The small predators had chosen to tangle with the big one. A bad decision all together. Torus had considered using some of his time to recover from the wounds inflicted, but first he would have to try and rid his wild shape of the attacking stirges. His jaws opened once again, and bit past a few bats that nearly flew straight in. The teeth on the right side of his mouth closed around the greedy creature's wing and a fair part of its abdomen, the speed so high that if one blinked they might have well missed it, were anyone close enough to see it through the bats in the first place.

But that would not be enough. With blood rushing through his maw, Torus soon forgot all about the earlier plan and again twisted and turned to practically toss the remaining bloodsucker between his jaws. It was a complicated manoeuvre, but the flexibility his shape allowed him brought it to fruition. Another stirge was soon crossed out from the ever dwindling list of threats, and now there was but one more. Somewhere, out there in the swarm of bats, the last stirge awaited for the chance to strike. But it was as dim witted a creature as the other examples of its kin. It would come out sooner, rather than later. This much any adventurer worth their salt would know.

Through the swarm of beating wings and incessant shrieks, Brannor charged full-fledged with his weapon at the ready. The bats however, were far more a problem than the aspiring paladin had ever imagined them to be; the world of the cave a new, strange, mystery and all that came with it. The moment he set to strike down the stirge, which bumbled and hummed among the other creatures, the swing went awry as it easily darted out of the way. Such a sizable weapon was destructive against larger foes, felling them with its hungering edge, but something so deft as the blood-sucking monster handily dodged the blow.

Sweeping aside more of the bats, the hunter continued to track the creature, hopeful that it would soon become distracted and dispatched. After all, the others had seemingly made the glaring error of diving down to combat the rest of the group's fellows and met their end there with little time and effort. The last one, which remained aloft and harassing was just a matter of when, not if. If it so happened once that was done the tide of fluttering, furred, winged bodies was over, they could delve deeper into the cave...


@Hekazu@Ryonara@Gordian Nought@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

With her wounds mended Parum moved closer towards the others, who in the midst of this chaotic flurry were trying their best to cut down the stirges. One by one the bugs fell, and Parum had a renewed sense of hope that they might actually survive this encounter, however seeing Brannor miss his strike made Parum move over to assist. Hidden by the vast swarms of bats and Brannor's own hulking armored form, Parum's steel blade lashed out to skewer the stirge before it could fly out of her reach, slicing down it's body to ensure that it doesn't survive. She could barely hear Kyra call out for them, but what she was saying, Parum wasn't too sure. It was a good thing she didn't try to use her Vicious Mockeries, they might've gone completely unheard in this cacophony.

The ambush of the small predators after blood had certainly made its mark on the adventurers. The bats all around them continued their wild swarming, cutting visibility to near zero and filling their ears with loud squeaking, but thankfully the large shape of a giant hyena could serve as the beacon for them all to gather at. Around the animal shaped Torus, they would have a conversation in gestures that would end after a short while in the majority vote suggesting they would retrace their steps, tend to their wounded and then see to heading deeper into the cave.

Beyond the screeching cloud, back on the pathways among mushrooms growing tall, they would find their desired quiet. Relative quiet at the least, as slowly the bats would calm down. With the intruders gone, they would not be spending all too long frantically flapping in the air. But if something good was to be said about all this, at least the liveliness of the swarm hadn't alerted any additional cultists to their presence. This must be common enough an occurrence to them. Would make sense, if a few people walking past in armour was enough to set them off.

For now, there was time to rest, recuperate, bandage what was hurt. Grit one's teeth together, pull one up by their bootstraps and reinforce the determination to end this menace that they had come to end. The exit was not too far if it would call to them. But most of them wouldn't be likely to consider it an option. Kyra had the town of Greenest to avenge. Parum had further tragedies like this to prevent. Brannor would see to the same, and make sure the madmen were driven to the grave they deserved. Orchid had his glory. And Torus? A druid could not suffer the Queen of Dragons to rise. An end to all nature was no fitting future. Preventative measures need be taken.


@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen@The Harbinger of Ferocity

Hand batting away some of the furiously fluttering, flying bodies, the entourage was able to break free of the cloud of bats and find brief refuge again in the fungal fields. They needed to stanch their bleeding wounds after the attack they suffered, which had done far more harm than such creatures would likely have been suspected of. The outlander had never seen such vermin in his life, heard of them in passing as large deadly winged bloodsucking parasites, but now that he had he knew better than to dismiss them as so minor foes. The breather allowed him a moment to reflect on this and gather himself too, although he knew now it would likely need be deeper than mere passing thoughts and musings on the nature of creatures that lived in the cave.

