IC XVI

[Alethan]

Rhys returns, removing goggles, to relay this information to the others.

"I wonder if the heat signatures I saw were bodies inside the creature..."

[Wyzard]

"That seems the most likely," Severi says. "It probably has them stuck to the outside of its body."

"Son," he says to Nigel, "I wouldn't look straight at it if I were you."

[Atlictoatl]

"Son," he says to Nigel, "I wouldn't look straight at it if I were you."

Tev Meren, Fighter

"Aye," Tev chimes in. "Because we're gonna be carving the demonic thing bloody while it burns."

[MonsterMash]

Thurgan looks to the others. "Are we ready now? If so I'll lead on".

[Alethan]

Rhys unshoulders his great bow and readies an arrow and then nods to show he is ready.

[Atlictoatl]

Tev Meren, Fighter

"A volley of ranged fire, then surround it and hew its grotesquerie of pustulent appendages, or shall we charge it straightaway?"

[Wyzard]

"We should stay back and use fire for as long as possible," Severi opines. "We want to avoid having it get hold of us."

He then casts Mirror Image upon himself before advancing.

[MonsterMash]

Thurgan loads his crossbow and gets ready to fight the creature.

[Wyzard]

I checked everyone's sheets. Thurgan has torches. Pass some of those around.

[Atlictoatl]

Thurgan loads his crossbow and gets ready to fight the creature.

Tev Meren, Fighter

Tev hands Thurgan a wicked flask of oil to use instead of his crossbow, and retrieves a flask from Beso's boy for himself.

[thirdkingdom]

With loins firmly girded for battle, the adventurers creep forward into the lair. As they approach the end of the relatively narrow corridor that opens up into the Hall of Columns the forward torches illuminate a vast, gelatinous bulk, that nearly fills the hallway side to side and reaches almost to the twenty foot ceiling. It is a translucent grey in color, and reddish, pulsing veins stand out in the glare of the torches. The veins are most heavily concentrated around two human-shaped figures that are floating, suspended in the thing's body. The Mother's body grows more opaque down near the base, and towards the western wall, at about a twenty-five degree angle to the party, what looks to be a massive egg or cocoon is being extruded from the bulk. A half dozen chittering phlegmatic beetles swarm over the cocoon, antennae waving in obscure patterns.

The light of the torches causes the great bulk to stir, and four tendril-like pseudopods emerge from halfway up its body.

Okay, the front rank is in the doorway to the Hallway, which is approximately twenty feet wide. From the doorway, only three (assuming Thurgan is in the front row) individuals have line of sight on the thing. It is currently thirty feet away from you, as well. If PCs move into the Hall and spread out more of you will be able to fire.

[Wyzard]

I say we roll in deep and throw every grenade we've got. There is zero reason to hold back on this one. Like, if anybody's got scrolls saved back or magic arrows, this'd be a good time to use them.

[Koren n'Rhys]

Quint Kacie
Feeling a sick revulsion at the unnatural horror before him, Quint takes a deep breath to steel himself. With a yell, he surges forward as the others do and begins lighting and throwing oil flasks as soon as they are close enough to do so.

If anyone wants flasks to help throw them all at once, Quint will hand them over, otherwise he'll work at lighting and throwing them himself, assuming we do move into the room. If the consensus is to stay in the doorway, he can hand them forward to those who can throw them from the front line.

[Alethan]

Rhys will take one of Quint's flasks and throw it after it is lit. Then he will switch to using his longbow, if there is still a chance of making ranged attacks. He will use his magical arrows.

If not, he'll draw his sword and fight.

[MonsterMash]

Thurgan takes a flask to throw and then switches to his crossbow if there is still enough space.

[Atlictoatl]

Tev Meren, Fighter

Tev throws his flask of oil around his shield at the disgusting mass, steels himself, and draws his sword for battle.

I'm not certain an accumulation of unlighted oil is as potent as thrown lighted oil, but in terms of piling on as much oil as possible, it's going to be more efficient for folks to throw unlighted oil and then a few lighted torches at that accumulated oil.

Unless we each have a lighted torch, we're otherwise going to be a confusion of limbs as people pass lighted oil around or we hold out our oil to be lit by a torch.

[thirdkingdom]

Round One

Every single one of the companions is armed with a lit flask of oil, and as one they surge into the Hall of Columns, sending a barrage of flaming missiles towards the grotesque monster. Several hit the creature and burst, coating its glabrous hide in fiery oil. Three more hit their target, but bounce off before igniting. Sprayed globules of flaming oil fly in all directions; with luck many actually land on their intended target. The remaining two flasks sail wide and burst upon impacting the floor. More flaming oil flies through the air to dapple the beetles.

A dozen or more fleshy mouths open across the surface of The Mother's sacklike body and begin to warble a high-pitched, wailing song, like that produced by so-called "musicians" who use a carpenter's saw to produce their unearthly tunes. Bruno, Tev and Thurgan all find the sound almost more agony than can be born; they stand firm and do not flee, but the wailing pierces their ears and plays the xylophone upon their brains, making concentration an impossibility. The phlegmatic beetles leave their obscure task and as one spit their disgusting mucus at the adventurers, but all are able to dodge the sticky missiles.

And then the flailing pseudopods emerging from the Mother's body lash out. Quint and Nigel are struck; one lashes out and slips through one of the five black clad elven images before it, causing the phantom image to slowly fade from view. Quint is not so lucky, and it wraps around the mage's neck and begins to slowly, inexorably, drag him towards its bulk. Quint is forced to drop his lantern, and it shatters on the cold hard stone. Nigel is dealt a blow that sends him careening into the back wall, where he lies still, neck twisted at an odd angle. The torch he was holding falls to the ground and snuffs out.

Y'all might want to double check my rolling; there was a hell of a lot of stuff to account for. Nigel did not throw oil, he merely held a torch. Both Severi and Quint take 4 points of damage. Quint is now considered to be grappled, he cannot cast spells but could, in theory, attack with a dagger or something. Please note that as far as I know Quint and Nigel had the party's only light sources, so after Round Two the flaming oil will die down and the party will be left in darkness. Due to the wailing sound Bruno, Tev and Thurgan will suffer a -2 penalty to both AC and attacks until it ceases.

[Wyzard]

Severi the Silvertongued

"Throw more oil!" Severi howls, and attempts to cast Sleep on the beetles. "I don't need the light, but you do!"

Severi put up Mirror Image, above. The tentacle should have hit one of his duplicates.

Bruno can take up light duty, maybe?

Somebody should try and cut that damn tentacle that has a hold of our wizard.

[Alethan]

Knowing he can do the most damage with his sword, Rhys draws it and attacks the pseudopod that has wrapped itself around Quint, attempting to sever it.

[thirdkingdom]

Aargh! I keep forgettingMirror Image! I will retcon when I get the chance.