the object of its desire. It burrows back to its cavern underground, taking the majority of the other shardborn with it. Broknard, however, has to go and rescue Mordollwen from the creatures, only just managing to do so. The party reconvenes, worse for wear as a result of the entire ordeal, but at least for the most part alive.
The only one missing is Iris, but as the party searches for her, hope that she is still alive dwindles. Collecting themselves, the party head out of the dwarvenhold and make camp at the garden that they had stayed at during their first night in the depths, knowing it to be the easiest place to defend from incursion.
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