Instead, he needed to take a moment to clear his thoughts and call up that pool of soothing, otherworldly power that resided in him. If a breather was not enough for the others, the moon-touched aspirant would grant them some of what he was gifted with. The lunar aspect, the Pale Lady, was as much a healer as she was a destroyer; she was change after all. So this led Brannor to kneel down upon the dusted cavern floor and steady his breathing, meditating on that distant part of himself that had only ever been drawing closer, until the familiar, pale ethereal glow came at hand.

"Now," He spoke up some, keeping his powerful voice restrained but not moving from where he rest upon one knee, "If you cannot gather yourself by yourself, allow me to remove some of your wounds' bite."


@Hekazu@Ryonara@Gordian Nought@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

As the last of the stirges went down, Orchid still remained on the defense, slicing down any creature that seemed hostile. Even the ones that weren't, like a few unfortunate bats who flew too fast and too close to his face. However once the bast cleared out there seemed to have been no more enemies, though if there were more stirges than Orchid would have attracted them like a young foal attracts a pack of hungry wolves; he was very wounded at the moment with blood pouring profusely from the wounds caused by the stirges. Mere beasts they may be, one must've forget that such creatures haven't survived as long as they could because they were fools who relied solely on their strength (Which stirges didn't have much of). No, those insects had managed to strike major arteries along Orchid's body to ensure the most hemorrhaging. A retreat back to a safe place to heal was welcomed for the orc.

Back at the mushroom garden, Orchid was quick to tend to his on wounds using scraps of leather and hide from his tanning kit. Savage as he may be, Orchid had enough rudimentary knowledge of first aid to tend to his own injuries. Indeed, most of the oils and chemicals he had in his tanning kit could also be used as a effective, if foul and painful, healing kit. Orchid wouldn't want to be resuscitated with such a thing, but for the purpose of first aid on himself, Orchid would bare the pain as he applied chemicals to halt the bleeding and tightly bound leather over his many wounds as a bandage. For some injuries who's wounds were too jagged to merely be bandaged, Orchid even applied a tourniquet to control the bloodflow and allow his wound to heal naturally. Once largely healed up Orchid also took a bit of a bit from his rations, eating a bit of bread and dried fruits to regain a bit of stamina. Finally, he changed his equipment from the two swords back to his shield and machete. While having two swords were helpful, Orchid felt that he needed the protective strength of his shield now that they're heading deeper into more dangerous territory. Once he finished he looked to the others.

"Where to now?"

After picking up her bow Kyra and the others retreated from the bar swarm and went to the mushroom garden to rest. Kyra made sure to keep everyone out from the dangerous shrooms as well as to make some rudimentary camouflage. It was far from foil proof but it’ll at least give the party a chance if they need to hide from danger. Once everyone was settled in Kyra went about patching up her wounds with her supplies. Orchid seemed to have been able to patch up his own wounds well enough that Kyra didn’t need to help him. Latin was bloodied but it looked like she used her own magic to undo her injuries. Brannor wasn’t harmed at all, likely thanks to his heavy armor protecting him from the insects. Torus was physically fine, as his animal form had taken the most damage. So all she needed to do was take care of herself.

Once Kyra was sufficiently healed and looked to the others. ”We need to press on, though I don’t want to awaken that bat swarm again.” Kyra raised her hand towards Brannor with a hint of magic on her fingertips. ”It’s not much but if we have to go through there again, allow me to provide some Guidance. Every bit will help.”

As the last stirge fell Parum joined with Torus and together with the others, traveled somewhere safe. Which apparently was the mushroom garden. Parum would've protested but she feared any more noise would bring more danger to them, so she simply accepted the decision and did her best to mend her own wounds. Fortunately she had already healed most of the critical damage with her spell, so all she did as she rested was mend her clothing as well as provided some light healing to anyone who needed it. She sang a very soft song, one that hopefully could only be heard by her party, providing them a little bit of rejuvenating energy. As everyone healed up they were ready to leave once more, but they had to be extra careful this time. Hopefully bats swarming weren't an unusual occurrence here in this cave, but Parum certainly doesn't want to go through all of it again.

Parum nodded as Kyra offered to use some magic to assist Brannor, as his heavier armor would easily alert the swarm, though frankly it was everyone's nervousness that ultimately caused the fight. "Times like this I wish I had learned the silence spell, though I doubt it would help since it's a stationary effect. Still, if anyone needs help, I'll gladly lend a hand."

