Fantasy Setting Summer Dawn

[Zazz]

Lohrithe listened intently to Iolas from where he stood by the fire. The man hadn't delved into his life as an Everreach soldier much before this. Come to think of it, neither had the Everreach assassin. They were not very vocal about themselves at all, aside from perhaps Iolas's jokes. He had grown to respect the man, and was fond of his bickering with Ora. Iolas had more than redeemed himself for whatever past offenses he might have made, in the dark elf's eyes. Iolas was a good man.

The drow helped Crispin dish out the meal, as he seemed to be busy with Ora. He made sure Pyrrhus and Crow both had plenty, as they would need it; he would quietly take less for himself. Then the three women by the fire, and Alistair, to whom he gave a gentle smile. Though, of course, it likely looked less so what with his dark eyes and sharp canines. It was a daily struggle.

At last he came around to Desrick and Iolas. "Dalninuk." Brother. It was a small gesture, but he hoped the elf would understand. Lohrithe finally took his own food and leaned against Desrick. "You should really take that off to dry, Des."

 

[Naberius]

Alistair

Alistair had since removed his cloak and hood and placed them near the fire to dry, while the mask and armor remained on his person.He stood not too far away from the others as one of their number began to speak. The one that had nearly drowned, he recalled. The story he told painted a vivid picture, and he honestly felt a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, the kinds of people he described were exactly the kinds of people he himself had spent years putting to the blade. The people that held no regard for mortal lives, that seemed to lack a moral compass and slaughtered innocents without a second thought. On the other hand, in the very short time he had spent with these strange people, Alistair found that none of them really seemed like that kind of person. Except maybe the one who kept glaring at him. She seemed as cold as he was, or at least good at acting like it. The acts of one with such blood on their hands, no matter how much good intent with which they are done, can never atone for the sins of the past. He knew that from personal experience. But the fact that they were trying meant a great deal on its own. He could respect that, in a way. Guilt had a strange way of eating through the hearts and spirits of anyone who gave it time. And the regret was obvious in his words and his gaze. There would be no atonement for any of them in their future, but they fought for right reasons and that was enough.

Alistair made his way around the group, finding a secluded spot to sit near the fire, while still keeping them within earshot. He needed to sit down for a little while. He realized he hadn't been off of his feet since they set out on their journey, save for sleeping. It was difficult keeping his guard up for so long without rest, with all the unknown variables and being in the company of individuals that he still wasn't entirely comfortable around. Though a part of him doubted he ever would truly be comfortable around people in general.


SilverFlight Zazz Flutterby LazyDaze Baconhands Lioness075

 

[SilverFlight]

Desrick's frown deepened with every word Iolas spoke about their foe.
"So, we can expect him to do something drastic...something like try and wake giant sleeping dragons in hopes that some ancient crystals and a spell will bind them?"
It wasn't a far-fetched idea, they had seen the dragons, they knew that the bell they had been searching for all over Dwerstand contained a crystal. That was supposed to wake a dragon, it stood to reason there was a dragon for each crystal, half of light, and half of dark. It made Desrick wonder what their true purpose was, but he would have to swell on that later.
"We should sleep while we can. Dragons or no, an army marches towards our home. We need to beat it there."
LazyDaze Zazz Naberius Flutterby Baconhands Lioness075 Goonfire

At the mention of his clothes, Desrick looked down at the damp fabric of his shirt. His smile held a hint of playfulness in it. "As you wish."
Soon the shirt was steaming nicely by the flames and Desrick sat with his bare back against fire-warmed stone, the bowl of food sat beside him, half-finished. Desrick was worried, it showed on his face clear as words on a page, but there was nothing they could do about it for now. For now, they needed rest.
Zazz

