Saving Summerford Part 2 - In the halls of the Krick Queen - RPLOG
Participants
Date
12/12/478
Log
Like a true farming village, Summerford busts into activity even before the break of dawn. Salamanders walk left and right on their way to their various tasks. Something is different today, however. They do not head to their farms, to their pastures. No farming equipment is carried. And no children run around in the streets to play or help their parents.
The youngin's are all safe, gathered together in the few buildings that have been reinforced with netting to block Krick from entering. Similarly all the livestock is kept in their barns, which have been boarded up for extra safety. Once you kick the Krick nest, they will likely kick back.
An hour later outside of the village proper another gathering begins. Villagers bring in supplies and mercenaries begin to gather while other figures stand by and plan. In the center of this improvised base camp stands Mayor Jillian, the leader of Summerford's brave salamanders who has chosen to be here for this day. Next to her are Malachi, the local alchemist, and Zane, the town's Bailiff. Opposite them is a odd fellow, a palm-tree being bearing the fine colours and markings of a Royal Ranger. He seems to be in argument with the other three, gesticulating wildly as he tries to get his point across...
"You don't understand, this is madness Mayor Jillian! You must leave the Royal Rangers to deal with this situation. This plan of yours is complete foolishness!"
Rokarion was among the beings who arrived into Sumerford from Firmament this morning. The plant being didn't even get enough time to settle after arriving from Cliffside today! Clad in his usual cloak, Rokarion stepped towards the village mayor. "Good morning mayor, and Mister Malachi." The youth said in his usual dour tone.
Cara walks directly over to Zane, dressed in robes rather than her usual clothing. "Okay, I'm here." She unsheathes her sabre and asks, "Okay, what exactly is the plan again? I'd like to know so that I know what to expect." The feline glances to Rokarion for a moment and smiles, "Well, I'm glad to see that you're here, Rokarion." Then she sets her attention back to Malachi, "Seriously though, what exactly is the plan?"
"The Rangers had their chance, Mister Emory," Fenris says, sauntering up to the gathering, "And I am afraid that you are responsible for ruining that. It took an old drifter to find the nest that you completely discounted. YOU told these people that it was none of your business and now it isn't. Though if you want to help you are welcome." The tiger rolls his neck and adjusts his long coat as a but if extra protection from the upcoming swarm fun. "My plan, Cara," he says, is to smoke the nest, cause an incredible amount of damage, then collapse the main hive." He looks at the leaders, "Sound about right?"
Bazalt Pads over to those gathered frownign slightly as he Checks his armor, Of course he towered over most there due to being in his Dragon form but today was not a day to do things in half-measures.... and...well he didnt wnat to risk what happened last time. "....Have i missed part of this conversation?.." he blinks and things blinks again "Huh-well Perhaps the spyguard can stay back, protect the village?, just incase?" he says witha shrug, appearing Far more relaxed than he actually felt.
Zane and Malachi turn to face the mercenaries as they approach, while Mayor Jillian continues her discussion with the palm-tree being, now identified as Tobin by Fenris. "'ey folks! Good mornin'!" The ever chipper Zane walks up to Cara and replies in Malachi's stead. "Well, we prepared as best we could for your plans from yesterday, some folks stayed up to gaaaaa-!" His sentence is interrupted by the sight of dragon-Bazalt, much taller than he recalls from the previous night. "Saints preserve us! This country air must have done you good. The heck?"
Tobin turns slowly to look at Fenris, blanching slightly at his words. "I assure you, the Royal Rangers have everything under control here! The hive has been quiet for months due to our efforts to contain the threat. Going in and kicking the nest again will only cause the hive to become aggressive once more!"
This time it's Mayor Jillian's time to intercede. "They have become aggressive, Mister Emory. And according to Clayton who's been monitoring the situation far closer than you have, they have grown in number and occupy even more of the caves all inside the mountain. You may have contained the threat as you say, but it seems to have done nothing but grow and fester instead of being properly treated." She waves him off dismissively. "You've done your duty, Mister Emory. Now let the mercenaries do theirs."
Malachi nods at Fenris appreciatively. "I believe we could make Lantana bonfires in the lower caves. The smoke will rise and fill in the nest from beneath. We also have enough Lantana that you can carry some with you if you can figure out a use for it."
Rokarion rubs his chin as he listens to the conversation, "Of course one should also keep in mind that smoking them all out might lead to the swarm rushing around aimlessly which could cause some collateral damage. But more to the point it is the Queen that we must make sure to kill."
Cara grins for a moment and gives a thumbs up to Malachi, "Thanks, that would be greatly appreciated. I can help with lighting the bonfires, but it would be very nice if we could just light them all at once." She stares at Rokarion and Fenris with a calm look in her eyes, "If you guys need someone to rush in there and kill the queen as they get drowsy, I think I can handle it if I have some one to back me up." She takes a look at Bazalt for a moment and her ears perk up, "Think you can help with that?"
