The group allowed him to stop by the baker's home. A brief conversation led to Saur's apology and an exchange of goods in order to show their amends. Once this was finished, he turned to the group and bowed a bit, thanking them for allowing him the time, and pushed onward back to the Magaambya. As the group made their way through, he turned the soiled bread over in his claws. It was dirty to be sure, but did that mean it was inedible? He considered it for a moment. He'd eaten worse than a little bit of dirt back home, surely. Perhaps if he washed it off and toasted it across an open flame....

Saur's attention was brought back to his surroundings once more as the group arrived at the Heron Archives. Saur walked near the front of the group, allowing his eyes to wander the area...only to find himself stopping short a few steps after rounding a corner. The door that led to Teacher Ot's office was down the hall. He could see it. But that was strange in and of itself. He could clearly see the door sticking out from the wall.

The door was ajar.

It was a strange sight; surely the door should either be completely closed or held wide open, right? That's the kind of thing he would expect, at least. Something was off....

Saur picked up the pace, rushing up toward the door. As the group drew closer, he began to hear a strange sound...and finally noticed water seeping out from below the door. But worse yet, drawing ever nearer, his gaze picked up on a crimson hue that matched his own scales. Blood.

There was no longer any time to waste. Instinctively, he reached for the shortbow that was strung around his body. But no. They were going into an office, which was no doubt going to be very cramped in a moment with all five of them going in together. So his claw instead reached across his body, gripping at the hilt one of the two sheathed blades at his waist.

"On me," Saur ordered quickly and succinctly, doubting that he had to explain the urgency in his tone. Without hesitation, he stepped into the room, everybody filing in behind him...and took in the scene before him.

Saur's power of perception went into overtime, scanning the room for every little detail he could to try to piece together what he needed to know as soon as possible. A flooded office, all of the signs of a struggle...and four decently sized bugs, snapping at them, clearly rearing back to strike! Saur instinctively moved to step forward and put himself between the threats and his companions; it was a role he was often tasked with in his clutch in a tight spot, and he was ready to draw some ire if necessary.

However, he paused for a moment as he realized something. He studied the bugs and realized...he knew what these were. He'd seen these before. In fact, he recognized that these creatures made excellent portable lights for those who couldn't see in the caverns of the Maw. And he smiled. He knew exactly how to handle these.

"Halt, don't hurt them," Saur said, raising his arm to the party as they all filtered in behind him. "I think they're Teacher Ot's. They're not monsters, they're just scared pets or the like. That violet stuff on the desk will be enough to settle their nerves. I'll try to draw their attention. The rest of you follow my lead if this works and cover me if it doesn't." Saur barked at the others like he were commanding a military unit. He didn't look back to see if they acknowledged his words or even cared about what he had to say. He could only hope they would follow him in this instance.

"Oh, and watch your eyes. When frightened, they're known to disorient and blind with a flash of light."

Of course, he had only saying what he had with so much certainty hoping it would be good enough. He had seen them before, but he had never utilized one himself. He could only hope he was remembering this correctly....

Well, there was only one way to find out. Saur moved toward the desk...and dropped down, sliding beneath the center of it and out on the opposite side...right in the middle of the four bugs! But rather than attack the creatures, he turned back toward the desk, hopping up to stand on Teacher Ot's seat and reached his claws out...and gathered some of the ichor for himself. He glanced over his shoulder toward the nearest beetle on the north end of the room. He gritted his teeth, knowing that turning his back on this one may lead to a problem in a moment. But he did it anyway.

Saur turned away from the northern beetles and hopped back down off of the seat, and around to its back. He then knelt down toward the southern beetles...and offered the ichor in his claws out toward the bug. With any luck, it would keep him pacified and he could focus on trying to protect himself from the other three....

Battle:

As Saur offered the ichor to the flash beetle, its shining light immediately grew duller as the insect's probing mandibles searched within Saur's claws for the substance. After devouring the offering, the beetle seemed to no longer register the presence of Saur or the others with any real interest, so focused was it on cleaning the sticky ichor from its mandibles and claws. The beetle skittered up the wall and stayed there, completely preoccupied with its work of getting every last morsel of ichor from its body.