There was silence. The adventurers disturbed the bats once, but they managed to not do it twice. Not all of them were successful in keeping the racket to a minimum, but it seemed that it was, at least, acceptable to the chiropterans. The swarm remained in the roof, leaving the room free to explore. It was no small space, reaching much further than the three pillars that had been the most visible mark for the party to look at, but darkness had hidden most beneath them. Even now those of them that could not see in the dark were left begging for the sunlight to reach just a bit further, but the dark of the cave was overwhelming. Too many corners. Not enough sun.

Those that had a knack for this sort of an environment would find that the larger area behind the pillars would soon split three separate ways. A staircase hacked into the stone on the right, a cliff of sorts towards the front, and the cavern bending towards the left into another space in entirety in the direction that remained. It seemed safe enough for now. Other than the ambient noises of the cave, not much was left. But of all the things to note, the most obvious one to Brannor if nobody else was the repugnant smell rising forth from beyond the drop before them.

Were there a source of light, perhaps it could be said better what actually was down there. For now, the smell was a strong enough of a deterrent. Likely a dump of some sort. Nearby, on the right side of it, something suggesting the sort could be found. A spear with a pitted blade laid on the floor between the cliff and the stairs. Clearly using this as a weapon would be inadvisable. Disposal left unfinished, or here for a reason? It was, after all, the only clearly man made item in the room.

@Zverda@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen@The Harbinger of Ferocity

After resting the party moved forward. Kyra stayed near the front; her new found tracking skills would hopefully help them find the kobolds and brigands inside of this cave before they find the party. When they reached the crossroads, Kyra also noticed the foul spell and figured that the area up ahead is where they dump their wastes. It certainly smelled like a cesspool. Going forward wasn't something Kyra wanted to do, so she looked towards the left and right path.

The right path had some sort of flimsy spear nearby which made Kyra curious. Even to her, the thing barely seemed stable enough to be used as a weapon. She was just going to dismiss it as the kobolds here being unkept and dirty, but surely they weren't so lazy that they couldn't throw away their trash at the literal trash heap before them? Was it a marker for a trap? They had seen a trap at the staircase before. While a pitted spear would be too obvious of a trigger, perhaps it was merely meant to be a distraction. Not to mention the right path looked man-made. They must have dug out this section of the earth for their own purpose. What purpose? Kyra wasn't sure.

The left path had even less for Kyra to work with. Just a space leading to elsewhere. "Waste heap up front, some mystery stick to the right, and the unknown to the left. Think Kyra! Use what your father taught you!" Taking a moment to think, Kyra got low to the ground and used her elven senses to try and find any noticeable tracks nearby. Mainly kobold, but also people, possibly even dragon people if Cyanwrath was here. Even if most of the camp was evacuated there was no way they would leave one of their own nurseries protected by just kobolds and cultist. So Kyra took the moment to find out where the bulk of the cult would go, what their numbers are, and whatever else she could expect.

The lack of need for restorative power left the primal outsider in tranquil meditation. In some ways there was great thanks that they did not need the potent magic, as it would afford them more time and surely grace later as they ventured further and further in these depths in pursuit of the cult. This call to arms, this least of lesser crusades, would need such healing on tap if the moment turned dire. There was no reason to suspect it would not, for the enemy had a sizable and great dragon aiding them, let alone what well could have been one of its offspring acting as a guide for the army they were facing.

The Pale Lady had whispered her subtle directions to bring the man, and beast as well, this far. Her strange and secretive Wiles had only magnified the connection that existed between the three in the course of a mere few days, to the point that now there was even so much as the chance to conjure the cool ethereal power. No longer was it an effort to dig to the depths of the soul to find that spring, now the font of divine healing and health bubbled up under its own volition. As it all derived from the same lunar blessing, there appeared to be little potential limit for it at this rate. What was to come next in reward for banishing the darkness with pale light?

Brannor's revere lasted until their breather ended and the others were back on to their feet. So did he follow, rising up from kneeling and allowing the ghostly light to shed from his hands. The opportunity to heal was now over and as he took up sword again, the reminder that conflict was first and foremost his tole returned; the soothing moment turned to the hunt. This time without the interference of the bats, which their small band slunk by without rousing much to their fortune and the journey continued.

Yet one thing penetrated the darkness far more effectively than those whose eyes could see through the blackness and that was a pungent odor. It surprised the well armored hunter little, these creatures were reasonably as filthy and as stained in such a way as their souls, so to find what appeared to be where they might have deposited their refuse was almost expected. Still the man's nose wrinkled and he grimmaced with disapproval, staring down the lonely, pitted spear until the priestess slowed. Lost somewhere in her thoughts, she clearly had something in mind...