Fenris ignores Tobin, the ranger already sidelined as far as he is concerned and looks to Malachi with a smile. "An excellent plan, Master Alchemist," he says, "I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that we are grateful for all the work your people have gone to to protect this town." He looks to the other Freeswords. "Shall we clear the way, then?" he asks, "Lots of kricks out in the forest, and we don't want our firestarters gobbled up along the way." He nods to Rokarion. "That is why we are going in from above as soon as the smoke comes up from below," he hefts a bale of lantana, "If my sources are correct," and they are, since he saw the thing himself, "This queen is like nothing we have seen before."
Bazalt nods slowly "Oh.. hey-ah.. Zane.." he blinks "Oh-right I'ma Dragon dedicant... Long story..sorta..." he shrugs again "Probally not the best time you kn-"he blinks and Looks to Cara. "I..Help-what what? I'm at a loss here, I've not heard everyone agree on ONE plan.. just lots of plans at once..." he frowns "so what ARE we doing?"
Malachi steps aside again, moving closer to Rokarion until he's standing next to the jasmine. He nods at his words. "We've asked all the villagers to take precautions. The children are being kept in reinforced buildings, the livestock has been evacuated, and all the villagers know they should hide when it all starts. We're also ready to enact anything you feel necessary to get this done safely and quickly." He turns to Fenris and nods. "The honor is ours, friend. You're risking your lives by going in there for us. More so than mercenaries, you'll be saviours for our little community."
Like Fenris, Jillian is done talking to Tobin, who mutters a few more words before stomping off angrily back to Summerford. The female turns to Cara and smiles. "We can arrange for all the bonfires to be lit at once. Also, some of our guards have offered to follow you in if you need extra backup. Clayton has.. specifically requested to be allowed in, but I'm not sure if would be the best idea to have him along. He's not quite been himself ever since going in there the first time all those months ago."
Zane looks at Bazalt incredulously. "A dragon.. huh.." He shakes his head and turns to the other salamanders. "Alright folks, show's over. Mayor, you need to get back to safety. Mister Malachi, you have kids to go reassure as well. Everyone else, get to your places and get ready to light the bonfires on my command." He turns to Rokarion and Fenris and nods at them. "The show's yours. Give that Queen a kick for the rest of us, will ya?"
Rokarion nods his head at Malachi, "That is good to hear." the plant being says before looking at Fenris, "I see that our mutual friend told you about the Queen then?" Rokarion asked before acknowledging Zane and looking at the forest, "Then I believe the plan is to smoke the krick, move into the cave and slay the Queen. I think it would be better if the village militia stayed here just in case things don't go as planned."
Cara cranes her head up to set her gaze on Bazalt, "Exactly what Rokarion just said. I figured that because you're a dragon, then having you at the frontlines might be best." With that, she nods to Rokarion as well, "That's a good idea, Rokarion." Then she smiles to the female salamander. "I'll do my best to make sure that they come back alive."
Fenris nods at Rokarion. "Agreed," he says, then calls out to Clayton, "Clayton! You are with me in the vanguard!" He looks to Jillian, "I'll keep an eye on him," he promises. The big tiger does a couple of little stretches, turns a quick backflip, cracks his knuckles, then saunters off toward the forest and the collapsed tunnel.
Bazalt Blinks "o-k.. this fills me wo-" he shakes his head "fine lets go..kill us some krick and all that-woo.." he says, tail twitching in annoyance behind him. "Ironically you think i'm good for the frount lines yet I perfer long range." he says, grabbing his bow. "though i suppose i could stab then in the face with arrows and smack then with my bow-well NORMAL sized things.." he shrugs again "let just go..."
The various salamanders get to their positions. Jillian and Malachi are escorted out while the militia go to set up by the bonfires in the lower tunnels. Clayton runs up to stand by Fenris, giving him an appreciative smile. He's wearing multiple layers of clothing for protection, and carries with him a long spear held in a defensive grip. The small salamander holds at Fenris' side, moving alongside him wherever he goes.
The trip up to the collapsed tunnel is short and quick. The slight incline of the forest gives way to a steeper climb, and the soft forest soil is replaced by rocky terrain. Just up the way two salamanders poke out from behind a rock, then gesture at the approaching group for them to come close. They're standing right next to the collapsed entrance into the tunnels, as well as several of the custom-made beekeeper style suits that the villagers cobbled together. "Hey Clayton." One says to the salamander. "So you're actually going in?" Clayton nods, walking past them to go fit on one of the beekeeper outfits. "Yeesh.." The guard comments before turning to Rokarion. "Uh.. so the tunnel collapsed when Clayton and that Spyguard guy were investigating. It's the only tunnel big enough to fit beings, so you'll have to clear the rubble away somehow. Figure tou guys could sort that.." He steps aside, letting them pass.
Rokarion shakes his head as the novice militiaman is invited to the charge. The plant being takes the one suit that looks most suitable for himself and puts it on, still slightly big, but such is the fate of not getting a custom job! "Don't worry we will make sure that Clayton will be back by dinner time." The plant being tells the guard before he nods and begins marching towards the caves.
