IC Area - Chapter Three - "Lair of the Lizard Queen"

[cupboardgnome]

Firdle gains 6 WIZ, he's not going to take the risk on the staff.

[cupboardgnome]

Firdle stands VERY still.

[apn]

OOC I would have thought Charisma is the how scary/impressive you are stat. I think there is a decent enough argument to include adds from every stat in T&T. Think about a boxing ring. You get someone with huge charisma like Muhammad Ali and the other guy is already wound up/angry/flustered because of Ali's antics. Int is self explanatory. Fight smart fight better. Wiz would be strength of Will I suppose. The more determined, self disciplined you are, the less likely you are to make mistakes.

Oops. Went off on a tangent.

With a roll of 4 Klarrrrchur isn't very impressive. Failed but no fumble, so the Snake doesn't strike. Yet.

Despite waving his weapons about in a menacing fashion Klarrrrchur doesn't scare the snake.

Indeed, it raises up and flares its throat below its jaw, so may be a Cobra of some description. Like everything in this jungle it's likely to be faster, deadlier and all around nastier than anything you might find away from here.



As the Delvers lick nervous lips and consider their next move, Glarpy hisses "glarp!" and moves behind a tree.

Down the path (still out of sight) you can hear "Snee! Snee! Snee! Snee!" followed by "ROAAAAARRRRR!!!" and all those noises are getting louder...

OOC Ok, now you're in a pickle! Because the Snake is so fast, to strike at it before it leaps at Firdle you'll need to beat it at a Dex check! Failure indicates the Snake attacks with a bonus and a Fumble means it gets a free strike in without reply (and then Firdle is REALLY in bother).

You can all try the Dex check. If Firdle beats the snake he moves out of range. If Klarrrrchur or Will beat it you can engage in combat. If the Snake wins, it strikes at Firdle...

No pressure then...

[houndle]

Will Darness
 "Snake with a side of pickle. Sounds good," mumbles Will .

Dexterity check.

WillDarness rolls 2d6 = 4 +4 = 8
DARO
WillDarness rolls 2d6 = 2 +5 = 7

8 + 7 + 16 (DEX) - 3 (armour) = 28

[cupboardgnome]

Firdle the Adequate rolls 2d6+14 = 4 +5 + 14 23

[nialldubh]

Klarrrrchur Deathaxe:

“Gee Firdle, looks like yer fallen into a glass bowl of acid!” Grunts Klarrrrchur.

Still, Will leaps to the rescue and distracts the snake, which is good enough for him to move in quickly and strike with both mace and hatchet.

“Only fools never run when warned and fools have no right to exist!”

Actions:

Actions of Dwarf... Attack snake...

OOC: Not sure if one Dex SR was meant to be enough, but just in case (and can ignore if necessary):

DEXSR: Nialldubh rolls 2d6+15 = 2 +4 + 15 = 21.

Nialldubh rolls 20d6+61 = 4 +3 +6 +6 +6 +1 +6 +3 +3 +5 +1 +1 +3 +3 +3 +6 +2 +4 +2 +4 + 61 = 133 (three 1s, five 6s).

Exploding 2d6: +9.

Total: 142.

[apn]

OOC I suppose Speed could also count as its a fairly unuderused stat in this game. I'll take whatever is your highest stat of Speed, Dex or Cha and apply it to your roll, can't say fairer than that!

Firdle (Dex) gets 23 (10AP earned now 186)
Klarrrchur (Dex) gets 21 (6AP now 73)
Will (Cha) gets 32 (18AP earned now 71)

The Snake (Dex 20) gets apn rolls 2d6 = 1 +4=5 25 total.

The snake is about to strike... and Will puts on his scariest look (not hard when he's been dipped, rolled and bathed in lizard poo/tar) and the Snake thinks better of it, turning tail and slithering off into the undergrowth!

OOC I'll keep Klarrrrchurs attack in case of what happens next...

"Snee! Snee! Snee!" squeal panicking Snee drones as they come into sight down the moonlit jungle trail! They see the Delvers ahead, slow, then the "ROAR!" behind them sparks their flight into headlong sprinting as they are being chased...