Crispin seemed taken aback by the question.
""Us"? Well, no, that's not what I...I mean, I do think about us maybe being an us...but what I wanted to say was..." Crispin trailed off for a moment, looking like he'd rather be swallowed by one of the dragons on the wall.
"All of us." He struggled to regain some degree of composure. "When you think about where we started...but..." His smile returned, unsure, sheepish, but still filled with gentle affection. "Well, take us, for example: If someone told you before you left Dwerstand that this is where you'd be, would you have believed them?"
He seemed to lose his gaze in the fire. "I'm...frightened...when I think of the threat facing my home, and I don't know what sort of future awaits after all this it over, the only thing I do know, is that I'd like you to be apart it."
He could feel sleep tug at his eyelids, and tested one of the blankets drying by the fire, finding it acceptably dry, if still slightly moist. He offered to put it around Ora's shoulders.
"Get some rest, we'll likely have quite a walk ahead of us afterwards."
Flutterby

*~*~*

Rest had put Pyrrhus in a much better state and he was already up and about when the first members of the party awoke, testing a few new chords on his lute, that by some miracle had survived the fall.
Destick busied himself with packing up their now dry things, while Crispin had an arm around his neck trying to wrestle him (unsuccessfully) into taking a bit of flat bread for breakfast.
"You need to eat just like the rest of us! More too if you want to keep that soft belly!"
Desrick seemed annoyed at first, and dumped his brother haphazardly on the stone floor, he was grinning by that point, and took the bread.
"You fuss like mother."
"And you're glad of it!"

Once things were packed Desrick waited for the party to be ready. They had a long walk ahead of them.

((Okay Zazz take it away with scary monster bug))

LazyDaze Zazz Naberius Flutterby Baconhands Lioness075 Goonfire

 

[Zazz]

Azaria slept in small patches, keeping an ear out for trouble. She spent most of the night shifting all of their belongings, making sure it all dried but did not burn. Once, she came to crouch by Iolas, and simply watched him sleep. His bangs had grown longer since they first embarked on their journey. Carefully, she moved a stray lock from his nose, then moved on.

Pyrrhus and Crow slept next to each other, and Lohrithe and Desrick made quite the odd couple, as well. The halfling smiled to herself, just slightly. She wondered what sort of love her parents had felt for each other, but that only brought on harsh memories. The assassin was hesitant, even, in her own life to trust another so wholly as her father had trusted her mother. She knew what Pyrrhus would say, that love was not weakness. But it did not make it any easier.

By the time the others began to stir, Azaria was back in her clothes, dry, with her long hair braided. Without her bow, she would have to rely on her knives. She only hoped Leandra would be able to put her arrows to good use.

________

In the tunnels, Lohrithe led the group once more, barefoot and shirtless. Azaria hung at the back again. A soft drip, drip, dripping sound could be heard echoing along the rock. The drow touched the walls every now and then, checking for heat and moisture. At one point, the group came across a cluster of a green, glowing sort of moss. "Well, we're at least going in the right direction... I think." After the loss of an accurate map, navigation was less than easy.

"Quiet!" Lohrithe stopped the whole group suddenly, having stepped into something... moist. He crouched. On the bottom of his foot was a pale, blueish goo. And something that might have been alive up until then. Very, very slowly, so as not to make noise, he slid his enormous blade from its sheath. "Listen," he whispered.

Sure enough, in the distance, the faint echo could be heard of multiple feet. But not just any feet. Feet that carried a faint clacking sound, like a.... chitter.

And a hiss.

Azaria whispered back. "I thought you said they didn't hiss."

Lohrithe's face was grim, his brow firm. "They don't."

"Then what in Summerbrynde's beard is that?"

The drow gripped his sword tightly in both hands. "That," he said, looking between Ora and Desrick, "is their queen."

 

[Flutterby]

Ora relaxed, her shoulders melting back down to their rightful place, when Crispin seemed stumped by her question. Not because she liked to cause him discomfort, but because the discomfort meant she could stop worrying about his intentions.
She let his statement hang for a moment, and watched him quietly. She could still see the moment that they first encountered him, shaking like a leaf, to defend his brother... how he had blushed, the first time they spoke. Ora frowned when she realized how tired and lost he looked right then, and how he didn't tremble anymore.
"I did hope to return to Dwerstand as a hero, but no, I didn't picture it like this."
As she accepted the blanket being pulled round her shoulders, she spoke again, as softly as she could to keep from being overheard. The timbre of her voice was warm and deep, like dark chocolate.
"I know you're afraid, and I am too. But you don't need to be afraid that I won't be apart of whatever future is beyond this. While there is breath in my body, we'll be together."
Pulling the blanket a little tighter, and resting her head on her pack, Ora found sleep was quick to come, even if it wasn't the most restful.
SilverFlight