Cara smiles for a moment and takes a look at one of the beekeeper suits before taking it for herself. "Thank you. This should make things somewhat easier." The feline groans for a moment as she sheathes her sabre and takes off her gloves. After taking a moment to remove her weapons, she takes a moment hide in a private area before she puts the suit on over her actual clothes. After taking a moment to put on the helmet, she puts on her gloves and she puts her weapons back on, "Okay, I'm good." With that, she runs off after Rokarion.
Fenris takes the offered hat and net, but waves off the rest, trusting his heavy coat to protect him. "On it," he says, stepping up to the ruined entrance. He looks around at the other beings and waits for the all clear. "Things are about to get hairy," he says with a grin. Then the tiger studies the rubble and puts his hands out before him, muttering a bit under his breath, then sending a surge of earth magic into the tunnel, willing the stone to part and form a new tunnel.
Bazalt Blinks "ugh.. none will fit.." he sighs. "lets hope scales do, eh?" he say, watching Fenris. "boy-oh-boy.. this is going to be crazy.." he sighs and rubs his head. "might as well live Crazy.. only got one life to live.." he nods and shifts, tail flicking some more.
With a loud churning of rock on rock, the boulders and debris that were blocking the passage grind and shove their way past each other, until finally exploding inwards with a loud crash. The cloud of dust and ground-up rock briefly obscures the utter darkness within the cave structure. Clayton stays by Fenris' side, showing a lot of surprise at the tiger's abilities. "Wow.." He mutters under his breath, but doesn't break rank.
The inside of the cave is dank and humid, and the scant illimunation that makes it past the first dozen meters is enough to make out various puddles and rivulets of stagnant water. Stalactites and stalagmites dot the ceiling and floor respective, and the floor of the cave looks somewhat slick and slippery, glistening with humidity.
Rokarion peers into the cave opening before looking at the group, "Well looks like this is it. Signal for the bonfires to be lit." the jasmine says as he turns around and begins moving into the cave, of note of course is how light is projecting from the clear piece on his helmet, as if Rokarion had a lantern underneath his suit."
Cara begins to get some fire magic ready as she aims for the outside of the cave. Once, the math has been completed, she sets it toward the entrance in the hopes that it forms the arrow needed to send the signal. Afterwards, she keeps her eyes out for anything that might seem out of the ordinary as she looks for any signs of either the krick swarms or possibly the queen and she unsheathes her sabre.
Fenris winks at Clayton. "You ain't seen nothing yet," he says and follows Rokarion. As he walks, he waves a hand, conjuring wisps of flame around his hands that quickly coalesce into the form of an enormous predatory cat that stalks along with the group. Fenris takes his bale of weeds and tosses it to the fiery feline. "That may not help much," he says, "But stay close."
Bazalt follows the otehrs, frowning "somehow I had expected to be attacked by now..." the dragon mutters as he grips his bow tightly and sighs walking along with the others, reamining silent for now, eyes watching teh cave carefully.
It only takes a few steps into the cave until cracks start to be heard underfoot with each step from the five adventurers. Clayton yips as one of his steps is met with a sickening crunch, and he lifts his foot to reveal he's crushed three strange-looking bugs with his boot. Each step in here is met with similar noises, and in the mixed, flickering low-level lights of Rokarion's bioluminescense and Cara's sabre one can see the floor just moving and squirming in bizarre ways.
It's Fenris' firecat that finally illuminates the room properly, until the bundle of Lantana is tossed at it and it begins to smolder and smoke. Darkness is replaced with a glowing smog of Lanana-smoke. The smoke is pungent and sweet, like oranges that have lost their texture. It fills the lungs of the adventurers as it spreads across the room, but the effect is quite immediate. The assorted small bugs that crawl around become visibly sluggish.
The cave continues on, narrowing at first, and then opening into a larger gallery of limestone formations that may have been beautiful to regard, were it not for the chitonous vermin crawling all over them. Further down the gallery continues, only a few narrow paths going along either side of the open area and further down into the darkness.
Outside, alerted by Cara's flaming arrow, the guard-salamanders begin lighting the bonfires. It's only a matter of time until the entire cave system is filled with Lantana-smoke.
Rokarion looks around the place as they continue walking, seemingly unfazed by the scenes he is witnessing, "Hmm, do you recall the location of the Queen Clayton?" the plant being asks as the fire elemental appears nearby, having another source of light, Rokarion decides to dim the weak light he was giving off, being less of a target is always better.
Cara looks at the two pathways for a moment as she stays low to the ground in order to avoid the smoke. She glances over to Fenris for a moment, "Could you tell us which path to take so that we can get to the Queen? You mentioned something about knowing where it is."
Fenris grimaces at the crunching of krick beneath his feet. "Straight on," he says, "I promise, you will know it when you see it." The tiger is pleased to see the effect that the lantana is having on all of these monstrous bugs, though he has no illusions about it slowing something as monstrous as the queen.
