Jin: Ranger 2/Fighter 3/Dervish 1
Xing: Ranger 6
Alice: Druid (Spirit Shaman homebrew) 6
Hung: Fighter 5
Zhu: Ranger 4
Soul: Bard 5
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(This campaign has already started, therefore this log will continue from the events that occurred during this session. No retroactive logs from me, folks. Also, for the purpose of plot coherency, characters may be voicing lines that their players did not. You have been warned.)
Author’s Note: I actually got quite into writing this. It was quite fun to describe it in detail. Apologies if it’s a little too long – it’s only 10 pages of A4 ;)
***
After the small entertainment of the Wyvern, Jin found himself trudging along the mountain path after Xing. Once again the party was moving and he guessed it was a good idea to keep up and try to get back on their good sides. It may not have been clever to get the newbie to try sneaking up on what was effectively a huge flying scorpion but it was pretty damn funny. He suppressed a small chuckle as he glanced over to Hung, knowing full well that even the school of hard knocks is, in fact, a school.
The path led up some ways and through the trees that covered this part of the mountain like a bad rash. Jin was no stranger to the wilderness but he did miss Min-ah - the only person right now that he really wanted to be around, especially with a bottle of wine. Smiling again at the memories of their last encounter, his thoughts were interrupted by a less-than-happy Hung;
"Hey, the sky looks pretty dark ahead. Storm is coming, do you think?"
Hung looked very average to Jin. Blessed with neither good looks nor quick wits himself, He tended to judge people by the way they moved. Well muscled people like Hung could hit like a carthorse kick but tended to be very slow in both mind and, in particular, dexterity - one of the few things Jin prided himself on.
"Yes, I agree. We should find some cover for the storm to pass. It certainly looks like it's heading this way."
The reply came from Xing, the party's lead tracker and primary archer. Jin respected Xing - they had been through a lot together and were so well suited to each other’s tactics that, between them, it's fair to say most battles fought thus far were decided by one or the other.
There were no objections to this, despite it being the middle of the day and with people wanting to return to the autumn encampment. Nobody likes to wander around in wet clothes and armour.
"Jin, go with Alice and Soul - see if there is a defensible location nearby. Start by checking those crags" Xing gestured to some nearby rocks that appeared ordinary at first but, upon examination, had several streaks down them similar to cracks.
"And you?"
"Zhu, Hung and I will check this way. We'll call if we find something."
"As will we, then."
Jin turned to Alice and Soul just as Xing did the same to his partners.
Alice, the party healer and master of spirits had joined the party just as they were leaving the autumn encampment, demanding to join them "for the experience". She was not much in a melee fight, Jin considered, but her spell casting ability had helped them all out more than once - be it benign healing gifts or, her preferred attack, a massive pair of jaws that erupted from the soil and attempted to gnaw their way through a foe from the ground up. Her companion was, he was told, the spirit of a wolf known as Yami - Jin had never seen Yami but after every battle he had noticed some inexplicable pseudo-bite marks on the downed enemies. Once he had even seen them appear mid-battle, as a kobold started choking and was dragged unconscious to the ground by the throat. Needless to say, Jin believed that Yami existed.
Soul, also a woman, had joined the party not so long ago. She was still as wary of the party as they were of her but made good her efforts to be friendly and pleasant. She was, to Jin's eye, very attractive though he still preferred the way Min-ah's hair fell when she leant forward. A singer/songwriter by trade, her skills were useful and she held an uncanny amount of knowledge about the world in general. With the exception of Xing's expertise regarding the wilderness or Alice's knowledge of the realms beyond ours, Jin thought that she, Soul, was the person to turn to when everyone else raises their arms and shrugs. She had also spoken about some unique abilities that she can bestow on people, simply by singing though Jin had yet to see that.
"Follow me you two. Try to keep up." he called.