The Smilodon (otherwise known as Sabre Tooth Tiger even though they weren't Tigers) chasing the Snee is fast, agile and covers the ground at a terrifying rate! The Snee are fast but the thing chasing the four of them will catch then up... around fifteen feet away from where Will just chased the Snake off and the Delvers are stood!

[nialldubh]

Klarrrrchur Deathaxe:

“Typical, and we smell like Snee also,” grows Klarrrrchur.

He makes ready; standing in front of Firdle and prepares...

Actions:

Actions of Dwarf... Looking about for Glarpy...

[houndle]

Will Darness
Will's head continues to buzz with impractical ideas.

 "Are we helping the Snee against Smiler, or the other way round? Where are those bows? If we shot down one of the Snee, it might delay the tiger long enough for us to get away!"

[apn]

The Delvers stand on the path, weapons ready and watch for the huge sabre toothed not tiger but convenient to call it so to ...

What? Ignore the Snee it had been chasing and instead attack the Delvers?

Not likely. The Delvers smell so bad you'd have to be really desperate to eat something that's been dipped in poo.

The Smilodon pounces on the last Snee drone, flattening it to the floor with a large clawed foot, leaps onto two more and bites down hard on one of them, turning it into a mist of red and bodily fragments and springs to the last which was wailing and "Snee! Snee! Snee! Snee!" towards the Delvers.

As if an enemy would help it...

CRUNCH!

The Smilodon caught the last one and bit it in half. Then it stared at the Delvers.

Some law of the jungle, some... rule... made it consider. Some prey were worth the risk, other prey...? No. The great cat gave a growl of warning and scooped up the parts of Snee into its mouth. Two of the Snee weren't quite dead and moaned as they went into the maw.

"Glarp." muttered Glarp, and the Delvers looked up. The Dhesiri Lizardman crouched in the trees above the trail and was ready to pounce at Klarrrrchurs' command... However the Dwarf and Will-bad-hair along with Pointy head-who-make-bang-fwoosh-crack seemed not to be keen on taking on the Cat. Glarpy glanced down. The Cat had seized its prey and would fight for it, but doubtless had young to feed.

"Grrrr...." growled the great cat with a mouthful. This prey was too... risky this day. Besides... they stank.

Tension eased as the cat loped off with a mouthful of Dhesiri...

=========

With the Jungle cat departed Glarpy dropped from the trees and took up his place in the troupe.

Following the map which - handily - showed a dark red X on their location, the group set off again into the jungle.

Though with eyes peeled and weapons ready, fatigue was settling in somewhat now. It had been a long night, and soon would turn into day.

Following the directions of the Mage the group made slow going, watching and listening for sounds of... ambush, attack, pursuit... Whatever was going on behind at the temple would define the balance of power in this part of the jungle... for a time. The Delvers were not to know it but the Snee themselves were being attacked by another Dhesiri clan, the Hroo and would return to their cave homes much depleted and to find they had been ousted, their dreams of conquest in tatters.

=========

Where the caves and the great apes were was all silent aside from the sounds of the jungle now.

Well, apart from the snorting of two ponies.

Despite being coated in Snee poop and left alone in the jungle all night, they'd found their way back here somehow. A miracle? Sheer chance or...

An arrow jutted from a tree near the ponies. There were footprints in the mud that seemed to head towards the ponies but turned away, presumably after the warning arrow. Though it was wooden and taken from a tree the arrow was perfectly straight, it's flight of some strange leaves and it was 'growing' to become a part of the tree it had been fired into.

It seemed the Elves had granted yet another gift/boon to the Delvers, and they took up the reins of the ponies who were otherwise heedless of the danger they'd been in.

========

The path led on, the group finding the going easier when day broke through the leaves of the canopy overhead and the light rain stopped.

Turning around the corner of the path past a wide tree, KLarrrchur gave pause.

He could hear... voices. Non human voices, up ahead. Uruck voices.

The pirates who'd sought to trade with the Dhesiri Queen hadn't gone alone, but this was some kind of rearguard. With a finger to the lips he crouched and parted leaves for a look.