*~*~*

Ora woke sometime in the middle of the others, and busied herself with gathering all of their belongings from where they had been hung to dry. Someone had shifted them about during the night, and Ora knew that someone was likely Azaria, trying to disguise her mothering during the rest-marks.
As they walked, she tried to stay near Lohr and offer what help she could, but without a map, all she could really offer was confirmation that a path at least looked structurally sound. She felt her attention slipping, and knew in the back of her mind that it must be what the dwarves called "tunnel trance." All the rocks were the same, all they were doing was walking, no one was even chatting...
Ora jumped out of her skin when Lohr stopped them.
And as she followed his lead, drawing the sword she still had. As the hiss reached her ears, her entire body went cold, like falling into the water all over again. Her childhood nightmares were about to make a real-life appearance.

 

[LazyDaze]

Iolas found that it was fairly easy to remain still during his nightmares. He had them so often, he just supposed they became as common place as drawing breath. After recent events, perhaps that would even require a bit of work. Nevertheless, Iolas was usually a peaceful sleeper no matter in spite of whatever horrors were unearthed from his subconscious. Dreams, the good ones, were always a different animal. He could only hope that he was still the peaceful blank slate he had trained so hard to become. These were always harder to mask on the outside, also harder to wake up from. It was a surreal feeling, knowing you were dreaming, yet being unable, or unwilling to wake up. That was the second reason he disliked dreams. They always drove a hard bargain, forgoing reality to remain in an comfortable slumber. He gazed past the vast rolling hills before him as he admired the horizon. The sky was caught between night and day while confused, yet blissful rose colored clouds studded that very sky like jewels to a tapestry. He saw Crispin and Ora off in the distance. He was most likely explaining a bad joke. Pyrrhus was playing his lyre while Lohr guided Desrick through the steps of an awkward dance. Crow was nearby, studying the local flowers for a mysterious medicine while Meera bombarded him with various questions. Leandra was chasing her flying counterpart, and Allistair was off in the distance reading a dusty book under a tree.

Then there was Azaria, dressed in an all white dress, bearing that smile that tugged at the broken strings of his heart while dragging an unfortunate animal destined for the pot up to the doorstep. It wasn't conventional, but for some reason it was perfect. (Dreams need no explanation right?) He closed his eyes as his lips threatened to form a genuine smile, inhaling the scene, then opened them...back to reality; he wasn't smiling after all.
____

Iolas trudged ahead in the middle of the pack as he did before. It would be easier to assist either side should they run into trouble here. There was a long silence, but not entirely awkward or unwelcome. This gave him time to be alone with his thoughts. He tried planning, he didn't try mulling over the past for the umpteenth time. He shook his head wondering when he had become such a worrywart. At this rate he would grow horns, shrink, and request to be called by the name of Ora. He chuckled at his internal joke, not caring at all if this made him sound crazy; however, this train of thought would have to wait...they were stopping, and that was almost never good. Iolas stood up straight, attentive, but held an unconcerned demeanor as Lohrithe explained the situation. His brows furrowed as he heard the strange noise, his hand hovering over the hilt of his blade while the other tensed around his hip. Iolas placed a hand on Ora's shoulder as he passed her up, his other hand now grasping his blade. His face was alert, yet he managed to refrain from tensing his features too much. He still stood behind Lohrithe, crossing his arm over the other in order to draw either blade at a moments notice. At the mention of the creature's identity, Iolas leaned a bit toward Lohrithe to whisper without actually turning to him.

"...For a Queen, she appears to be a bit low maintenance."

SilverFlight Flutterby Goonfire Naberius Lioness075 Baconhands

 

[Goonfire]

“He must be mad,” Crow idly speculated about Lassard. “His impossibly lofty ambitions are leading him on a quest to obtain powers that are clearly beyond his control, if our guesses are accurate. Had he a sliver of goodness, I might have pitied him.” He worked tirelessly to repair the damage to Pyrrhus’ leg, making idle conversation until many fell asleep. He would be the last to join them.