Bazalt Winces and Groans "shoes." he Mumbles, Atleast glad that it was Scales andnot pawpaws that he was standing on the krick with this time. "how big, exactly is the queen?"he asks, looking around and frowning as his dislike for bugs was very quickly growing. "and how do we plan on killing it?..."
The group move straight on, led by Fenris. The path they chose is somewhat akin to a goat path in a mountain, thin and treacherous. Many times the adventurers feel their feet begin to slide on the slick surface. Dissolved limestone is slick and slippery, and takes on a sloped and curved surface as water runs past it and dissolves it. Three of the adventurers manage to retain their footing in this dangerous place, but Fenris finds his feet slipping underneath him. "Fenris!" comes Clayton's yelp as he grips his friend's side and hits the ground, clinging onto him to keep him from falling
A plunge from this ledge would be painful at best, if not outright deadly.
The gallery opens up wider into what looks like an underground lake, but is actually shallow water over slippery and shiny limestone. It forms puddles in depressions, with only the occasional dry area to allow for safe footing. Squirming, slithering things are illuminated by the diffused light that manages to escape the cloud of Lantana smoke.
Rokarion pays extra attention to his footsteps in this cumbersome gear. The plant being eyes Fenris but looks back at the path a moment later when he notices that Clayton went to the rescue. Rokarion steps into the gallery and eyes the figures in the distance, "More krick, but no Queen yet."
Cara takes a look at Fenris for a moment, and walks over to the two. Cara immediately kneels down and reaches out for Fenris as she whispers, "I'll pull you guys back up and then we can get going."
Fenris grunts as he slams down on the slippery slope. "Thanks, Clayton," he says, "and don't worry, Cara. You can let go, Just caught a little off guard." The tiger takes a deep breath as he starts to slide down the sheer slope, using a bit of water magic to smooth the way, planning a cushion of air magic to slow his descent at the bottom.
Bazalt Blinks and Grunts "damni-Fenris!" The dragon growls only to hear the skittering, cauing him to Shakes his head and sighs, staring out at the skittering things. "everybody ok?" he asks, glancing around.
Fenris lets go of Clayto and Cara, and using a combination of water and earth magic manages to slide down the slick incline and land on his feet, and rather acrobatically at that. Clayton watches with wide eyes and jaw agape, before collecting himself and standing back up. His heavy gear and protective beekeeper suit clinks along as he makes his way to Fenris in the safe way.
Fenris is faced with a sight that might look familiar to him. The enormous 'lake' of shallow water is pockmarked with small islands that one could walk on without setting foot in the water, and even hop from island to island to stay completely dry.
The low level hum and buzz of the Krick is audible in the distance, but they do not seem to have responded to the group's approach just yet. Squirming and slithering forms crawl all over the walls and ceilings, and occasional shapes buzz past just off the corner of each being's vision. They are about to reach the heart of the swarm.
Oddly, no sight of any defensive effort just yet. No krick are moving to attack them, but rather they sit in the distance, hovering or crawling over the walls, waiting.
Rokarion continues on the path until he finally meets Fenris at the lower level, "Hmm, odd behaviour so far. This queen might be setting us a trap. A really interesting tactic for a krick." the plant being comments as he eyes the swarm, "Should we continue searching or thin her swarm a bit and lure her out?"
Cara notices the safe path and cranes her head over to Bazalt. "Let's get down to him and finish it up. We'll probably have to thin the swarm just in case though." Cara immediately heads down the safe path in order to get closer to Fenris. After all, none of the krick started their attack yet. Besides if they do show up, then she can just keep them busy easily enough with a nice wave of heat.
Fenris adjusts his coat and looks over the cave. "She's not here," he mutters under his breath, "This just got more complicated." While he waits for the others to catch up, he busies himself with a bit of magic that should make traversing the terrain a little easier for everyone.
Fenris shakes his head at Rokarion. "Let's wait just a little," he says, "The smoke ought to be making it up here soon." Tyger was smoking nicely, but a little more help in this big cave would be good to have.
Bazalt Heads down and Frowns "I was thinking it was odd to see no queen yet...SO we wait.. But will they?" he says, motioning to the Kirck around them "I think we've been trapped..."he says again, shaking his head "I cant believe we've not been atta-Ah i'll jshut up before I curse us.."
As if on cue, the distant buzzing and humming begins to intensify, and the slithering and swarming shapes that crawl in the darkness get closer and closer. They seem to be biding their time, strangely, but as more of the beings descend and form up next to the lake the stalemate is broken. Several swarms of Krick descend out of the darkness and envelop the group, finally becoming fully visible.
Their advance is halted by an expected surprise. As they enter the rolling cloud of smoke that surrounds Fenris' elemental companion, they suddenly become erratic and sluggish. Some of the bloodsucking vermin seem to simply give up, too lethargic to fight any longer, and instead just cling onto a nearby wall in a wiggling black clump. The others try to circle the group to press the attack, but the smoke has bought them the time they need to strike first.