"You could try asking nicely - we're not pets Jin." Came the sulky reply from Soul. Alice, accustomed to Jin's gruff, unsociable demeanour, simply raised her eyebrow and followed.
A short trek off the beaten path later and the signs of a small cave-in made themselves clear. A large cave had been revealed by the dislodged stone and the three closed in on it with gusto, as the first specks of water started to drain from the skies.
Jin turned to Alice. "Send up a signal, burning some leaves should be enough. We'll wait for the others before going in".
"Uh, yes, ok..."
Jin had wandered into dark caves before. Generally something had tried to eat him each time and while he may not be creative, he certainly learned from his errors. Alice gathered some leaves together and set about sparking a fire with some flint, whilst Soul went to the cliff face and examined the loose rocks.
A short time later, there was a rustling in the bushes underneath the tree canopy - Jin jumped up, Scimitar drawn and dropped into a combat stance while Soul drew her crossbow and Alice reached for her component pouch...
"It's us, relax." The voice of Xing echoed through the trees and soon after the man himself, Hung and Zhu in tow.
"Nice find, what do we have here?"
Soul replied as she sheathed her crossbow. "It seems to be a natural cave, opened to the air when the last rockslide occurred."
"Perfect. Let's check it out then and hope nothing tries to eat us."
Again Jin thought to himself. It seemed that Xing also learned from his mistakes. Or perhaps he remembered the Ankheg. Jin was unsure what passed through the inscrutable Ranger's mind.
As the party entered the cave, it immediately became unusual and less-natural after the first 15 feet - the fallen rocks were rough and shattered while the inside of the cave was smoother, almost like glass at some points and nearly a perfect circle as it curved down towards the bowels of the world.
"What on earth could have made this?" The party turn to the usually silent Zhu. Who shrugged as if to say "hey, you all thought it!"
"I think I know" called Alice as she examined one of the smooth walls. "Tell me, have any of you ever heard of a Thouqqa?" her voice echoing loudly off the curves as they wound down to darkness.
The rest of the party, as one, shook their heads - except for Soul who appeared to be thinking hard. Jin had never even heard the word, though this tunnel did remind him somewhat of the one a worm would make.
"They are native to the land of Fire, where all heat and destruction resides. I occasionally summon the denizens of that plane to aid us. Think of it as a large wormlike creature that 'melts' its way through rock as easily as a knife though fat. They are very dangerous - even being near them can burn your flesh right off."
Jin tried to imagine this. A giant worm that was shrouded in flame that burnt anything that came too close. Jin loved his body and took great lengths to protect it in a world that was pretty much hostile to every living creature out there - the idea of severe burns followed by a severe eating did not appeal. And they would put Min-ah off so they were unacceptable.
“Let us hope then that this particular beast isn’t home right now.” As Hung spoke he looked behind him as the heavens opened and a small yet fairly heavy bout of rain came down. Each drop seeming to echo in the cave like Alice’s voice. It sounded like a soft rumble.
“You call this a Thou-qwa tunnel correct?” He asked, both Alice and Soul nodding their heads in affirmation. “It looks old. Could anything else have moved into here while it was away?”
Any number of things thought Jin. There are hundreds of creatures that would love a nice neat and above all, inviting, cave such as this to nest in. This was perfectly true though it would be nice to have a cave that was empty for once. They always seem to have something in like, say, the entombed remains of a Githzerai Illithid hunter. Jin wasn’t sure what a Githzerai was and had only heard of Illithid as a legendary aberration but the last cave the party sought refuge in was ‘occupied’ to cut a long story short.
“You mean Thouqqa – with two ‘Q’s, and yes, probably. We got in here easily enough.” Xing grimaced as he spoke. Probably thinking the same as me Jin added as he watched.
Suddenly Jin realised something. The rain, heavy though it was, was hitting the canopy of the trees outside and then hitting the ground with a lesser impact – it wasn’t loud enough the cause the rumble that they were hearing. He knelt down with his ear to the floor...