Five Urucks, armed, armoured and impatient it seemed, snarling and shouting at each other whilst pointing into the jungle.

They were on the path leading out of the Jungle and to Jepistra. After hours of slogging back through the Delvers were so close now... Could they talk their way around the Urucks who might see an easy score, or would it come to the sort of 'talk' that involved heads exploding in a red mist?

The Urucks had not seen or heard the Delvers yet it seemed, but ponies weren't the best at sneaking, If you went closer they'd know something was up - or more likely smell you coming first...

OOC All on Full Wiz.

[nialldubh]

Klarrrrchur Deathaxe:

“Well some Uruks are not so bad,” grunted Klarrrrchur, “once ya get to know them, but, I say Will tries to talk with them if they not think he a black blob monster of the swamp!”

“If they want a fight, then nao problemo!”

Actions:

Actions of Dwarf... Make ready for a charge at the Uruks if they threaten Will.

[houndle]

Will Darness
Not without some misgivings, Will saunters out of the jungle. He tries to look capable but not threatening, well-seasoned but not tasty, and tries to conceal anything elvish or otherwise offensive to Uruck sensibilities.

 "Evening all," he says breezily , hands off his weapons (but not too far away). "A nice night for a stroll, don't you think? I brought my small army down here in hopes of finding some excitement - life gets so dull when you've carved out a medium sized empire at the point of a sword, don't you think? But the local denizens don't seem to put up much of a show at all. I'm sure you've found the same? I'll guess we'll be moving on back to the coast after all. Nice to meet you and all that. Best to shut your eyes as we go past. Some of my ninjas get a bit violent if you blink."

 ACTIONS
Will attempts to bluff his way past using his Charisma.

WillDarness rolls 2d6+17 = 6 +3 + 17 = 26 L2 PASS

[cupboardgnome]

Firdle
"I like Klarrrr's plan.  And I am feeling... re-energised."

ACTIONS
Prepare to zappity zap - it's not original, but it is FUN.

[apn]

Having been nominated to talk the Delvers way out of a fight, Will puffs up his chest, gives his best 'regal looking even though I've been dipped in poo' look and delivers his lines with aplomb.

He really is rather good at that sort of thing.

One Uruck looked at another. "He's talking bollux. Can't see no one." he grunts in the common tongue.

Another looks about nervously. "What you on about? You never 'eard o ninjaz? Ya never see em till they's behind ya an stabbin ya in th neck."

"Ta be fair ya don't see em much then neither." grunted a third.

"Whadda load o bollux!" growled another. "Ninja? Ha! I ain't never seen no Ninja!"

"THAT is the point! You 'eard o em, but ya never see em! My brothers mates cousins uncle had a mate once that said he'd heard o someone that had an Uncle whose cousin had a friend whose brother saw one." growled the last.

All were looking at the trees nervously now.

"What was the other stuff ee said?"

"I dunno, but anyone who dives in shyte then rolls around in it ta really mess their 'air up like this guy must be tellin' truth like. I mean, why else would ee be wanderin in the jungle?"

"Ees on is own? Let's get im!" roared another, and a couple of the Urucks started forward...

"What about the ninjaz?" hissed another. "Ee ain't alone! Eez got an army o ninjaz!"

"Ow do you know? You ever seen one?"

"No, but My brothers mates cousins aunty had a mate once that said he'd heard o someone that had an Uncle whose cousin had a friend whose sister saw one." said the Uruck.

"I thought you said Uncle."

"I did say Uncle."

"No I mean, what about the brother?"

"Yeah I said Brother."

And so it went.

By the time Will waved the others on the Urucks were fighting in a rolling mass of arms and legs on the floor, with one calling out "Liar! You said your Uncle saw ... no, your brothers; aunty... cousin..." PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! HIT! HIT!

Glarpy paused as two Urucks looked up at him. "Glarp." he said.

The Urucks shrugged then carried on throttling each other where they rolled on the jungle floor...

OOC Will earns 21AP now on 92AP

END OF CHAPTER