Chapter 2: Hell's Back Road

[mjulius]

Wither Whither twirls at a mustache no longer there. Did you see his pallor when asked about this rod that you seek? Wherever that stick may lie, there is certain to be other secrets.

EDIT: My vague post is an endorsement for West

[GreyWolfVT]

Galot wonders how many more folk are they going to bump into down here. "This place is starting to feel overcrowded."

[Nate]

Gurzubar: "I think we should investigate West"

[rossik]

"as the song say, 'goooo weeeest" sings Doctor Gori

[Captain Kinkajou]

Anurak

Though Anurak would dearly love to accompany the Wedding Party east, it seems it is finally time for them to part company. Overcome with fondness for the friendly Grey Humanoids, the little man embarks upon another round of emotional farewells. He goes about hugging everyone he can and then hugging them again.

"I shall not forget you... any of you... If we succeed in thwarting Professor Gormentine and the row-bots, I will return... I shall find you... Live long and prosper fair Lady Yoothrandra..."

[Pulpatoon]

"I shall not forget you... any of you... If we succeed in thwarting Professor Gormentine and the row-bots, I will return... I shall find you... Live long and prosper fair Lady Yoothrandra..."

Yoothrandra: "'Lhiffe lhong hand prohh-sper?' What han hapt and helegant phrasing! Hand I say to hyew, Hanurak, Remember hyour vow, hand peace hand long life."

As the party turns West, with a few more heartfelt goodbyes to the Wedding Party, they immediately discover the broken carcass that must be the beast Guruki called a Tyrannoclops. This strange being once stood 15’ tall, an albino bipedal sauropod so named for its head, which is taken up entirely by a single colossal red eye, still dimly luminous in death.

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Dr. Ephram Thontorius, Science Bear, examines the body. He points out a number of burns on the sauropod's scaly hide. "An energy weapon. I theorize that this strange specimen was felled by the Nul-Rod itself! I do hope it is not already in the cold, unfeeling hands of Professor Gormentine!"

Wither's keen eye yields a disturbing revelation: fist-sized shapes move subtly beneath the creature’s lumpy flesh.

To the west, a low stone structure is barely visible in the gloom.

Dice:

Encounter: [1d6] = 4, [1d12] = 3, [1d20] = 3/[1d12] = 6

ACTIONS?!
Next update: next weekend, at the latest!

[rossik]

"By the Gods! There's something alive inside the beast!"

Doctor Gori take one of his caltrops and try to open the beast. If not successful, he will ask help for anyone with a pointy sharp thing

[GreyWolfVT]

Galot looks at the strange creature "You know people would pay a mint to see something like that in a show. But i see no mouth i wonder how the thing ate?"

[mjulius]

Wither Whither raises his staff, I have a stick with which we can prod!, eagerly aiding Doctor Gori. He pauses once reaching his side. Doctor Gori? Trauma? Certainly not Family Practice.

He carefully pushes his staff at the flesh of the slain beast, aiding the doctor with his caltrop.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Anurak

Anurak edges back away from his more reckless companions, concerned at what might be writhing within the giant carcass. More of the flesh eating flies that had snatched Gurzubar's arm or some other foul larvae perhaps. Whatever it was, prodding at it didn't seem like a good idea. "Errr.... Do you really think that's wise?" he enquires uncertainly. He hunkers down somewhat behind his shield, feeling less brave now that Yoothrandra and the Grey Humanoids have departed. "Should we not be making haste, now we are hot on the trail of the Nul-rod? Doctor Thontorius, how long ago would you say this great beast was slain?"

[Nate]

Gurzubar, not having as many limbs to spare as he'd like, follows Anurak example and backs up from the monstrous corpse.

[Pulpatoon]

As the party starts to poke at the monster's corpse, Anurak steps back and asks,

"Should we not be making haste, now we are hot on the trail of the Nul-rod? Doctor Thontorius, how long ago would you say this great beast was slain?"

Thontorius says, "I couldn't say. Thanatology is far from my field of speciality, and even if it were, this specimen..."

Suddenly, as various caltrops and sticks are applied to the writhing flesh, the scaly hide splits open, releasing a truly nostril-searing cloud of stink. Everyone stumbles back, eyes and nose running with tears and snot, gagging and hacking. From the burst corpse slither dozens of larval tyrannoclops, slipping and sliding in the rancid juices of the deceased parent.

The slippery little monsters do their best to navigate this strange no environment they find themselves in, standing unsteadily in meaty little legs, bumping into one another, blinking their single large eyes up at the phosphorescent fungal growths and the nauseous adventurers. Without mouths, they somehow make little mewling noises that strike right at the center of you mammalian hearts.

Then, their eyebeams flicker on. These crackling red beams shine like searchlights from the babies eyes, much like Gurzubar's, although not yet at that level of potency. When a baby tyrannoclop's regard plays over your form, you feel a warm tingling, that only becomes unpleasant if it lingers.

The babies start to wander away from the parental carcass, stumbling away for cover among the rocks and grottoes. One bumps into Doctor Gori's ankle boot and seems perplexed as to where to go from there.

