Session 64 - Bugs, BIG Bugs
General Summary
13 Sov'van
As the dust cleared, a much bigger version of the kruthik, nearly 9ft tall and more spider-like, chittered a challenge at the party. Ell whipped his head around to stare at the monster, but then turned back to look at the smaller bugs threatening his friends. Dropping to one knee the warlock threw out a hand and fired off an Eldritch Blast at the nearby adult kruthik, tossing it into the next bug and throwing them both up against a pillar of earth. There was a crunching sound when they hit and only one of the creatures began to push itself unsteadily to it's feet. Grinning, Ell leaned back and fired off another two Blasts at the Hive Lord. The first blast hit the ceiling, but the second struck the big bug in the throax and threw it through more wall and into Denye's Storm Sphere. Denye shrieked at the sight of the Hive Lord and threw three Scorching Rays at it, but they bounced off the heavy carapace. As she ducked into the back corner and the giant bug struggled to it's feet in the battering winds, a bolt of lightning knocked it back down the ground. Tear ran forward to the bug that Ell had thrown against the wall and with two quick swings, cut the kruthik in half. He slipped around and attempted to hide behind Jilken's leg as the Aiel archer brought her heavy crossbow up and with a pair of shots knocked the remaining bug off from it's perch. As it fell to the ground, unmoving, the elf stepped across the hall and pushed open another door, leading into what appeared to be a throne room. The large kruthik was visible in the wall as were another half dozen or so of the smaller bugs. Janora whistled a short series of notes and called up a Healing Spirit in the shape of an adorable puppy with a long floppy tongue. Placing it next to Jilken, it began to lick the elf's wounds as the witch called forth a Curse of Pain on the Hive Lord. The witch ducked back next to Denye as Vellikar stepped back out through the door and summoned up a circular Wall of Thorns that manages to catch the large bug in the wall and trapped a pair of the smaller bugs. With a pair of quick slam attacks Ranunkel crushed one of the bugs into the dirt and then Earthglided through the nearby wall. The remaining kruthik tried to stab him in the ankle, but the bony spike bounced off the druid's rocky hide. The other bugs rushed Jilken as the Hive Lord squealed in pain and tore himself out of the wall of thorns, and rushed toward Vellikar and spit a cone of acid over both the firbolg druid and Ell. The warlock wiped a hand over his face and gritted his teeth. Stepping up next to Vellikar, Ell cast Mental Prison on the Hive Lord, surrounding it with swirling whispers and visions. Denye sent Helenwye into the throne room and using the familiar's eyes tossed in a Fireball, which exploded right in front of Jilken, crisping several of the kruthik. Pointing a talon at the Hive Lord, Denye followed up with another bolt of lightning to the backside of the Hive Lord, setting off another wave of screeching and chittering. Tear of Midnight Sorrow ran over to Vellikar, sheathing his scimitar and pulling out his force pistol. Planting his feet, he took aim and fired twice. The first blast struck the big bug in the face, but the force pistol malfunctioned on the second shot, causing the entire weapon to glow brightly for a second or two. Denye looked up in alarm, but relaxed when the energy faded. Jilken stepped around Tear and with a pair of quick thrusts aimed at breaks in the carapace, buried her spear twice. The large bug was oozing ichor out of wounds and at least two legs were broken yet still it howled in pain. With a quick whistle, Janora directed her Healing Spirit to run back over to Jilken and the spiritual corgi raced up and began licking the elf's hand. Turning her attention on the Hive Lord, the witch pronounced a Curse of Agony. This time however, the enormous kruthik seemed unaffected by Janora's curse and the witch's lips pursed in annoyance. The smaller bug still trapped within the wall of thorns went mad at the Hive Lord's cries and tore itself to shreds trying to reach its king. Vellikar took the opportunity to slip around to the other side of the Hive Lord and with a shout cast Primal Savagery. Sharp, jagged ice grew from the druid's fingernails and he threw himself at the bug, attempting to shove it back into the wall of thorns. Unfortunately, the weight of the enormous bug proved to be too much to shift and the ice shattered across its hide with little more than a scratch. Whipping around, Vellikar cursed as one of the smaller bugs stumbled out of Denye's Storm Sphere and tried to attack him, but the druid danced out of the way of the clumsy blows. Back in the throne room, Ranunkel, still in elemental form, yelled several curses at the four kruthik he could see, hoping to scare them off. It didn't seem to work so with a sigh, the big rock druid strode out of the storm and with a pair of quick slam attacks, crushed two of the bugs. At the same time, maddened and in pain, the Hive Lord spit out another spray of acid. Jilken threw herself to the side to avoid the worst of it, but both Tear and Ell got face-fulls of the caustic goo. Trying to wipe the acid off with one hand, Ell fired off three Eldritch Blasts at the Hive Lord, but all of them went wide. Grunting in disgust, Janora said, "Denye, just throw a dagger at it, let's finish this." Denye broke into a beak-grin and replied, "I'll do you one better." With a single flick of a claw the wizard lashed out once more with the lightning from the Storm Sphere. This time, the bolt lances out with a thunderous crack and was followed almost instantaneously by a wet popping noise as the Hive Lord exploded, showering bug guts all over most of the party. With the largest threat gone, it was short work to clear out the rest of the kruthik and the party took a few moments to catch their breath and look around. The throne room was mostly intact but other than the carved granite throne only filled with bones. The walls were carved in murals showing dwarves discovering a mine, opening several tunnels and forging. Geometric patterns ran in borders both above and below the murals and were echoed in the large granite throne. One of the walls hasd been defaced, a large circle with three diagonal lines had been carved into the wall. As the party began settling down Ranunkel took a moment to