The beetle just South of Saur filled the place of the now pacified beetle, its mandibles clacking as it did so. This beetle was a little larger than the others, maybe the size of an adult human's palm. As it moved closer to Saur, it's wings reared up and a brilliant flash erupted from its thorax.

Action 1: Stride to Saur.

Action 2: The Beetle produces a brilliant flash requiring Saur to make a Fort saving throw, the target DC is 17, or he will be Dazzled (but only to Beetle 4).

Then, the flash beetle moved in to take a snap at Saur's shoulder.

Action 3: Mandible attack. Attack roll was 23, and with Saur's AC at 18(-2, so 16) (he's also off-guard as he's being flanked from the North), this is a hit. Rolling damage, the attack lands for 4 points of piercing damage.

Next up Flash 3, but this beetle has been pacified!

Next up Flash 2, flanking Saur from the North.

The flash beetle to the North of Saur takes the opportunity to attack him from behind, seeing that he's preoccupied by the other beetles to the South.

Action 1: Mandible attack. Attack roll was 25, with Saur's AC at 16 (for off guard) this is only a regular hit (not quite crit). Damage roll was 4, inflicting that much piercing damage to Saur.

Action 2: Mandible attack MAP -4. Attack roll was an 8, missing Saur.

Action 3: Mandible attack MAP -8. Attack roll was a 10, missing Saur.

As the flash beetle to the North darted in, its mandibles found purchase on Saur's leg at the calf. The beetles jaws were exceedingly sharp, but Saur reflexively moved to counter. As it was swatted away, it darted in for two more attacks, however, Saur, having felt the sting from that direction, was not so easily caught by the beetle. It landed on the wall to get outside of his immediate reach, then crawled back onto the floor beside Teacher Ot's chair.

Storyteller's Aside

Initiative order:

Saur: 28

Flash4: 20

Flash2: 13

Jenk: 11

Fleur: 7

Starfinger: 7

Flash1: 7

Ele: 6



@rush99999 is up! Then @PatientBean!

As Saur held out the ichor toward the first beetle in his reach, his eyes glanced to the side and beyond him. He could see the other beetle approaching and gritted his teeth. Here it comes. Ugh, dammit, this first one wasn't going to finish in time for him to have a chance to raise his shield. It was far too late. By the time this one was leaving him and crawling back up the wall, the second was taking its place. He reached for his shield as quickly as he could, but before he could do that-

"GAH!" he exclaimed as the bright light flashed around the beetle! He tried to close his eyes and look away; he knew it was coming. But it was a fruitless endeavor. The blinding light pierced his every attempt, and his eyes were forced shut! He stopped reaching for his shield, instinctively reaching up to his eyes, as though rubbing them would somehow help him restore his vision faster.... He had known it was coming, but still hadn't been able to properly prepare for it. And now, he knew what was coming next. And as expected, blind to the creature as he was, he could not possibly defend against it.

A pair of mandibles came down on his body, snapping and piercing into his arm! The Kobold grunted in pain, but...it was fine. This was the reason he'd done this in the first place. He could feel his draconic scales blunting some of the pain. He was drawing the attention of the creatures so that his companions would be able to pacify the others before they could-

Saur's eyes suddenly widened as he suddenly felt a pain dig into the back of his neck. He let out another grunt of pain, completely blindsided by the second beetle's coordinated attack. His body trembled for a moment after taking the second, painful bite, feeling those mandibles dig into his scales. He grunted in frustration and spun around; he had been too preoccupied with the flash that he had forgotten to keep track of the one behind him. Gah, what an amateur mistake...! And there was no way that was going to be the only attack.

Saur's vision was still clouded by spots and he couldn't quite see his attacker very well. Luckily, he had experienced these attacks twice by now and was starting to pick up on the patterns of sounds. He couldn't see where the beetle was going to try to bite next....

The Kobold heard the familiar clicking that indicated the beetle's mandibles were poised to strike again, and he sprang into action. Using his small size to his advantage, he was able to pull himself around the side of the chair, using it like cover in order to avoid the second attack. Then, he grabbed the chair, pulling its legs in order to use it like an impromptu shield as the third wild attack came at him, and used the chair to shove the creature back a bit to give him more breathing space.