Rokarion eyes the swarm as they begin moving towards the group, "Wish granted Bazalt." the plant being says as he eyes one of the ponds. The putrid water seems to move on its own, powered by the plant being's gaze, as it rises and forms into a vague being-like shape, ready to answer its master commands
Cara looks at the advancing swarm and she concentrates on making the equations. A mixture of both fire and air magic is concentrated into her right hand as she raises it up high. It begins to glow for moment and as she finishes the math preparation quickly, she waves her hand and emits a large of superheated air directly at the four krick swarms from her finger tips.
Fenris launches off a volley of fiery projectiles of his own into an approaching swarm, though his real focus is on searching out where the massive queen could have retreated to. And praying that the smoke would pour in soon!
Bazalt Simply shoot multitide of arrows at the swarms, for now-firing quite a few arrows in rapid sucession.
And strike first they did. Cara's fan of heat washes over the swarms of Krick, scattering some of them and instantly incinerating one of the organized groups. Fenris' volley of flaming arrows form a brief cloud of fire in the stagnant air that burns another swarm down to a cinder. In any other circumstance, arrows might not have been the best to use against a swarm of small creatures, but Bazalt's tightly packed hail of arrows is right on target and shreds into one of the remaining swarms, heavily reducing its numbers.
The two remaining swarms pick their targets and descend onto the beings. They pour like a liquid onto Cara and Bazalt, washing over their forms and covering Cara head to toe in creepy crawlies. And yet.. they are unable to cause any real damage. Their proboscis and mandibles puncture and cut at the outer layers of the beekeeper suits, but are insufficient to cause any damage to the two beings.
"Stupid things. You won't get us again!" Yells Clayton as he rushes towards Cara and begins batting away large clumps of Krick with his spear. The rolling cloud of Firecat smoke quickly dispatches any Krick that are batted onto the ground.
Rokarion looks around as the battle is joined. The recently formed water elemental wastes no time as all the grime in its body seem to concentrate on the creature's shoulder before suddenly bursting into flames, however the flames seem to not be targeted at anyone but instead the mixture of burning chemicals and water trying to dose it off produces smoke in the room. As his elemental acts as a broken chimney, Rokarion gives the room another glance before he begins casting a spell on Clayton, trying to cover him in stone. No sense letting the overly eager salamander kill himself.
Cara's pupils shrink for a moment and she attempts to jump away from the krick swarm. She grits her teeth and she quickly gets to work on readying another fan of heat. "Okay, that's enough!" As the combination is sent directly over to the rest of the swarm around herself, she answers, "Die!"
Fenris would swear, if he did that sort of thing. "Stay close to the walls," he shouts, sparing a glance toward Clayton, hoping the little guy is alright, "I am about to do something we may all regret." Warning given, the tiger focuses up at the dark, distant ceiling holds up a hand and lets loose with a scathing blast of lightning!
Bazalt GRunts and Frowms as he extends and flaps his wings in an attempt to get the Krick off him "get off you little bity Gits!" he says, batting at them with his free arm, GRowling at the things that were Trying to get His blood, again.
The small scuffle the Freeswords are involved in is soon dwarfed by the maelstrom of flying, buzzing, swarming krick that emerge out of the ceiling as Fenris' lightning bolt strikes the darkness and arcs around from stalactite to stalactite, briefly illuminating the room. Many large, dark shadows are briefly visible, and one of them falls down with a loud splash onto the lake below.
The thick clouds of roiling smoke produced by the Firecat and Rokarion's elemental form a protective dome that quickly dispatches the remaining Krick still swarming around Bazalt, while Cara nearly dispatches the ones that were on her just moments prior.
Clayton lets out a rather unseeming curse as the large, menacing shadows descend, their wings humming and buzzing, their forms distorted by the vision-hampering cloud of krick surrounding them.
The thousands upon thousands of swarming bugs blot out the other features of the cave, and briefly the beings have a sense of being competely enveloped in them.
The only thing holding the thick cloud of Krick back is the smoke, which seems to be growing thicker and smell more and more of citrus. At this point the beings realize - the smoke from the bonfires has reached their level, and will soon flood the entire chamber. They just need to hold out for a little longer.
The queen krick screeches, her massive form lurching forward along the fetid water. The fall from the ceiling has hurt her, but that has only enraged her further. She begins to plow forward, unaffected by the smoke. At her front and sides are oversized Krick-things, morphed in grotesque ways, and with wings too small to carry their weight properly. Her drones, four in total, charge into the group.
As if guided by unspoken orders, two of them close in on Cara, while the others move to surround Fenris. The large krick-things do not attack with their grossly oversized probosces, but rather with slicing claws and biting mandibles.
Three of them are not fast enough to catch up to their targets, but one pounces right at Cara and slices at her, his hideous leg slamming down in her direction.