———

As figured, Crow was exhausted by the lengthy treatment. Even sleep didn’t bring him back to one-hundred percent. He didn't begrudge it, though; it was his chance to give back to the one who had helped him embrace and demonstrate the virtues of mercy and compassion. Gathering his dry gear, he gladly pressed forward with his friends.

The sudden halt caused Crow to bend down and trace a path between Lohr's foot and the source of the blue-green goo. "Ah... This appears to have been a bug of some sort," he recalled. "They are blue-blooded, for whatever reason... suppose they have something in common with Evereach nobles." His dry, snarky wordplay was cut off by the audible skittering. For it to have made any noticeable sound was a grand enough feat to make the inquisitor's heart sink; he hated insects, especially the giant ones...

SilverFlight Zazz LazyDaze Flutterby Baconhands Naberius Lioness075

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus hadn't been expecting Crow's jab at Evereach and snorted, covering his mouth with the back of one hand. His mirth quickly dissolved however as the queen made herself known.

When Lohr stopped and began to unsheathe his blade Desrick followed his lead. Crispin stifled a yelp and jumped back, bow strung in an instant, but the space was small, and the queen was massive. Fighting was going to be dangerous.
"Lohr," Crispin's voice was barely above a whisper, "I don't suppose there are any weaknesses you know of? I don't fancy our chances in a straight fight."
Desrick put himself in the front, between the creature and his friends, axe gripped tightly, but he didn't move.
Pyrrhus pulled his lute carefully from his back. "I...could try the song of serenity...do these creatures have ears? I can't see ears..."

Zazz Lioness075 LazyDaze Goonfire Baconhands Naberius Flutterby

 

[Naberius]

Alistair

Alistair, now having fully donned his dried cloak and outerwear, followed the others at his usual position towards the back of the group. He was lost in his own thoughts about the events thus far, and the strange room they had found themselves in. He was no stranger to mysteries or nearly dying, but this was very new indeed. He compartmentalized the information to sort through later. What mattered now was making it out of these tunnels and caves alive and finishing this Gods forsaken mission. As used to pessimism as he was, even he could not have foreseen just how bad things could get. Then, he heard the noises.

The group stopped, each of them hearing the beast in turn and he sighed loudly. Because of course there was a giant monster in the secret underground caves. Why wouldn't there be? The strange substance on the ground only added to the irritation he felt at the current situation.

This is absolutely exactly how I imagined my evening going. Nothing better than nearly drowning, only to jump head first into a life or death battle with a giant cave monster. It's like we just walked straight into one of those stories old men tell at taverns when they're in their cups.

He drew his longsword from under the large cloak he wore, and sighed again.

SilverFlight Zazz Flutterby Goonfire LazyDaze Lioness075 Baconhands

 

[Zazz]

Under any other circumstance, Lohr would have found their little jokes amusing. But at that moment, his brow was furrowed, his muscles tensed, and he wished they would all shut their mouths. He had never tangled with a queen, before, and quite frankly, he did not want to. He raised a hand to shush them all.

"They have ears, yes, but I doubt any music will calm her. Magic is almost useless against its armor," he whispered. The great beast rounded a corner up ahead, coming into view. The thing was at least thrice the size of Desrick, and a lot more terrifying. Strong, sharp mandibles extended from its face, and nothing beyond them was pleasant. The blood drained from Lohrithe's already pale face. There was only one physical weakness he could see, and he knew it wasn't the safest route.

To Crispin, he whispered, eyes on the beast, "Her face, but you do not want to be in front of it." He knew very well that it could, and would, spit venom at its foes.

As if to prove the existance of ears, the beast reared it head, clacked its mandibles, and seemed to look directly at them.

 

[Flutterby]

As she came into view, Ora hesitated. The beast was huge and armored. There was just no way she would be able to get close enough with her sword to do anything at all.
But all of her arrows had been lost in the river. Her bow was even more useless to her now.