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Zverda@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

With the party moving forward once again Parum stayed to the rear and kept her senses open for anything g that might sneak up on them. However the looming threat of the dragon cult simply reminded Parum that no where was safe here. When they reached a crossroad the halfling looked around as everyone did the same. Kyra seemed to notice something, and trusting her instincts Parum spoke quietly. ”Kyra, find something?”

The decision was once again made, in deep silence where one could barely notice how lost the one human among them was here in the complete darkness. With luck and thankfully still good hearing nobody was lost, and the decision for them to advance towards the left was finalised. The darkness even seemed to be giving in a little as they approached, the next room having some sort of rudimentary light to it, one that had been difficult to see on its dim nature. Despite great care in their approach, the cult seemed to have sneaked one trap past the attentive eye: The floor crumbled under Kyra, sending her foot straight into a sharpened spike within a two feet deep 'moat' filled with such tools of providing hurt. A woozy feeling would soon overcome her, but she still had the chance to shrug it off if she was fast.

Going forward, the room extended both to the right and the left, though the lights were only on the left side. And in this light, the presence of five kobolds was revealed. Four of the ordinary sort gathered around a set of mock weapons and straw dummies built to resemble people, while one winged specimen was working on something a little further away, its back turned towards its debatable brethren. To the right, another steep fall into darkness, from this angle the bottom hidden from the adventurers. To their great fortune, they had not been spotted yet as the kobolds did not seem to be paying the greatest degree of attention. But were they to try and avoid triggering the trap anew, they would lose this benefit for sure. Though there were tracks all over it. It could be possible, with some risk, to pass over it without making a noise…

But look there, at the immediate vicinity to their approach where oil light only barely laid its illumination! A key hung towards the side, near what seemed to be a set of stairs heading down, built of wood and surrounded by bars of iron. Towards the left, collars, leashes, prods, long poles with lassoes on one end… whatever for?


@Zverda@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen@The Harbinger of Ferocity

Well that certainly was unfortunate for the Cleric now wasn’t it? To be the one to find such a weak spot in the ground and suffer through having a spike slip into one’s foot was unlucky indeed, but lucky for the rest as they now knew what lay in that oddly specific location. What was really satisfying though, was the inability to see past one's nose, not a very pleasing aspect and it most definitely wasn’t one that was going to be let go very easily. So, working past the smell that came from the pit that hinted towards death, Torus opted to work on four legs instead of two. Some may view it as a waste, but at least vision would no longer be an issue. Plus, at least he would be able to sneak far easier than he normally would, he had never had a real reason to that he could recall outside of his animal form, so he hadn’t bothered with practicing on two legs.

With those thoughts processed, Torus now found himself taking up just a little more space in their lined order, but he was closer to the ground than the rest. Pawpads far quieter on the floor than those who had boots, claws retracted until danger made itself known. Of course, this position did not allow much more past what was already known, but an additional pair of eyes peeled for danger wouldn’t hurt, and it wasn’t like there wasn’t enough hanging cloth to ensure one could be grabbed without injury if something was noticed.

The misstep taken by the priestess was, fortunately for them all, hushed enough by the distraction the dwarfed, scaled vermin seemed huddled about in their chamber of failing light. Brannor's hand reached out to steady the clearly and rightfully reeling young woman as she fought off her injury, with much credit to her resolve and skill so as to not fall into the rest of the trap and do serious harm. The errant man returned it to his side only when she seemed more stable, at least enough so that she was functional and if the moment turned even more sour, at least of the competency to defend herself until her compatriots, to include the moonborne paladin, could mount retribution. They all held after for the moments that came in wake, learning that the enemy stashed the key among... tools of stablemen and tamers?

What for could anyone ever need such a thing as tools to manage beasts in a cave? Although memory quickly surfaced from just a few nights before that they wrangled draconic hound-like things to serve them and just as easily as the question came, it was dispelled from the huntsman's thoughts. From there he shot the woman one last sidelong glance before minding the gap; it was clear sneaking over it by skirting its points would be much too risky for its own good and the enemy was near, ill prepared at that, playing with the training tools they had crudely cobbled together. It was then the man lifted the sword, fitting both hands to its grip and motioned with his head in the leftmost direction; he did not trust the darkness to the right but his senses, at least for now, said nothing but another pit awaited.