Saur was under attack from all sides, and he was doing everything he could to avoid getting mauled. This was what he was built for, but even still.... If this third beetle advanced on him too, there was no way he could guarantee his well-being. But there was no point in worrying about what-ifs. He had put himself in this situation knowing the danger, and now he needed to trust in his companions to help him out of it....

"I might have to get me one of those pitchforks! Thank you for all your help today."

"Thanks for thanks." Jenk said happily. "Though Jenk must say that while pitchfork part why Jenk caught fishies, real reason is because power of faith. Jenk have to go see Teacher Ot now. But next time you see Jenk, remind Jenk to tell you aaall about holy power of angry mob. Ok. Jenk have to go now. Byeee!"

After departing from Alandri's place, Jenk became distracted and just followed the group. Eventually, he was snapped back to reality by the sound Saur exclaiming something about giving something to a bunch of shiny bitey bugs. Unsure of what to do, Jenk decided to just do what Saur was doing. Staying out of reach of the bugs, Jenk moved to stand un front of the desk, picked up some of the stuff that Saur picked up, then moved back up to the northern most wall of the room to where the bug that looked the likeliest to move next was. There, Jenk finally closed the gap between him and the bugs to offer the insect the ichor.

Battle:

As Jenk offered the sticky ichor to Flash1, the beetle immediately ceased clacking its mandibles and began to feast away on the contents of Jenk's hands, covering its body in the stuff. After a few moments, the beetle closed its wings to cover its glowing thorax and scuttled away up the back wall of the office.

Storyteller's Aside

Initiative order:

Saur: 28

Flash4: 20

Flash2: 13

Jenk: 11

Fleur: 7

Starfinger: 7

Ele: 6



@PatientBean is up! Then @clanjos!

Fleur bit her tongue the entire rest of the trip to Teacher Ot's office. How dare she be questioned? She was not here to do menial tasks she was here to perfect her craft and she couldn't do that by fishing. Once it was possible she would split from this group. None of them would benefit her or improve her studies.

What transpired next shook Fleur, but she wouldn't let the others see her. The blood came first. The scene in Teacher Ot's office reminded her of something but she couldn't place it immediately. Fleur noted the broken skylight, the shattered glass with its contents missing. A burglary gone wrong? Or something more sinister?

That had to wait as they had some angry insects to handle.

Saur took the initiative, going forward to see what can be done. He took some hits but seemed okay. What was more interesting was that the insects weren't just random foes. Hopefully that meant this could be taken care of without further harm.

Jenk followed Saur's instructions and offered one of the bugs some of the purple ooze. And it worked! Fleur hated it but she strode forward, collecting some of the ichor herself before moving to one of the other bugs. "Here little one. We mean you no harm."

Battle:

Fleur covered her fingers in the sticky ichor; the kind of sap that stubbornly sticks to one's hands even after washing. Like pine sap, not that Fleur would know what that felt like. As she moved to the South side of the desk, she presented the ichor to the fourth Flash Beetle, which in turn immediately descended onto her hand violently. After a half second, the beetle pivoted its black eyes from the elf to the pungent ichor, and started covering its mandibles and feet in its delight. When it had taken its share, the Flash Beetle closed its wings over its thorax and joined the other two pacified beetles on the back wall, cleaning their mandibles and feet, demurely.

Storyteller's Aside

Initiative order:

Saur: 28

Flash2: 13

Jenk: 11

Fleur: 7

Starfinger: 7

Ele: 6



@clanjos is up! Then @Vertigo!

Starfinger let fly- a sling bullet going wide, but thankfully not so much so it'd put out a window or smash a lantern. However, the bomb he flung at the OTHER flashbug probably sailed a bit more true. A satisfied croak left his throat as he took another sling bullet, awaiting the movements of the critters.

"Urgh, I hate these things- the lantern part tastes like soured fish."

Sling Attack vs. Flashbug 2
Bomb Attack vs. Flashbug 2

Battle:

As Starfinger flung the bullet at Flash2, only the size of a child's palm, the bullet went wide and thud on the wall behind the beetle. Star was quick to follow up, however, and delved into his belongings for a Frost Vial, which he hurled at Flash2! (Flash2 has Lesser Cover thanks to Jenk standing in front of it!)
The bomb hit! @clanjos, please roll damage!