Cara performs a small backflip in order to avoid all of their attacks. As she sails through the air, she notices the large queen coming from the wall. A large grin crosses her face as she gets a surprisingly crazy idea. The moment she lands, she stares directly at the queen and braces up, almost as if she is actually going to charge the queen.
Rokarion lifts his head upwards to witness the falling mass of royalty before she hits the lake. Rokarion wastes no time, drawing some geometric shapes in the air as he prepares a localised explosion directly underneath the Queen. The plant being attempts to make it as controlled just in case the putrid water also bursts into flames. Meanwhile the water elemental continues its smoke production moving to another slimey puddle for more juice.
Cara rushes directly after the queen with her fists raised. "Here I go!" Her fists are raises directly in the air as she rushes directly toward the queen. As soon as she gets close enough, she immediately brings her right fist in and attempts to aim a powerful punch directly into the Queen's abdomen.
"Stay close, Clayton," Fenris commands, keeping his back to the solid stone wall. The tiger keeps his elemental close by for now, waiting for the smoke to rise enough that moving Tyger won't expose them to the smaller krick. He raises his hands and mutters a bit under his breath, calling down great gouts of fire onto the oversized drones before him! Best to deal with them quickly, then move on to the monstrous queen. He eyes the great stalactites in the cavern ceiling. Those have potential. . .
Bazalt Growls and Takes aim on the Drones that were going for Cara. "I've got your back!" he says with cocky grins, not aiming for they body but their legs and pincers.
As Cara's fist slams against the queen's chitinous hide following her acrobatic leap there is a sickening thud as bone goes up against hardened chitin. Chitin wins out, and Cara finds herself recoiling her hand back with the lance of agony that follows. Were it not for her training and resilience that might have been a lot worse. Still, the blow makes the queen reel back briefly, and that is just the amount of clearance Bazalt needs to fling a hail of arrows at the big creature, center-mass. Many of the arrows simply bounce off her chitinous hide, but a few embed themselves in softer parts of her hide and punch through to make her scream a deathly shrill that echoes around the chamber.
Fenris conjures a Divine-Math made rain of smouldering debris, earth and air magic coming together to slam the fiery spray onto the two drones surrounding him and Clayton. One of the drones is shredded apart, while the other is brought low and incinerated by the blaze that follows the rain's contact with the fetid water. Clayton sees his opportunity and dashes forward, lance first, embedding the tip of his weapon straight on what's probably the creature's neck. The drone screeches in agony, breathes its last, and collapses in the smoldering pile that was once its peer.
A massive explosion rocks the chamber, sending debris flying out and causing some stalactites to break loose and splash down on the water. The reveberating explosion reaches the stalactite directly above the queen and breaks loose, crashing down and... narrowly missing. It contacts with her leg instead, crushing it utterly. Much to the Queen's agony.
The two remaining drones are quick to charge back at Cara, quickly lashing at her back to defend their queen. One of them makes contact with Cara, pincering her in between its disgusting forelegs, but as it tries to squeeze and crunch her Cara wiggles free, denying the Krick his chance at a meal.
The swarms of smaller Krick descend upon the group, Cara especially as she is currently outside the protective dome of smoke her group had created. Briefly her friends lose sight of her, her form completely submerged under a sea of crawling, swarming Krick several feet deep.
And the smoke keeps rolling in... the smaller krick are growing slower, more lethargic...
Rokarion eyes the stalactite that was above the Queen's head, pity he was saving that but he got only himself to blame for setting the explosion, and now with the suicidal tiger in the way it will be harder to aim at the Queen. With a shrug the plant being begins casting some water magic to splash the swarms surrounding Cara and cause a general shift in the putrid lake.
Cara takes a deep breath for a moment as her heartbeat is racing. "Well, this is going to be painful." She instantly assumes the stance as she keeps armored gloves on. She prepares herself and instantly springs towards the nearest drone with her sabre in hand as it begins to glow white. As she gets closer to one of the drones, she instantly begins slashing at it with her now glowing, hot sabre.
Now that it is certain that the Queen is here and that her drones are here AND that she is not going anywhere fast, it is time to bring down the house. "Get clear!" he bellows, then puts a hand to the ground. He digs deep, mustering all the mathemagical mojo he can manage and thrusting it violently into the very stone of the cave, sending tremors to bring the cave down!
Bazalt Takes aim only to find Cara surrounded By Krick "well Now wa-" he blinks and looks to Fenris, frowning as he does so "firey todrnado of flame and doom anyone?" He shrugs and takes aim, and just aims-Waiting for his shot for now.
Cara struggles to reach the drone, her flaming sabre slicing across and incinerating several of the small Krick. The heavy smoke is making the vermin slow and sluggish, and cutting through them is more like slicing through sand as they all press down on each other. Cara's attack manages to find its target, cleaving the drone's head in twain. More of the Krick pile down onto her, quickly rendered unconscious by the cloud of smoke that is now permeating the lower area of the room.