Softly, she spoke up,as the queen turned and.. was she threatening them?
"We'll need to create open shots for those who still have arrows left. Work together to protect them and get her to face them."
It was clear that the idea wasn't her favorite one as she inched forward to be just behind Desrick, sword still in hand.
"She's got ears, so maybe we can distract her with noise. Not music, but maybe.. banging metal against the rocks, make her unsure of where to look."

Ora adjusted her grip, and made sure she felt as ready as possible for when the giantess came for them.

 

[SilverFlight]

Desrick froze as the creature turned to them. To test Ora's suggestion he picked up a nearby rock and threw it to the side, hoping to divert it's attention.
"Try and aim for the joints, the armour should be thinner there. If we can disable her, perhaps we can get away without slaying her out right."
"Ever the champion of the animals eh?" Crispin both admired his brother, and wanted to strangle him. Still, he shifted his aim to the creature's right foreleg, ready to let fly if she attacked them.


Zazz Lioness075 LazyDaze Goonfire Baconhands Naberius Flutterby

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nickname: Lea
Race: Tabaxi - Beastwoman	Home Country: Cyndara
Occupation: Huntress / Astronomer Apprentice	Equipment: Knapsack, Bow, Quiver of Arrows (20/20), Twin Daggers, Collapsible Spyglass, Soiled Sketchbook, Charcoal Pieces

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Rather baffled by Azaria's suddenly soft touch and kind nature, Leandra was caught off-guard by the sudden inquiry about her village. She felt excitement welling up inside her at the memories she had from her village. All the laughter and elation she felt playing with other kids and exploring the stars overhead with the telescope her master had gifted her. She had never felt prouder than when she had become his apprentice.
Perking up at this, Leandra began animatedly telling Azaria about her village and the simple life she had enjoyed there.

"Well, so, I'm actually an apprentice in my village and have been studying the stars and astronomy abvoe my village. It's truly fascinating and we've even named some constellations. Like, one is a little bear and then there's a bigger version of it - big bear! I see them as brothers. And there's even one that's a cat! I always kinda felt like it was a constellation for me, but now I guess I have to share it with Falarion. Did I ever tell you how I met Falarion? I actually ran into him in the tunnels leading to this big underground city and I only wandered into these tunnels because I was following a shooting star. One had actually fallen from the sky! Crazy, right?"

It was only then that Leandra finally paused to take a breath and her ears twitched when she realized she had ranted yet again. She scrunched up her nose and tried to hold in another rant in a vain attempt to allow Azaria a chance to respond.