...And stop up again near immediately drawing a scimitar. His sudden movements making everyone else turn to him questioningly.
“The Rumble.” Jin said as he looked at Xing. “...Umber Hulk?!”
It took Xing a moment to catch on, confusion on his face. Then he also realised what he was hearing.
“Get out of the cave! Rain is better then what is coming to get us now! Out! NOW!”
There was a brief moment of cold chill as each person stepped out into the rain, Jin, Xing and Zhu jumping down over the fallen rocks while Soul, Alice and Hung followed at a slightly more careful pace. Not far enough, sadly.
Behind the party, in the Thouqqa tunnel, the floor suddenly ripped itself open and an enormous creature roared as it pulled itself from the hole it had created. The party were barely twenty feet away
Before it could even get its balance, Xing had propelled three arrows at it, each one hitting home. Hung and Zhu both drew their weapons and fired – another hail of arrows harming the Beetle? Gorilla? No-one knew quite what to make of the monster that Jin had called an Umber Hulk. Soul took one look at the creature and sought some higher ground to get a cleaner shot at it, scrabbling up the nearest tree with remarkable speed.
Alice muttered something that sounded pretty vile and arcane to Jin, as she pressed her hand to his forehead. Had he not been on the receiving end of this particular spell before he would have used the opportunity to run her through. It was a boosting spell however and Jin felt the familiar pressure of weight on his skull. Checking his reflection in the flat of his scimitar Jin saw three large horns growing straight out the top of his forehead - The hand holding the blade becoming crusted with tiny scales and thick skin.
Time to do what I do best - annoy something. Jin took a defensive posture and moved into close range, a whirling shield of dual-wielded blades. Not causing any damage but enough that the monster had trouble striking him.
The rest of the party reloaded and fired, Hung scoring a superb hit on the monster’s right flank, Xing hitting everywhere else. Having failed to spy a weak point above the monster, Soul dropped to the ground with a heavy thump and tried to shoot from there. Her crossbow bolt ricocheted off the Umber Hulk’s carapace and into the back of the tunnel where a Thouqqa who excavated it may or may not have resided.
Alice shouted something that was lost in the rain and noise of combat and roars, but the spell went off regardless and a huge pair of jaws erupted from the hole whereupon the umber Hulk stood, crushing its leg and dealing damage.
Jin took this opportunity to attack and stabbed the Umber Hulk not once but twice! Scoring some minor damage. No longer concentrating on pure defence, he raised his off-hand and with it his enchanted Buckler, hoping the monster wasn’t as strong as it appeared.
The Umber Hulk roared and a spark of eldritch energy surrounded its compound eyes. Up close, Jin could see his reflection in each facet but, strangely, he seemed to be doing something different in each one. A mental assault born of chaos and indecision assaulted his mind, as well as the other party members. Jin only barely managed to shrug it off and pull up his Buckler again and snuck a glance over his shoulder to see if his friends were ok.
Alice and Song seemed fine, while Xing and Zhu were reeling. All four of them seemed to take a moment to clear their heads and re oriented their weapons. Hung wasn’t so lucky – he dropped to his knees and was visibly shaken. It looked like he had barely got the strength left to pull himself up but he did so, his eyes unfocussed and glazed.
Once they had recovered, Soul, Hung, Zhu and Xing unleashed yet another flurry of arrows; The Umber Hulk looking more like a quiver then a monster with every second that passed. It roared in frustration at the ants that pelted it with the stinging shards and the irritating human that blocked its path to them.
Alice, not being one to let things lie peacefully, chose her next spell carefully. Muttering the transmutation carefully, she deliberately looked at each of her 5 comrades encompassing them in the spell’s range. Time around her and them seemed to slow down and each of the five allies she had ensorcelled had enough time to load and fire a single arrow or bolt. In Jin’s case, he scraped his scimitar easily across a gap between the creature’s armoured plates.