As a result of the tripkee's quick bomb, even when keenly placed at the feet of Flash2, the resulting crack of the vial let loose the volatile liquid which splashed both Jenk and Saur for 1 Frost damage! (Since Starfinger lacks the Bomber specialization to negate it. @clanjos, let me know if you want to retcon this, but 1 damage is no big deal.)

Actions!

• Let loose the sling bullet
• Interact to get the Frost Vial prepped
• Lob the Frost Vial

Storyteller's Aside

Initiative order:

Saur: 28

Flash2: 13

Jenk: 11

Fleur: 7

Starfinger: 7

Ele: 6



@Vertigo is up! Then @digizel!

We retconned the Frost Vial attack from Starfinger! Left in for posterity

Battle:

Elaeshor sashayed up to the desk and delicately procured some of the remaining ichor in an improvised paper cup. Cup in hand, held far away from the 'elf', Ele then passed the parcel on to Jenk, who, with a nod, accepted the paper and ichor in a split second.

Storyteller's Aside

Initiative order:

Saur: 28

Flash2: 13

Jenk: 11

Fleur: 7

Starfinger: 7

Ele: 6



@digizel is up! Then @rush99999!

Saur, still reeling from the mandibles that had dug into his back a moment ago, rested on his knees for but a moment, expecting his companions to cover for him. He expected Jenk and Starfinger, at least. He wasn't entirely confident that he could rely on the other two dipping their hands in this strange, viscous liquid. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Goblin move and smiled a bit. It seemed like Jenk was going along with his idea after all, drawing close to the Flashbug and offering it the ichor. And then, to a much more pleasant surprise, he saw one of the "snooty elves" as he had been considering them in his mind step up and hand deliver some ichor herself. His eyes widened momentarily in his surprise, and gave her a nod of approval.

That smile finally faltered when he heard a thud! on the wall behind him. He was quick to spin around to look at what had happened, just in time to see a sling pellet fall from the wall. But before he could register what had truly happened, a glass vial came flying in out of the corner of his eye...before coming down to crash at the ground in front of the beetle. The ensuing blast of icy cold gale struck him, causing him to fold his arms in front of him to protect his face as best he could. The harsh, cold wind penetrated his armor and seeped into his scales, causing the coldblooded soldier to shiver in place. The blast didn't hurt very much...but it still hurt, and now he was cold.

But the cold soon began to thaw just as quickly as it had come, and Saur's fangs gritted. The sight of Eleashor moving in helped relieve his anger for a moment; he wouldn't blame the elf for not directly touching the ichor, there was hardly any space left to get to the flashbug anyway. Yeah, he could have climbed onto the desk in order to reach down...this was at least a step forward, and he wasn't going to pick a fight over something so minor when it ultimately didn't matter. His companions, save one, had followed his lead just as he'd requested at the top, even despite any personal grievances they likely had. Only one of them had gone against his orders, but this was no time to concern himself with the fallout of that. If that bomb hadn't decimated the flashbug that was now in front of him, he knew what he needed to do.

Saur immediately rose back to his desk as the numbness from the cold quickly faded away. He reached out to the desk in order to scoop up the ichor, attempting to take a bit more generous of a portion as best he could through his cupped claws. He took a moment to give Elaeshor an expression of gratitude, and turned back to face the flashbug again. If this thing was still alive, he wouldn't hesitate. He would kneel down to it, attempting to pacify it. If this didn't work due to it being more riled up from the blast of cold, then that was fine. If it attempted to flee or attempted to fight back, that was also fine. He considered raising his shield just in case it reared back on him...but no.

Putting himself on guard like that was only going to risk agitating it further. IF he wanted to pacify this one after that, he was going to need to stay here and relax itself; try to show that he meant no harm and was going to keep it safe. His expression softened, a look he's not had with any of the group thus far. And suddenly, the group would hear Saur go into a new tongue. One which only Starfinger would be able to understand, though whether or not the others would recognize the language itself as the language of subterranean civilizations, Sakvroth--otherwise sometimes known as Undercommon--was another matter entirely. Heck, he had no reason to believe this beetle would even recognize it at all, but it was completely instinctual on the Kobold's part, speaking to a creature typically found in subterranean environments in order to establish some kind of connection or even tame one.... His tone was soft and gentle, very different from the angry, commanding tone he'd taken for the entire day up to this point.