walk around and use his stone sense to check for other moving creatures. The only pings he got were on the other side of the north door. Coming over to where the others had settled, he warned, "There are like 15 creatures through that door, so I suggest we don't open that till we've had a chance to sit for a bit." Denye, who had pulled out her sketchbook and began drafting the murals, pointed to the large circle and asked, "Ranunkel, does that mean anything to you?" "It's minesign," explained Ranunkel, speaking slowly, "Never seen one that big, but dwarves use them to pass on messages about conditions in the tunnels. That mark in particular, is bad, really bad." Stopping to wipe his brow, over the link he sent, "It means the Maddening Dark....one of the worst Darks there is. Things must have gotten really really bad." Janora stood up suddenly, "And that's enough. It's clear this place doesn't have anything to do with Token'eska, so we should move on. I'm going to go wait outside." As she stalked outside, Ell called, "We should at least look around and see if there is any treasure." The witch just waved over her shoulder and headed outside. Pushing himself to his feet Ell began to look around, spotting some text carved into the top of the throne. Speaking out loud he read, “By the hand of The Karbonnil, a new world is possible.” Turning to Denye and Ranunkel he asked, "Does that mean anything to either of you?" Ranunkel shook his head, "Never heard of Karbonnil...maybe it was a family name." Denye cocked her head to one side and then bounced it back and forth in thought, "I've heard it before, I'll have a look at my notes and see if I can find it." While they talking, Jilken began looking around the room and spotted a broken floor tile where Ranunkel had smashed one of the bugs. It appeared to have broken the corner off a tile covering some sort of empty space. With Ranunkel's help they pried it open and discovered a cache of gold and other loot. Feeling rejuvenated at finding treasure, the rest of the party began to explore the rest of the mine, leaving the door with the creatures for last. They found several other rooms, also filled with rubble and bones, including a hall that seemed to lead deeper, but only 30ft or so along had collapsed and currently impassible. As they went along, Jilken kept thumping the ground looking for other hidden caches and with luck found one, tucked into the corner of a long rectangular room. Much smaller than the first, it contained only a small wooden chest and a fist-sized emerald that sparkles with inner fire. Something about the gem attracted Ranunkel and the druid reached out for the stone. Warm in his hands, he examined the large cut gem but broke off to ask, "What's in the box?" "Not sure," replied Jilken, holding the box out to Ell, "damn thing is locked. You're good with locks." The young man grinned and pulled out his lockpicks. It was only a moment's work to pick the lock, but as he did so an unseen trap released a cloud of spores into the air. Jilken was fast enough to pull her mask up over her face, but Ell got a full nose full. Coughing, he waved his hand around to clear the air and pushed open the lid, revealing three vials of diamond dust. Vellikar and Denye rushed over to make sure Ell was alright, but he waved them off and the team continued their sweep of the mine. It was only a minute or two later that Janora came rushing back in, having heard the hue and cry. Denye explained about the trap and the poison, but Ell protested, "Really Janora, it's fine. But I should warn you all that the walls are beginning to melt." Or at least that's what he thought he said. What he actually said was, "Pointy Hat, walls melty." Janora raised an eyebrow at this and moved over to examine the young man. Noting Ell's fast breathing and fully dilated pupils, the witch mused, "You're high as a kite. I told ya you should have stopped looking. Let's go outside and get you some fresh air." Taking Ell by the arm, Janora turned to the others and added, "We've only got another hour or two of sunlight, we should probably think about making camp here...but I'll be damned if I will do it inside." ]That seemed to suit the party and they decided not to open the last door, leaving it for later exploration. Once outside, the party quickly settled down to make an actual camp. As they worked, they discussed ways of sealing the doors so that any other dangers might not be able to get out. Denye, feeling inspired, pulled, out one of her notebooks and quickly began taking the Knock spell apart and reconstructing it into an Arcane Lock. Not long before sunset, Janora's crow, who had been circling overhead, keeping an eye on things, let out a loud warning caw. Janora and Vellikar whipped their heads up and spotted a pair of large flying creatures, diving at an angle towards the camp. With a warning shout from the witch, everyone ran inside. Standing by the door, Janora and Jilken watched as the flying figures neared, large leonian bodies with the heads, front claw, and wings of a raptor, both flared out their wings to slow. One remained aloft, but a moment later there was a small whirlwind as one landed and called out a greeting, "Ho there travelers, we mean you no harm. Will you speak to us?" Janora gave Jilken the hairy eyeball and over the link asked, "Do you know who these things serve?" Jilken shrugged, "White Gryphon I assume. It's out on the peninsula in the jungle, but it's the only place I've ever heard of having gryphons. They are generally trust-worthy and supposed to be fully as intelligent as a person." That broke the ice and the party spoke with them for a bit about a number of matters, but Jadewing, as the gryphon introduced herself, couldn't recall any hidden cities in the mountains. She invited the team back to the Wing Guard Outpost to take a look at their maps and spend the night in more comfort. After sorting out flying partners, they took off heading southeast toward a split peak near the center of the range.Rewards Granted
2000gp, 200pp, a rose-tinted magnifying glass (100 gp, 1 lb), four hourglasses in a wooden box (100 gp, 8 lb), two chain shirt armors in a chest (100 gp, 65 lb), , three gallon casks of mead (9 gp, 54 lb), a small chest containing 3 vials of diamond dust (100 gp ea, 2lb.), aheavy gold ring, and a fist-sized cut emerald
Report Date
13 Jan 2023
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