[IC]Back to Basics

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:23 pm

OOC: Fun fact: The only exchange between Legolas and Frodo in the LOTR movie trilogy are the three words "And my bow" during the formation of the Fellowship.

Hicks · Post by **Hicks** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:40 pm

"Seven companions united by fate to murder stuff for other people for reasons... together we shall be: the bunch of guys of the bros!"

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:12 pm

Darth Rabbitt wrote: *What is this thing that guards the Monolith? Do you know what it can do? How it came to be? Or any weaknesses that might be used to get past it?*

*We call it the Wort, bro. It appeared many cycles ago, growing at the foot of the Dry Stair; it's roots enwrap the Monolith - we think it feeds on its power, like a cancer. Bad juju, bro. The last Elder Bro tried to root it out, but failed. The Wort ate him, bros. We've stayed away from it since then.*

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 8:52 am

Atani thanks the giant for being so helpful and asks him to point us in the right direction. We will all then head off to fight the Wort.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:22 am

The big fungus-that-walks turns and leads them uphill, through the village - really, a cluster of simple houses made from long, springy fungus stalks and mud, in a sort of wattle-and-daub fashion. The group passes houses were fish carefully ferment, the nearly overpowering smell of rot and ammonia causing them to gag, and past the dark, conical house where the Eldest Bro brews the thick fungus beer and potions, past groups of fungus people sitting in circles in Communion, each banging their drum to form complex rhythms or passing the communal beer-bowl, and past the carefully-guarded nursery where young bros, their limbs not yet defined and their eyespots closed, grow out of the dark, rich soil. As you climb, the cavern ceiling seems to lower, and the mud gets drier and drier.

Finally, you stand at where the "ground" and "ceiling" meet together - the edge of the cavern wall - where there is a hole leading in to another chamber.

*Bros. Through here is the Wort, and the Monolith, and the Dry Stair, bros. I can go no farther. Be careful, bros.*

So saying, the giant fungus spreads its arms wide and picks each of you up in turn, giving you a crushing, but surprisingly spongy, hug.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:27 am

"I genuinely like him, I'm glad we didn't try to murder them. On that subject: lets go do our best to get ourselves murdered. To the Wort!"

Head into the tunnel in our marching order, which is

Dorgan
Flintbeard
Atani
Lucas
Gilles
Xaxus
Skeleton Bodyguard for Xaxus
Tim

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:45 am

Dorgan heads in, his senses alert for danger.

(Dorgan will try to detect for stonework traps along the tunnel, before exiting the tunnel, or if we find a door.)

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 4:51 pm

"Thanks," Gilles manages to get out as the giant mushroom hugs him, although he doesn't say much more, just adding an "Onwards!" as he follows the party into the tunnel. Much as Dorgan does, Gilles checks for traps and secret doors.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:33 pm

Flintbeard gives a good listen to detect what's ahead. Checks for secret passages and traps and stonework to see if this is a worked or natural tunnel.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:54 pm

A slight, chill breeze seems to emanate from the opening in the cavern wall - and as he steps through, Dorgan notes immediately signs the stone on the far side has been worked; the opening is natural enough, but someone has carved and smoothed the stone, and beyond...

...you step into a chill chamber, a natural chamber that has been shaped and enlarged so that it is roughly circular, with a diameter of sixty feet, but reaching a height of up to thirty feet - back to ground level, even with the dungeon entrance if you had to estimate. The floor is sandy with patches of gravel covering what was once an elaborate mosaic in small blue and white tiles; wending its way around the perimeter of the chamber is a great stone stair, carved into the very walls, the ridges of which are white with salt, and in the middle must be the Monolith the Eldest Bro spoke of... an eight-foot tall slab of otherworldly material, rectangular, perhaps eight feet tall; it is red and white with black trim, and glows from within with a steady, eldritch light. Strange words in a flowing script similar to Elvish cover the face that you can see.

And behind it, sprouting in the sandy soil and stretching up like a cancer there is the Wort. It is a great greyish-brown body like a massive tuber or root, rising up and stretching out "limbs" in garish parody of a tree, scraggly fibrous tangles hanging down from these limbs like moss or leaves, and on these limbs hang great, ugly, greenish fruit. The central trunk of the Wort seems to be a midden of sorts, where bones and bits of armor lie amid a fertile patch of dark black earth.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:54 pm

Lucas holds his lantern off to the side when the Bro comes in for a hug, careful not to singe the creature. Still a little light headed from the spores, he follows through the hole.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 9:35 pm

Flintbeard believes the best solution is to kill it with fire

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:15 pm

Whisper a request to Xaxus to bless us before we move in.
"For myself I will fan out along the wall to fire in a volley of arrows, they should reach the creature before any meleers do so Ill not endanger you all. Once battle is joined I will rush in and join however many of you are also in close quarters with it. If my arrows or blades seem ineffective I will find a way to light my oiled blade and fight with that."

Once Xaxus blesses us ill move in.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 4:20 am

"I agree with Flintbeard. Fire would work best. Let's spread out and soften it up with flaming arrows or magical attacks, if we have any. It seems static enough, no sense endangering the party if we can kill it from afar."

If it makes any hostile moves towards the party, Dorgan will intercept it and engage it in melee.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:35 pm

"I agree to Atani's plan, Gilles says. "But unless this creature is undead, there is little my spells can do to it," he adds sheepishly. "I'll open fire with Atani and then I'll close in with my magic sword alongside him. I can heal anyone in the melee if they need help."

Hicks · Post by **Hicks** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 4:25 pm

Xaxus will bless the party before the throwdown starts,

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:03 pm

Move in, bow drawn, and strafe fire at the monster. 3 shots.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:15 pm

As you move in, an inhuman moan seems to sweep through the chamber - low and loud enough to cause the sand to vibrate, revealing more of the outlines of the mosaic, something like a naked human female rising from the sea, only her legs and torso visible...

...you move in with speed, weapons draw, torches and lanterns held high, and the arrows zip through the air, sinking into the center of mass for the sprawling Wort with a terrible series of soft squishes rather than thuds; an odor fills the air like a rotten potato, and the whole mass of the thing seems to shake, the bloated, tumorous "fruits" hitting the ground like overripe tomatoes, not quite bursting open but the skins splitting, spilling foul-smelling brown goo onto the floor and walls wherever they hit.

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:14 pm

Flintbeard avoids the goo and throws a flask of flammable oil at the body of the wort.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:49 pm

As Dorgan is a melee-only type, he will wait to see if the ranged attacks bring down the creature. If the creature starts fighting back (e.g. flinging pieces of goo at the party), he will charge it with both weapons. Else, he will stay clear of the goo-dripping fruits.

Sam · Post by **Sam** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:35 am

Lucas also stays back, keeping his distance from the strange fruits and long vines. "Ugh, that stinks! Good thing it can't reach us."

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 3:10 am

"Agreed," Gilles says to Lucas as he prepares to fire.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 3:26 pm

As the arrows hit the Wort, the shafts disappearing into the weirdly soft flesh and leaving behind weeping brown wounds, it begins to shake with greater intensity, more "fruits" crashing down all over the room, some quite close to where you are standing...and from somewhere all around comes the piercing wail, somewhere between the scream of a horse and the wail of a human infant, so that you have to shout to hear yourselves, and the elves and half-elves with their sensitive hearing find themselves almost painfully deafened...

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 4:27 pm

Dorgan examines the closest "fruit" with the business end of his weapon.

Dean · Post by **Dean** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:22 pm

Atani continues circling around the Wort and loosing bolts until there are any new arrivals. He makes sure to scan up along the walls of the chamber or in any fissures for any new entrants to the field.