[Taocow PBEM] [Everyone Back Together] Book 3 - Chapter VI - Down Another Rabbit Hole

[Aaron Clausen]

>> [Father Montessoro]
>> "It is Faerie territory now," Father Montessoro replies. "I will,
>> however, instruct my brethren here to do what they can."
>>
>> He begins to follow Lady Frost. "And now to our task at hand. Sir
>> Edmund, I beg of you to leave now and make your way back to the
>> meeting place. If all goes well, I shall return with your lost
>> company in a few hours. If not, then give my regards to the King."
>>
>> He beckons to Alex. "I recommend you come with us. Waiting for us
>> above ground may become exceptionally dangerous very soon. The
>> faeries are wrathful, and will not care much whether you are
>> Splugorth minions or just passerbyers."
>> [/Father Montessoro]

>> [GM]
>> Again Alex and Lady Frost enter the tunnel. Father Montessoro,
>> despite his armor, moves very quietly. He pulls out a flashlight to
>> illuminate their way down the stairs and through the tunnel. He
>> urges great speed, clearly wanting to get to the knights as soon
>> as possible.
>>
>> After several minutes of travel through the tunnel, they suddenly
>> hear cries of fear at the other end. "Come!" cries the priest,
>> pulling an energy pistol out in one hand and a cross-shaped
>> vibro-dagger in the other.
>>
>> A minute later they are into the cavern, looking down on the Dwarf
>> gate below, and out a pool at its feet several tree thick
>> tentacles grabbing at knights, a few curved black teeth surfacing
>> out of the water and gnashing with the sound of a hundred steel
>> knives.
>> [/GM]

> [Alex]
> "Damn, my luck. . . ." She stops, "I guess I am at least not with
> them."
> [/Alex]

> [Lady Frost]
> "Could always be worse Alex. Trust me."
> [/Lady Frost]

[Meanwhile, from the tunnel...]

>> [Louissa]
>> "I think we need to go meet up with Alex and the ice lady." she
>> says. She turns to Ted. "Well, you know what the rest of us think.
>> Your call, if you think you can control it."
>> [/Louissa]

>> [GM]
>> At that moment, they hear cries of fear from the main cavern. The
>> creature begins to laugh even louder. "It seems those knights have
>> discovered one of the other evils the dwarves keep here. Maybe I
>> can stop it, or maybe you can all die trying to get out!"
>> [/GM]

> [Justin]
> To the prisoner: "And maybe there's just one of you here in multiple
> fragments. I'd wager that the important part is the one in the
> prison."
> [/Justin]

[GM]
The creature merely laughs in response.
[/GM]

> [Justin]
> He turns to the others "I think those knights need a hand or two.
> PLEASE don't let it out." He turns and runs down the corridor towards
> the screams, drawing his cannon as he goes.
> [/Justin]

[GM]
Owen, Koba and Carlos show no desire to open the cage.  Louissa says 
nothing as she draws her energy pistol.  The three of them follow Justin 
out into the main cavern.
[/GM]

> [Ted]
> "All right, but we will be watching your every move," the lizard man
> agrees reluctantly.
> [/Ted]

[GM]
The others are already nearly at the main cavern when Ted reaches for 
the door.  As his hand touches it, he hears a "click" and the door opens 
up.  There's a flash of light as the metal bars themselves melt into 
pools of molten metal.  The smell of sulphur is overpowering, and for 
the briefest moment Ted's mind fills with the vision of a tortured 
landscape of red stone, volcanoes vomiting lava and ash as thousands of 
horrible creatures great and small scurry across it like ants.

It passes after a moment, and there standing before him is a little 
girl.  She takes Ted by the hand and leads him away, and as they step 
away the prison cell collapses into a jumble of boulders.

"Come Ted Smythe." she says in a disturbingly innocent child's voice. 
"There's much to do and you have wasted much of your precious time 
already."  Together they make their way to the main cavern.

As the rest of the company enters the main cavern, they see what Alex 
and Lady Frost have already seen, several tree trunk-sized black 
tentacles grabbing at people and drawing them into a pool, where some 
very large gnashing teeth are about to chew on its prey.
[/GM]

[Combat Round #1]

[Initiative]
Tentacle #1 - 22
Alex - 21 going to give Alex and Lady Frost automatic firsts (after 
monster) for this round only.
Lady Frost - 21
Tentacle #2 - 21
Koba 17
Owen 17
Tenticle #3 - 17
Justin 16
Carlos 12
Tentacle #4 - 10
Louissa 9
Various knights 8
Ted - automatic last because of releasing "it"
[/Initiative]

[Tentacle #1]
The first tentacle strikes out at Koba with one of its massive 
tentacles, as he is the first to exit the tunnel [Strike: Natural 20]
[/Tentacle #1]

[Koba]
Koba miracously manages to leap out of the way of the tentacle [Dodge: 
Natural 20!].
[/Koba]

> [Alex]
> The ranger carefully aims her rifle at one of the tentacles and fires
> a three round burst.  [Strike: 14]
>
> Her thoughts are that at least this might make up for having shot at
> them in the first place although she is careful to not verbally say
> it.
> [/Alex]

[GM]
Alex's shot hits the tentacle that had attacked Koba [Damage: 20MD]. 
The tentacle is hit, and there is some damage, but apparently not enough 
to stop it.
[/GM]

> [Lady Frost]
> With that, Frost will wait just long enough for there to be a break
> in the scout's firing, then leap down at one of the black tentacles,
> planting her feet below it and, gripping it firmly, will attempt to
> rip the thing apart. [Strike: 1 - critical failure]
> [/Lady Frost]

[GM]
Lady Frost's leap goes horribly wrong as she catches her toe and falls 
to the ground below with a loud "thud!"  While she is not injured, she 
is a bit dazed.
[/GM]

[Tentacle #2]
A tentacle flings itself at Frost [Strike: 18], but she is unable to 
dodge [Dodge: 9], and it wraps itself around her body.  Even Frost, for 
all her strength, finds this a powerful grip.
[/Tentacle #2]

[Owen]
Owen fires a multi-round burst on the nearest tentacle [Strike: 20 not 
natural].
[/Owen]

[Tentacle #3]
Somehow the tentacle senses the attack and tries to dodge [Dodge: 9], 
but the burst hits it about half way down its length [Damage: 24MD]. 
The tentacle is visibly damaged, but presses the attack, driving towards 
Justin as he comes to the mouth of the cave...
[/Tentacle #]

OOC: Justin's next, so I'll let him and Ted post as they the tentacle 
strikes at Justin.

-- 
Aaron Clausen
mightymartianca at gmail.com