"No!" Screams out Clayton, looking at where Cara was just moments before. "We have to save her!" He yells out, unwilling to leave Fenris' side for now. Suddenly the lake begins to churn and bubble, and with a splash Rokarion's little bit of divine math sends the waters splashing left and right, carrying with them thousands upon thousands of unconscious Krick, and unearthing Cara and the other drone that still lives. He screeches and flails at Cara, slicing at her harshly. His paw connects with her leg and becomes stuck in the folds of her armor, completely deflecting the blow and allowing the tigress to instantly kick the drone back and away from her.
The chamber rocks and shudders again as Fenris weaves a mathemagical phrase borne out of utter desperation and pours his all into it. The smallest stalactites in the room disconnect and crash down, splashing on the water. Then the bigger ones. Then the largest one in the room crashes down a distance away from them, splashing loudly and issuing forth a wave that washes more of the krirk around.
The falling stalactites pick up in tempo, splashing loudly each time. The chamber roars and rumbles louder and louder. A stalactite falls upon the Queen, crushing her abdomen. She screeches in agony, flailing horribly and trying to lash at Cara, but unable to reach her properly. Another one falls upon her, crushing another one of her legs underfoot. The final one comes down upon her front, colliding first with the water and then breaking apart to squeeze her front against the other fallen structures pinning her down. Bazalt sees his opportunity. He lets his arrow fly at the Queen's pinned form. She screeches her last as his arrow plunches into her face, between her many eyes.
The rumbling stops, and all goes quiet. Every Krick in the room is either dead or put to sleep by the smoke. Only Cara's desperate splashing breaks the silence, the poor tigress pinned beneath rubble and chitin from all sides.
Rokarion yawns idly before shaking his head, "Pity the Queen got mangled. I wanted to study her." the plant being says, looks like he will just have to draw her from memory . With an idle shrug Roka looks at the rubble where Cara is and begins weaving some divine maths to free her, "Let us hope that Fenris did not kill her." the young flower says nonchalantly.
Cara pipes up from the rubble and chitin, "I'm fine!" She wiggles herself for a moment to no avail, "Okay, slightly stuck." After moving for a moment, she pulls herself out and gets to her feet, cut in several places. "Thanks for the help, Rokarion. I'll be fine for the most part." Afterwards, she takes a moment to brush the chitin off of herself. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't have ran in there and attempted to punch out the queen. I honestly thought I could do it, but I should have expected Fenris to get to work on the Earth Magic instead."
Fenris gasps and sags against the cool stone of the wall. "Everyone okay?" he asks.
Bazalt Blinks "that went... well.." he nods " and everyone is ok!" the DRagon Grins and shoulders his bow. "nice Work there fenris..I'll admit I wasnt expecting that.. you did allow me to line up my shot however!" he nods. "Great Work...Everyone!" he nods, long tail waging slightly behind him.
Clayton blinks, stunned from what he just witnessed. He blinks again, then his mouth splits into a wide smile. "That.. was.. AWESOME!" He runs forward, wading through the water and pushing through the sludge of combined Krick bodies and water on his way to Cara. "Wow! The way you just charged at the thing, no fear. You guys are incredible..." He shifts his gaze towards the fallen queen, steps up to her, then jabs his spear into one of her remaining good eyes. "That's for my cousin." He says before pulling the spear back out. "Ugh.. at least the weed smoke is covering up how much this room must stink right now." He looks around and wades back out of the lake. "I.. I think we should find a way out."
Rokarion moves towards the lake as well looking over the dead queen, the plant being removes a couple of mandibles and tubes from her face for personal use before he turns around and begins walking back to the village, "Come Clayton no need to obssess over a dead insect." Rokarion adds.
Fenris hauls himself to his feet. "That smoke is doing a lot more than covering the smell," he says, "It is probably the only reason we survived all that." He waves at the swarm on the walls. "We will need to get the Rangers in here to finish clearing the place out, but with the queen and her drones gone, I imagine even Tobin could handle that job. Then it just becomes a matter of prevention."
Bazalt nods "yeah I cant wait to get out here.. " he looks around "I've seen enough Krick to last a lifetime.." he grins. " and I suppsoe the village will wnat to celebrate, cant miss that." he nods again, smiling. "I could do with some good food..."
Clayton actually leads the way out this time. The salamander peels off the headpiece from his beekeeper's suit and throws it to the side as he starts making his way up the same path they used to get here. The group ascends back towards the chamber that marks the halfway point between the outside and the queen's nest, their feet once again crushing underfoot scores of the smaller bugs that seem to follow Krick wherever they go. Clayton takes a deep breath as the group rises high enough to clear the smoke, and exhales. "Phew. Clean air at last. Somewhat clean at least."
Fenris keeps his elemental burning until the group reaches clear air. "I only wonder how the queen got so big!" he says, "I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing." The tiger will definitely be back to investigate.
Bazalt Nods "Mrrm.. right now food!" he chuckles "I'm actually glad to get out of this one standing, compared to last time it's a VAST improvment!" he nods again and smiles, wings stretching slightly. "and Glad to have helped the Village. " he nods "just.. Ah..Hope this dont give the wrong impressions to the little ones.."