To the Umber Hulk, it would have seemed like all of the irritating creatures before it had moved at blinding speed and it was now badly hurt. It tried to vent it’s frustration on the human in front of it but, try as it could, it just couldn’t hit him. Jin, having spent many months learning how to dodge heavy attacks like this, was evading the clumsy blows with apparent ease.
The monster bellowed with rage as it tried to break out, only to be rewarded for its efforts with another half-dozen arrows to the face. Xing scoring the hit just at the weak point between its eye and cranium armour, his arrow penetrating through the keratin and bone and lodging in the creature’s brain. With little ceremony, the Umber Hulk keeled over backwards, dead.
“WOO!” Soul grabbed Alice and cheered at the victory, pulling the spirit master into a dizzying spin.
“Well fought all!” Xing called, a rare smile on his face. “Zhu, go and help Hung would you.” – He gestured at the fighter, whom was babbling incoherently at a tree.
“What’s wrong with him?” Zhu asked as he made his way over and snapped his fingers in the oblivious fighter’s face.
“The Umber Hulk has a unique ability – it can mess with the minds of anyone it looks at. That pain you felt up here?” Xing tapped the side of his head. “That was a confusion effect. It should wear off soon, but you may want to take his sword off him for now”.
“Save it, It’s not over yet!” Jin cut in, sounding slightly concerned. “There’s some more rumbling in here!”
Which, in true Hollywood fashion, is the precise moment when the second Umber Hulk burst through the floor, just behind where the first corpse lay.
I hate caves Jin thought to himself, steeling himself for the second round.
***
The monster that was the second Umber Hulk began to find out the hard way what had happened to its mate. The moment it stood up to its full height, several arrows pierced their way through the air and through its armoured plates. Time to put these horns to work Jin thought to himself, taking a few steps back.
The monster clambered over the corpse of its fallen mate and tried to make it to the source of the projectiles raising its arms in anger. Jin took that moment to charge while the creature was vulnerable. The attack couldn’t have been more perfectly timed and Jin crashed through what little defence the monster could muster and impaled it through the gaps in its chest carapace with two of the three horns that jutted proudly from his forehead - The reinforced skin and scales granted by Alice’s spell protecting him from breaking his neck.
More arrows, bolts, and slashing blades continued to rain down on the creature as quickly as the downpour that most of the part stood in. Bloodied and bruised and with the familiar dark blots that Jin could only assume were Yami’s contribution, it was looking worse for wear even before it got an attack off. Once again however, the eyes of the beast sparked and a cone of confusion blasted the minds of those who stood before it.
Tragically for the creature, the party were ready for the mental assault this time and those who weren’t quick enough to dodge behind trees (or in Jin’s case, those who had nowhere to dodge to) managed to resist the effects. The pain that had accompanied the first confusing gaze lessened as the party were expecting it this time around.
Alice responded in kind with her preferred spell – already in effect from the first casting, the enormous jaws rose from the earth again and clamped around the foot of the Umber Hulk – they did not get a good grip however and the Umber Hulk merely lifted its leg as the jaws scraped down the carapace surrounding its foot.
Another volley of arrows brought the creature to its knees as it struggled to attack - Jin dodging and weaving to avoid being struck. He countered once, scoring a minor hit but with the monster fading fast it would be Alice who scored the final blow. The spirit Jaws bursting through the ground again while the monster was down – encompassing both legs and halfway up to its chest. There was a horrible screech of pain accompanied by a crunching noise as the armour that protected its midsection gave way to the crushing force. The monster had been virtually cleaved in half and soon stopped moving entirely.
Well, that was entertaining. Can we go now? Jin thought, wiping the gore from the creature off his chain armour. Everyone is already wet so there’s no reason to remain here.
“Let’s get inside and dry off” called Soul, looking damp to the bone in the rain. “This is intolerable!”
