Past Meet Present - A Joining of Clans

Another night, another game ... and while the numbers in the group have dropped off the action and fun haven't.  Last time we left off with the party having just faced their most deadly foe to date, having had two of their number turned to stone and another horribly wounded.  We pick up from that point here.
After returning to their injured party member's side, Daisy and Atvan began to discuss what they would do next.  They discussed first how they should handle their now stone statue friends, both weighing the options of carrying them back but not knowing where to take them or what could be done for them and also in leaving them there to return another time for them should they find a way to reverse their situation. 

Still undecided and discussing it, they heard movement off down the tunnel and became quiet.  Soon the movement trailed off and they continued talking quietly.  As they sat, resting, discussing their next move, suddenly the stone that was Temeris's backpack began to glow as if a light leaked from the pores of the stone itself, but just as suddenly the glow vanished.

After sitting and staring in wonder at what they had just seen for a moment and not seeing anything further, Daisy got up to examine.  The backpack just as the rest of the statue still appeared to be stone, solid as before.  Pulling her axe from her back she looked over the pack for a place to start chipping away, however before her first chop at the stone Atvan warned her that she should be careful as there was no telling how brittle the stone was and she could crack or break the statue if not careful.  With a look of frustration and horror, she slowly put her axe away and stepped away from the stone Temeris and sat down again.

After sitting in silence contemplating things for a bit Atvan suggested that they take them back to one of the sinkholes and see if they could possibly climb out, taking the unconscious Shadow as they went.  Arriving back in the large cavern where they found the first statue they went to examine the sinkhole only to find that while it could be climbed it was a long way up and they likely didn't have enough rope to drop it down from the top to pull up the statues and Shadow.  Even then it would still be a difficult climb to reach the surface anyway.

As they stood looking up towards the sunlight above they again heard movement coming from the direction they had come from.  Atvan sent his badger to hide in a rat hole as they stood waiting for this thing to come into the cavern.  Soon from around the corner they saw an insectoid looking creature with four arms carrying spears, a creature they recognized as a Chitine.

"Ah, I see you Atvan Treehugger and Daisy Axeswinger" the chitine began.  "I have been searching for you.  I am Caullum and I have come from the chitine city to unite our broods."

Daisy wasn't sure what to do, and asked Atvan a number of times through the introduction if she should smack it, but Atvan questioned the chitine further instead.  They determined that the chitine was sent to assist them by his brood mother who he called the "rightful queen of the chitine" and that he was at their disposal in their ventures.  Seeing Shadow on the ground Caullum commented that "she was weak and should be left behind", more in a matter of fact tone than a condescending one.

After some back and forth it was agreed that they would travel together and Atvan suggested that Caullum with his superior knowledge of the underground lead them as they continued to explore this area, but first they would bring the statues into this section and leave them with Shadow.  They returned to where they had been left and began back with them, however as they walked Temeris's pack again glowed just briefly before going dark, began to glow again, and then went black.

After a moment of hesitation and thinking perhaps it could be a sign they were close to something, Atvan carried the statue first North, then West, and then the other directions seeing if the glow would return perhaps pointing their way but it never did.  Giving up on that idea for the time being they continued on and placed the statues where Shadow lay still.

Soon Caullum was speeding through the tunnels before them, exploring passages previously passed by.  Most of the tunnels ended in dead ends or looped around and they found themselves where they had already passed, but soon they came to a section of worked stone where two obelisks and two doors stood, marked with symbols holy to Tyr and Helm, untouched by time or desecrating hands.

They soon discovered why they were in pristine condition still as they each reached out one at a time attempting to touch the doors but each time their hand met with an invisible force just before the door that repelled their hands back.  Thinking perhaps the cause of the glow may help in getting past this force and to the doors Daisy was sent back for the Temeris statue.  However upon her return nothing occurred any differently than before and the statue also met the same resistance from the invisible force.

Frustrated by the fact that the Earth Blood could be behind these doors, though none of them really knew what it was exactly they were looking for, they decided to return later as they knew a large part of the cavern likely remained unexplored right now.  Thus, they left the doors behind and continued on.

They traveled quite a while reaching dead ends, passing through loops that led no where, having to double back a number of times, but finally they found themselves at another worked door, this one wood and reinforced by iron bands.  With a sloping corridor heading up close by as well, they decided to first investigate this door.

Quickly finding that none of them possessed skills in opening locks, Daisy quickly set to chopping at the door with her axe.  Each swing took small chunks from the door and soon a hole appeared that showed a room beyond.  Several swings more and the door was free of the latch, but enjoying the feel of swinging the axe she took a few more swings until the door finally crashed from its hinges to the ground with a thud.

On the other side was a square room with aged and ruined equipment littering the floor.  Looking around it didn't take long to recognize much of it to be alchemical in nature, or regarding creation of different items, and soon they decided that it must have been a wizard's lab at one point.  After a brief search turned up nothing of interest they went on to the next door to find it unlocked.  Beyond the door a hall turned south and soon ended in a circular room.

Before them, in the room, stood only a single statue sitting upon a circular base.  A feeling of great un-ease filled them even as they approached the strange statue.  Before them stood a statue, similar in detail to the others but different in the shades of stone, of a huge cross between man and vulture stood before them.  The creatures long neck ended in a strangely birdlike head and stood 8 foot tall, and the wingspan was likely double that.