"Shhh...it's alright, little one. I know it was cold and it hurt." the Kobold murmured lowly in Sakvroth. "Here, take this. Don't worry, it won't happen again. Just take this and join your friends, alright...?"

Saur was not wary of the creature in front of him. He had relaxed his entire body in order to calm and soothe the creature in front of him. If it reared up and attacked him again for this, he wouldn't exactly blame it. But he didn't want to put it down either, so he was willing to take that risk. Still, if this attempt failed, he wasn't sure if the group would have a choice in the matter.

Battle Concludes!

The freezing vial had done a number on the Flash Beetle. The initial gust had coated the beetle, freezing parts of its thorax which strained to brighten. Its wings stretched gingerly; its mandibles began rotating in their full motion. The freezing blast from Starfinger's attack were beginning to wear off when Saur approached.

Saur's posture and hushed tones brought the full attention of Flash Beetle to bear on him. As he spoke the words in his Undercommon tongue, the beetle began moving closer to him, slowly at first, as its legs began to shed the freezing temperature. Then, its mandibles began to click and clack with each step. Its wings began to beat and its thorax began to brighten.

When it reached Saur's hand, however, the beetle's movements seemed unsure. It could have been Saur's posture, the tone of his voice, or even the message in his words, but the beetle began to lower its wings to cover that bright thorax. After a moment of indecision, its eyes began to search for the smell of the ichor which gripped it when it took hold and propelled the Flash Beetle to fall into Saur's waiting hands and bathe itself in the sticky ichor.

After a few moments, the beetle seemed to look up at Saur, then scampered out of his reach to join the other beetles busy cleaning themselves of the ichor on the wall behind Teacher Ot's desk.

As the tension drains from the room, the party find themselves taking stock of their surroundings. Teacher Ot’s office is in total disarray. Chairs have been overturned; books, scrolls, and writing implements have been knocked off a cracked walnut desk; and tiny bits of paper float in the puddles along the floor. The glass skylight overhead has been shattered; its jagged fragments litter the damp floor, glittering in the afternoon sunlight. A large glass display case along the left wall has also been smashed open—its contents are now busily cleaning on the back wall.

Storyteller's Aside

What will the party do now?

Saur watched as the flash beetle approached him again, seeing the thorax beginning to glow, the wings and mandibles fluttering and clacking...but still he held firm, and luckily, it ultimately seemed to pay off. The beetle began to show signs of calming itself, looking confused in the moment...before taking what he offered and scurrying away as quickly as its legs could carry them.

He smiled as he watched the beetle scuttle away and rose back to his own two feet again. His heart was still racing; judging by the strength of those mandibles digging into his body not that long ago, if that beetle had decided to go on the attack, there was a chance that it would completely tear him apart. But, luckily, it seemed content. He wasn't sure what it was that eased it, but he supposed it didn't matter at this point. And now, with the beetles pacified, Saur felt his racing heart beginning to slow down, the adrenaline of getting attacked by these beetles began to wear off...

It was at that moment that he winced in pain and sank to one knee in the water. He reached his arm back and gripped at one of the two bite wounds that had dug into weak spots in his armor. Now that the action was wearing off, the pain only just now began to register.

"...It seems we've set them at ease. They shouldn't bother us again as long as we don't give them a reason. I appreciate you all listening to me," Saur finally murmured lowly in common, his gaze drifting over to the water and away from the others. "I understand you had no obligation to do so. You have my sincerest gratitude.... Apologies if I put any of you on the spot, I suppose I fell back into habit."

As he spoke, he rose back to his feet again. He'd had his few seconds of rest. He was tempted to pull his healing kit out and start treating his wounds, but there was no time for that. He considered the elixirs he had been handed by that stranger for winning their "race" but he didn't feel the need to use those quite yet. He wasn't in any immediate danger.

And he had a job that needed doing.