Nevermind. Jin sheathed his two scimitars and started to skin the Umber Hulks – they were dangerous prey but their carapace was superb and could be crafted into some fine plated armour for others to wear. Waste not, so the saying went. He was shortly accompanied by Xing, who had the same idea.
Everyone else took the time to dry off and take a break for the several hours while the rain fell. Xing and Zhu gathered some nearby dry wood and got a fire going while Soul and Alice got into a discussion on extra planar creatures and how to combat them. Jin took the opportunity to clean himself off before the Umber hulk gore started to smell. Hung was silent, still recovering from the confusion. Eventually after a bit of thought, Alice asked the inevitable question;
“What do those Umber hulks usually do with their victims?”
Eat them, idiot. Jin had to rub his head as the question echoed around the tunnel. Though that said, they do tend to hoard their prey’s items that are inedible – they should be around here somewhere.
“Well, they eat them. Simple as.” Xing called from the fire.
“There should be a nest nearby.” The party as one turned to Jin as he spoke. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud but there was no harm in them knowing now. “There’s a good chance that the Umber Hulks have a cache of treasure from their previous victims.”
“Ooh! Treasure? Can we get a piece of that?” Soul interrupted. “I wonder what they’ll have!” Her eyes lit up at the prospect of rewards and jewellery. Must be a female thing Jin considered.
“Possibly. Where do you think the nest would be, Jin?” Xing was at least as interested as Soul was. Nothing got the blood flowing like the prospect of Loot.
Down there I’ll bet. Jin pointed to the space in the floor that the Umber Hulks had burrowed out from – a smaller tunnel that was filled with loose soil and clay.
“In there?”
“Down there. Somewhere.”
Xing and Soul considered for a moment while Hung and Zhu came over to join the discussion.
“How are we going to get through that? We don’t even know how deep it goes.” Soul asked.
“So we find out – Yami?”
Alice whistled as one would for a dog and instructed what Jin saw as thin air to pass through the rocks and let her know if there was a nest at the end. He would later swear that he saw the rocks move slightly as something past through them unseen. Yami had no physical form and could pass through walls and stone as easily as air.
After about 30 seconds, Alice announced that Yami had come back and that there was indeed a cavern some 60 feet down the filled in tunnel. The party agreed that sixty feet through an already dug tunnel wasn’t so bad and would take some 3 days if everyone chipped in. Alice used her spirit controlling abilities to summon an Earth Elemental to aid us. Everyone chose to start digging with the exception of Xing who wisely decided that we would need three days of food and water and set about preparing snare traps and water catchers.
After two days of solid digging, the party were starting to question the worth of such a chore when Xing returned from his morning hunting bearing some unusual news.
“Did you have a visitor while I was gone earlier?” He said, a concerned expression on his face.
“We’ve seen nothing but each other for the past two days, why do you ask?” Hung took a break from digging to devote attention to the Ranger.
“There are Kobold tracks in the cave mouth above – I don’t recall them being there when I left this morning.”
“Kobolds? Didn’t we kill the Kobolds in this area?”
This confused Xing for a moment, until he realised whom he was speaking to. Hung was a good fighter but was inexperienced and unaware that Kobolds don’t come in groups of 18 – more like 1,800. He said as much.
“So we’ve had a visit from Kobolds? To what end?” Hung scratched his head.
“I don’t know, but we should be prepared for an ambush. Kobolds are notorious for traps. Pass it on to the others, I’ll keep watch outside for the rest of the day.”
“I shall.”
The rest of the day passed uneventfully contrary to Xing’s warnings. Keeping the party alert and digging was taxing however and the excavation slowed down. It would be midday on day 4 that Alice’s Earth Elemental finally broke through the final loose rocks and into a foul-smelling cavern.
Finally! Jin was relieved that he no longer had to dig. The effort exercised muscles that he rarely used and he ached all over.
“I’ll go and tell Xing”. Jin grabbed his backpack and made his way to the top of the shaft where the loose earth had been put and called out to Xing.