Despite the feeling in the room Daisy stepped forward intent upon pushing the thing from the statue but as she pushed it didn't budge and a feeling of fear rolled through her and she stumbled backwards before losing her balance and falling backwards on her rear.  She and Caullum watched as Atvan slowly circled the outside of the room but they quickly decided that they wanted no part of this room or this thing and quickly left the way they had come in.

Turning back towards the slope heading upwards they continued on, traveling a good distance upwards before it began to level out and they began to hear the sound of movement ahead.  Caullum began forward to check it out with the others following behind but as he moved forward he failed to see a bit of webbing stretched across the hall.  The webbing crossed his eyes and temporarily blinded him and as he pulled it away and his vision cleared he could see a large spider, the size of a large hound, rushing at him.

He quickly took his spears and put three into the first spider stopping it in its tracks but beyond there were three others as well all approaching fast.  However the spiders were quickly dispatched by the party though Atvan, struck by one, seemed to be weakened by the creatures poisonous bite.  They ventured a bit further and soon decided that they should rest as exhaustion was starting to show around their edges.

"So who will breed with Daisy Axecutter?"  Caullum asked as Daisy rested.  "The brood will need to increase its numbers and grow strong and she seems of good make."

Atvan laughed it off a bit and stated that it would take a braver and tougher man than he.

After getting fully rested up, they continued on once again.  They passed a damp cavern full of molds, mushrooms, and the like which Caullum stopped in briefly to gather a snack, and then they found a cavern which had a huge stalactite dripping fresh water into a pool on the floor.  Soon they found themselves traveling down a long passageway with a sinkhole ahead, and looking up in this one they found themselves to be several hundred feet below ground.

A scuttling ahead of them however brought their attentions back to the underground where they were and as they moved forward a number of large rats, the size of small dogs, charged them.  The rats were easily dispatched though and barely left a scratch on the party and they were soon continuing forward.

At the other end of the passage, not far from the opening to the surface, it opened into a very large cavern with a high ceiling.  The party as it entered saw that this cave had signs of recent life.  The body of a large mountain cat had been eaten and parts of it still lay upon the floor and there was also feces that looked like a larger than normal cat on the ground.  A sparkle in a crevice to the North grabbed Caullum's attention, but before he could investigate Atvan spoke up.

"Wait, I'd like to take a closer look at this poop." He stated, and then went to investigate.  While he was sure that it was from some sort of cat he knew of no cat large enough to leave this but it wasn't more than a day old either.  After his investigation of the droppings Caullum quickly led them to the glinting area of the cavern.

Approaching they could see that there was a recess in the cavern wall and along with a pile of bones was a pile of treasure.  They could see a wand, a sword, and jewelry piled alongside piles of sorted coins.  As they looked at the piles and began to investigate a loud, echoing thud sounded through the cavern.

Daisy was the first back to the passageway and saw the corpse of a horse laying there on the ground, twisted and oddly shaped from the lengthy fall.  Enraged Daisy ran forward and looked up seeing a large winged creature with a long tail bouncing back and forth between crevice walls as it descended, unable to use its wings in the narrow space.  Staring the creature down she felt Atvan rush past her to the other side of the passage so that once it descended they would be able to flank it.

As it got closer Caullum began chanting preparing himself for the battle using spells he had learned in his teachings, and as soon as the creature dropped from the crevice a dagger from Atvan was thrown, spears from Caullum flew forward, the badger charged forward, and Daisy swung heavily at the creature. 

The creature was caught off guard and suffered a couple minor wounds and a large gash from Daisy's axe but recovered quickly turning on Daisy.  Atvan pulled his scimitar, his staff having cracked against the stone as he had missed a rat earlier in the day, and rushed forward to flank the creature.  Daisy again opened the creature up with her axe but it reared up and struck her with both of its front claws before sinking its teeth into her as well.

A spear from Caullum and a blow from behind by Atvan, as well as another shot from Daisy, and the creature bled from many wounds but still battled.  Swinging its tail above it the thing snapped its tail forward and six barbs shot forth, four of them catching Daisy and making her look like a pincushion and a fifth flying past and slicing into Caullum's left lower arm.

As Atvan struck the creature again it spun on him.  Taking advantage of the distraction Caullum rushed forward to pull Daisy away from the creature as it lashed out at Atvan.  Weakened from several wounds and a lot of lost blood however, its attacks were avoided by Atvan.  He struck back as his badger also lashed out and the creature finally fell.

Meanwhile Caullum removed the spikes from Daisy and bandaged her, stopping the bleeding from the claw marks and bites she had taken.  As the beast fell and Atvan saw Daisy fallen he rushed forward despite his own wounds.  He knelt forward calling upon his druidic magic healing her of some of her wounds.  She sat upright and the anger and rage on her face melted away, but as it did she slipped back into unconsciousness once again.  He repeated his incantations and healed her further and while she awoke she was still badly wounded.

With little in the way of options the trio retreated back to where the treasure laid, hoping that this thing had a reputation and other creatures in the area stayed away while they could rest and heal.  As Daisy laid down to sleep again, still injured, Caullum began to use his knowledge of spellcraft to try to identify potions the party had found while Atvan began counting the coins they had found as well as gathering their possessions in a way easier to carry.  The creature had done great damage to them and healing was not going to be a quick process.



So that is where we left off.  The chitine have now joined the parties ranks which have dwindled of late.  With two members turned to stone, a third laying unconscious with those statues, and another seriously wounded, what will come next for the Karameikan Fist?