Clayton exits out onto the open air, smiling brightly as he looks for the other militia. "She's dead! The queen is.. hey, where is everyone?" The salamander walks out towards where the guards were, only to find the two of them on the ground. He races over to their sides, kneeling down next to one. "Terry!" He shakes the salamander on the ground, who groans briefly. "Terry, what happened?" The other salamander is also sprawled on the ground, a small puddle of blood visible to his side.
Rokarion shrugs at Fenris, "Perhaps the environment, and to be fair most Queens in the swamps tend to be killed before they amass a large swarm. So perhaps all krick Queens can grow this size if given enough time. I will certainly be looking at the samples that I took for more details " Rokarion adds as they finally exit the cave. The plant being raises an eyebrow at the two guards, "Their wounds are obviously done by a being...I am going on a wild guess here and say that Tobin was not a Ranger but most likely a criminal. Perhaps smuggling." the plant being adds as he kneels in front of Clayton and Terry, taking out his small kit, "Let me help. You quickly go to the village., Bazalt go with him." Rokarion says to Clayton.
Cara's eyes widen immediately upon noticing the two salamanders currently bleeding upon the ground. Cara immediately shakes her head as desperation rushes into her. "No one is going to die today!" She instantly clutches the phoenix tear hanging on her neck and she instantly begins to glow for moment, before her body lights up and her arms become a pair of wings and flame colored feathers replace her fur. The phoenix tear glows as well, and she erupts in a glow of life granting flames, said flames manage to land directly on Terry.
Both Terry and Clayton gasp as the former springs to life, bathed in the flames of the phoenix. The poor security guard watches in a mix of fear and awe as his friend is brought back from the brink and to seemingly good health within seconds. He's shaken from his reverie by Rokarion's command, and he nods. "The village.. right, the village!" He stands up and races down towards the village, dropping his spear as he goes.
Fenris, once he sees that what could be done for the injured guards is being done, scans the area, trying to quickly assess where the danger lies. "What happened?" he asks the newly revived guard as he searches carefully, "What happened?" He nods to Bazalt, "Keep Clayton safe."
Bazalt nods to Both Rokarion and FEnris "Right' got it!" he wastes no time and runs along with teh madner frowning. "fuck...." he shakes his head "becafreul-ok, let me handle.. whatever it is...IF it there is anything, ok?"
Terry looks up dazedly. His body still hurts all over, his muscles refuse to obey him right away, but he's going to live. He struggles to form words at first, but finally he nods and says. "It was the Ranger. He.. he killed Brenn and went inside. He.." THe guard swallows, his mouth dry, and he clings to Rokarion weakly, the closest thing he has to hold on to. "He took something from inside. And then left."
True enough, Fenris' quick scan of the area reveals the recent foodsteps. The signs of a quick scuffle. The distinct heavy footfalls of someone carrying a heavy burden into the forest and then disappearing in the underbrush. Luckily Brenn was the only casualty today as Clayton and Bazalt find the village to be safe.
Rokarion looks at the guard, raising a brow before gently lifting the guard up as well, "Hmm, do you have any idea what he took? It might be what caused the Queen to grow this large." the plant being added as he looked around, "I still think it is a ploy to establish a smuggling lane to Thera'Dor since this village is so near to the border." Rokarion adds as he makes sure that Terry is fine, but the plant being will certainly be discussing matters with Alfred soon.
Cara groans, "Well, this has been a bittersweet victory. I don't think I will ever work for the Rangers ever again now." She snarls for a moment before taking a deep breath, crossing her arms, and turning to Fenris, "I know the Rangers won't be happy if I ask them about this, but if I can, then I'm going to confront them about this."
Fenris stares off into the undergrowth. The tiger bites his lip, ready to give chase immediately. . . but the village comes first. With a sad sigh, the large being steps over and gently lifts the fallen form of Brenn. "A terrible way to end a good mission," he says, looking at Cara. "You do that," he says, "I will see what I can learn. Besides, we need some real rangers out here to finish the cleanup." With that he starts the long walk back to Summerford.
Bazalt Pants and Sighs "bittersweet.. but atleast... the village is safe.." he lookst o clayton and sighs "I'm sorry... for your loss.. He didnt deserve that.." he shakes his head and frowns
A bittersweet celebration it was, indeed, for the jubliant cries of victory over the fallen queen were silenced as Brenn's body was brought before the townspeople. Brenn's body was treated with all the respect the First Text demands, the last words spoken by a priest, his form clad in a burial garment, and finally brought to his resting place in the cemetary just outside of town. Still, a celebration was held for the victory, a great feast in which many toasts were made to Brenn's memory and to the health of the four saviours that had come from far away lands to help them.
Only two questions remain. Why did Tobin Emory, a Royal Ranger, do this? And where is he right now? Perhaps soon the answers to those questions might be found...