“We’re through!”
“Hush! We’re not alone!” came the reply.
He was close, Jin was certain, but Xing’s ability to blend in with nature as incredible – Jin himself knew how to hide and camouflage himself but Xing had it down to an ark. He wouldn’t be surprised if Xing was right in front of his face and he still couldn’t see him. Still, if Xing had broken silence then there was indeed something nearby that needed consideration.
There was grunt behind him and out of the corner of his eye, some of the loose soil depressed like something stood on it. Three arrows whizzed past him and while two of them shattered against the smooth wall the third seems to lodge in mid-air.
Invisible? Jin was thankful he had grabbed his backpack and ripped the blanket he used for sleeping from it. He threw it over the arrow as it made its way towards one of the wooden supports that the party used to keep the excavated Umber Hulk tunnel open. He just caught a glimpse of a pickaxe ad the dweomer failed and the blanket smothered the small reptilian figure holding it. The pickaxe struck the support with a loud thud. Jin prayed that it would hold as he charged towards the blanketed figure.
Xing appeared in the entrance way just as Jin made contact and wrestled the small figure to the floor. Bow in hand and arrow strung, he called down the tunnel;
“COMBAT! To arms!”
The warning given, he turned his back and took a position to guard the entrance confident that Jin had the problem in hand, so to speak. “Where there’s one kobold there’s 10.” He murmured to no one in particular.
Jin, being bigger and after having three days of solid physical exercise, was easily pinning the small Kobold to the floor though he had no idea what to do next. The Kobold was shouting in the language that only sorcerers seems to understand and it made him think of Min-ah. Not her, but there is someone else who may speak it here.
“Soul! Up here now. ‘please’.” He called down the tunnel, sarcasm dripping off of the last word. Jin didn’t particularly like backchat, especially from someone who fell out of trees better then she could climb them. 10 seconds or so later, the face of the Bard was visible down the tunnel. She had her crossbow in hand.
“Tell me what this runt is saying.”
Soul listened for a moment, and blushed as the kobold shouted something that clearly said what he thought of us. “He’s telling us to let him go or he’ll bring the wrath of... the creator? The maker? I’m not sure I understand that word”
“Ask him why he wants to kill us.”
Soul pouted at the order, and said something that Jin wasn’t able to interpret. The kobold’s struggles lessened for a moment and he replied, spitting the words out in hatred.
“He said ‘This is Sky Clan land. You have no right digging here – we are honour bound to kill you for your trespasses. Well, at least, that’s what he said with the profanity taken out.”
“EVERYBODY GET DOWN!” the shout had come from Xing who was firing arrow after arrow at... something. Soul ducked into the mouth of the tunnel but Jin, still holding the kobold wasn’t so lucky.
A massive bolt of electrical energy blasted through the tunnel, blasting everyone against the walls. Xing managed to avoid the worst of it but Jin, and the Kobold he was holding, caught it square in the chest. Sparks flew, skin burned. The air was filled with the acrid spell of ozone. Jin was punted back some 5 feet with his hair standing on end. The kobold was... gone, burned to ash by the force of the lightning bolt. Soul was unharmed, thankfully but was hesitant of coming out of the excavated tunnel.
That hurt. That really hurt. Jin carefully glanced up as the spasms of residual electricity made it hard to move. Xing was firing arrow upon arrow at what could only be a Kobold spell caster. Eventually raising his bow in triumph and jumping out the cave mouth. From his point of view, Jin could only assume that Xing had downed his foe and was now going to finish it off, or loot it. He collapsed on the mound of earth as he started picking bits of charred kobold and blanket off of himself.
The other party members had approached behind Soul, having seen the bright flash and realising that ‘combat’ had indeed been going on. Fortunately they came bearing the Umber hulk’s Loot.
A small reward for the trouble it took to get it. Jin grimaced in pain as a small static charge travelled down his arm. Next time, we set up a damn tent.