He would leap the small space between to avoid the trap and charge the enemy whenever they were ready to do so. Between the half-blood madman who attempted to mount a dragon and fight it midair and the sylvan sailor who had become all too uncomfortably familiar with his recent choice of deed, the enemy would likely be quickly overwhelmed. The two women could easily, from there, at least in thought, fight with minimal trouble with the trap acting as some amount of insurance between them and the enemy, barring the flighted one. All that remained now was their signal or something unrelated to intervene...

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Zverda@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

The leap of the heroes drew the attention of the previously distracted, the kobolds turning towards the source of the sound with snappy movement not unlike what had been seen before. Two of them ducked down immediately and let out nonverbal barks to serve as a warning, while the other two pulled out their slings and prepared them for attack. Each adventurer landed on their feet on the opposing side of the trapped width, with the exception of both that had chosen to brave the obstacle with unfortunate consequences. Alas, they would suffer of the poison, if only for the first few moments of this fight.

The winged one of the small lizards seemed less alert than the more eager troupe, though calling the four eager to fight would have been an overstatement. Ready as they were, now that they knew of the approaching threat, they seemed to be in no rush to meet their adversaries head on. And while the winged one was still turning, one wing covering the full view of the battle yet, the other four launched their volley. The two in the back row aimed their slings at Brannor and Orchid, this assault followed by the ducking ones bouncing up to grab their own pebbles and fire again, now at the hooded man and the smaller bard. The first two had better luck, whereas the latter must have not accounted for the upward momentum with their pebbles flying wide. The attack handled, the lot scattered now, ensuring ten foot gaps between one another, the one furthest forward lurking near another passageway deeper into these tunnels.

Kyra cursed as her foot slipped onto a spike. She had gotten careless, so focused on the shadows she didn't even look at her feet. Though the damage was fairly minimal it still stung and made her head dizzy. "Of course it's poisoned." Kyra gritted her teeth and tried not to let it bother her when she saw a figure looming over her. Thinking that it was a cultist she struck out with her dagger aiming for the neck. But when she got close she saw that it was actually Brannor; the poison had made Kyra not recongize him. At the last second she tried to pull her blade back before it could hurt him, hopefully deflecting off his armor. "S-Sorry!" Kyra shakes off the dizziness in her head. The kobolds were now aware of them so Kyra needed to get ready to fight. She heads further within and tries to find some cover and draw an arrow.

The attack on the huntsman as he shifted into place on the other side of the trap threw him for a moment from his routine, as it came from behind. Instinctively, with barely contained restraint, he wheeled around and was set to strike back, only for the young priestess to be full of shock and apology, the poison making her woozy and clouded in thought. The reactionary measure and barely stayed swing of the sword's bite delayed him further, only to be struck by a stone cast by the kobolds. It really them more than anything that redirected the menacing ire but by now they were already prepared for a fight. Owing to this, the incoherent attack and lack of true surprise made the weapon far easier to avoid as the man closed the distance, putting himself among the scaly fiends.

What was not easier for them was that their slings were not nearly as useful in close combat and that they would need make a choice between them and their other weapons scattered about. Or better yet, if they fled. Brannor had no qualms about felling the leading edge of the two-handed blade down atop them if they so much as turned for a break and escape. They were not worth the consideration, not after all they had done in service to this dragon-queen and with the added misfortune that mercy was not the strongest of suits to test with the wilder.


@Hekazu@Ryonara@Zverda@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

Parum moved in closer and took cover behind whatever was big enough to provide cover, making sure those kobolds don't get a clear shot at her. With this many kobolds together, Parum would be a fool to not take this chance to maximize her chance to catch them all with a spell. Playing a shrill note off her viol Parum cast Faerie Fire onto as many kobolds as possible, then looked to Orchid who was about to charge. "Make every hit count, Orchid!" Taking cover Parum listened to the chaos so she'd know when it'd be safe to move up again.

The flash of coloured fire called the small and agile critters to evasive manoeuvres. The bard's magic rolled forward, catching the first of the kobolds by surprise, but the remaining two she had barely managed to fit within the area of the spell would be less perturbed by this sudden magical intrusion as it failed to catch on. In the end, only one target stood illuminated among those targeted. Not the most desirable conclusion for the adventurers, but the inhabitants of the cave were all too overjoyed.

Their winged brethren joined the fray finally with its wings spreading and beating, taking it to the air with it picking out a stone from the cave floor and taking off to the air, each further beat of its wings providing its movement an erratic quality that almost made its flight seem drunken. But each wobble was an intentional attempt to throw off any offensive move towards it as it prepared an attack of its own.