Bubba and Krodok both perk their ears. From the East, they hear an approaching sound, now familiar: giant pill bugs are rolling this way at high speed!

Wither notices sounds approaching from the West: foot steps. Many footsteps.

Dice:

Anybody notice anything? [1d20] = 12
Underworld Events: [1d12] = 6 [1d12] = 7 [1d20] = 3

ACTIONS! Next update: Monday! We're back on track, and returning to a three-day-a-week schedule! Thank you for sticking with the game!

[Nate]

Gurzubar kneels down and attempts to offer a piece of ration to a baby creature. He makes soft cooing noises and says "here you go cutie! we're not gonna hurt you, you can hang with me"

[rossik]

Doctor Gori feels warm by the baby creature. He take it by his hand and offer a piece of the rotten corpse of his mother.

"Ooooh, such a baby baby...here, feed. I will call you Karas".

[GreyWolfVT]

Galot "Uh I think we should focus on the many footsteps heading towards us." the one time performer says as he looks for some place to duck and cover in the event it's more hellhounds again.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Anurak

As the scaly tyrannaclops corpse bursts open and spews forth the stinking litter of larval baby tyrannoclopses (or is that tyrannoclopi?), Anurak cowers behind his large shield with his eyes, mouth a nostrils tightly closed. When he can hold his breath no longer, he peeks out to see one of the baby tyrannoclops regarding him with its single puppy-dog orb. He smiles at the cute little critter for a moment and starts to lower the shield. Then he realises his skin is tingling and he panics.

"Eaaaghhh. It burns! It burns!" he squeals, shielding himself.

In Anurak's defence, he does have quite sensitive skin but even so, it's not long before he realises he's making a bit of a fuss.

Fortunately, everyone seems a bit distracted by the sounds of approaching subterranean denizens and don't appear to have noticed. Anurak quickly gathers himself, backs up against the wall and cowers under his stone cloak behind his shield. He tries to angle the latter so anything passing nearby will simply deflect off it and leave him unharmed. Well that's the plan anyway.

[Pulpatoon]

Doctor Gori and Gurzubar offer tidbits of food to baby monsters. In both cases, the creature focuses its eyebeam on the morsel until it sizzles and disintegrates, leaving both Gori and Gurzubar with singed fingers.

The fed tyrannoclops coo and burble their contentment, which draws the attention of a few of the scattering broodmates. Gori and Gurzubar both have dozens little monsters at their feet, gazing at them with big, imploring eyes, casting big, imploring eyebeams upon them. They have to dance away, dodging and weaving to avoid the cumulative effect of so many eyebeams to avoid getting toasted. This frantic display delights the baby monsters, who take to playfully chasing them around the cavern.

The fun and games are brought to a sudden end as six chitinous spheres, each about 4' in diameter, roll onto the scene at high speed, squishing larval sauropods and sending adventurers flying.

Everyone (except for Anurak, who is safely hidden behind a shield), please roll 1d20+DEX Bonus, and try to beat 11. If you don't, take 1d6 damage as a giant pill bug rolls over you!
EDIT: Galot also took cover, and does not need to roll.

Krodok leaps nimbly over a rolling pill bug. Doctor Thontorius shouts "Good Heavens!" And dives out of the way with unexpected speed and grace for such a large creature that has clearly spent a lot of time behind a desk since securing tenure. Sergeant Oothu, still badly wounded from yesterday's battle with the Worm Soldiers of Shaggath-Ka, attempts to dodge, but his legs give out under him, and a pill bug rolls over him with a sickening crunch.

The pill bugs unroll, and begin snapping up the baby monsters with hungry mandibles.

Two of the babies, presumably the two that Doctor Gori and Gurzubar fed, stick close to them rather than fleeing.

The sound of footfalls from the West picks up its pace.

Dice:

Number of Pill Bugs: [2d4] = 6
Oothu: [1d20+1] = 1+1 = 2 Krodok: [1d20+1] = 19+1 = 20 Thontorius: [1d20+2] = 18+2 = 20
Pill Bug Rolling Attack: [1d6] = 4

ACTIONS!
Update: Wednesday!

[Nate]

Gurzubar tumbles out of the way!
Dex Save [1d20+2] = 10+2 = 12

[mjulius]

DEX + BONUS [1d20+2] = 8+2 = 10
Damage: [1d6] = 5

Well, this is curious. What happens now?
Frail: Begin with maximum 1 HP. When you advance a level, you roll d4’s instead of d8’s for additional hit points.
Hard to Kill: Reaching 0 HP does not permanently kill you. As long as your entire body is not destroyed by fire or acid, you will regain 1 HP per day. At level 4, you regain 2 HP per day; at level 8 you regain 3 HP per day.

[Zhym]

Bubba, standing stupidly around when the bugs come a'rollin', is flattened into a mushy, mushroom-headed paste.

Dodge: [1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9 Damage: [1d6] = 5

If I have his HP marked correctly, that's a dead Bubba.