Zazz

~~~~~

When she awoke at the sound of the others preparing for the next leg of their journey, Leandra rolled over with a groan only to come face to snout with Falarion. He meowed at her and when Leandra closed her eyes, he booped her on the nose. Leandra opened her eyes to glare at the winged feline, but he was already up and prancing around the embers of the fire, trying to enjoy the remaining warmth.

Leandra slowly sat up and stretched with a low yawn before she collected her things and sadly put the sketchbook back into the bag. She had managed to dry it overnight, but the pages were all curling and many of the sketches were smeared to the point of being unrecognizable. She decided to simply pretend to not see the damage for now.

Knowing now that traveling with this group was dangerous, Leandra kept her bow ready in one hand and one of Azaria's beautifully crafted arrows in her other hand.
While waiting for the others to catch up, Leandra held one of the arrows up and squinted in the faint lighting to see the arrow's design. She had to admit that these were most certainly an upgrade compared to the ones she had been whittling for herself. Leandra made a mental note to inquire about where Azaria had gotten these arrows at some point.

Leandra could feel the tension in the air even before Lohrithe announced the Queen's presence. She nocked an arrow and growled low at Falarion, who promptly leapt back a few paces to hide back and away from the group. Leandra had a feeling this was no foe that Falarion should tangle with.

When the Queen stepped out into the light, Leandra's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. Leandra had certainly never fought something like this, but her hunter's instinct kicked in, as she tried to sight an obvious weakness for her to take advantage of since she would be behind the melee fighters. She could tell the face was the least protected spot, but she wanted a more specific weak spot than just the face.

Biting her lip, Leandra nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring taut, as she took aim at one of the monster's eyes. At the very least, if she missed then she could possibly strike somewhere else on its face and still cause some damage.

Zazz SilverFlight Flutterby Baconhands LazyDaze Goonfire Naberius

 

[Zazz]

Azaria took note of who in the group had what weapons left. Ora had her bow, but no arrows. Quietly, she slipped a few arrows she had given to Leandra from the cat's quiver and held them out to the dwarf. They were sleek, black, and indeed well crafted. Desrick seemed a little too confident, but perhaps that was a good thing; Lohrithe looked like he wanted to turn right around and just go back to fight off Everreach's forces instead. The light elves definitely had no idea what they were walking into. Neither did they.

The assassin pulled two throwing knives from their sheathes. Even if she got close enough to strike, she couldn't see enough of the creature to know where to aim for. Even Lohrithe didn't seem to know its full anatomy. They couldn't see the beast's underbelly. Perhaps if they managed to topple it?

The queen rearranged herself at the clacking of Ora's thrown stone, and moved fast to attack. There, thought Azaria. There was her weakness. "Turning takes time," she whispered. Too many legs, too much weight. "Use her weight against her."

Lohrithe frowned, his grip tightening on his sword, and nodded. "Crow, this would be a good time to announce that you have an enormous shield," he said quietly as venom was thrown from the creature's maw, the thrown stone now covered in what looked like sticky, bluish acid. The giant's mandibles clattered in a warning.

 

[Naberius]

Alistair

Alistair studied the beast, while the others were doing their own preparations. This was certainly not an ideal situation. The massive creature took up a great deal of the space in the tunnel, and blocked their advance rather handily. He readied himself, drawing on the darkness that permeated the tunnel system, waiting for the others to make their move. His skills would serve best as support for the current moment, holding limbs and joints in place so the others would have a better chance at striking them. He was trying to get used to this 'being part of a team' thing, and he found it very uncomfortable to have to rely on others, when honestly he would normally just escape from this sort of situation. But he couldn't leave these people behind to save his own skin like that, and the realization that he wouldn't do so was infuriating. He didn't even know these people.

I swear to the gods, if they get me killed in a dank, dark tunnel by a giant bug monster, I will drag them to hell with me.


Zazz SilverFlight Flutterby LazyDaze Lioness075 Baconhands Goonfire

 

[LazyDaze]

Iolas listened carefully to the analysis of the others. A monster like this was outside of his expertise, moreover, close ranged fighting would be a hassle. Moreover, although he could see the general entity of the queen, his eyes had trouble adjusting within the dark. At best, Iolas would have to serve as a distraction, and last resort fighter in case anyone else got into trouble. Iolas took off to another area, drawing his dual blades before striking them against each other multiple times in hopes that it would be enough to split the focus of the beast in the very least. He would continue darting around, looking for a chance to aim at one of the joints since he would also approve of leaving the beast alive.

"A tunnel is a hellish place for a dispute."

 

[Flutterby]

Ora glanced at Azaria, and was pleased to find her offering a few of her arrows, that were now Leadra's arrows. The weight of them in her hand was comforting- even in the darkness she could tell they were too well-made to fail her. She just needed to keep her aim true. The half-dwarf sheathed her sword, put the extra arrows in her quiver, and put one in place to be ready to fight.

Desrick threw a stone, and the queen lumbered to attack it. He wanted to disable her without killing her. Sounded nice, but Ora doubted the feasibility and wisdom of that when she spate blue venom at the harmless stone. The queen was large and slow, and they could use that against her. Still doesn't fix the deadly venom part.

"She's not going to attack first." Ora whispered, bringing her bow up. "We can't stand here in a stalemate. I'm going to fire,"
Ora moved her aim slowly to rest on the middle joint of the right-side leg closest to the queen's face. If damaged, it might be survivable but would certainly help make her slow enough to run from.
"In three.. two.."
Ora drew in air threw her nose, and prayed to the Mounts that her aim was steady.
"One."
A soft thunk betrayed the loosing of the arrow, flying through the darkness to start the conflict in earnest.

 

[Zazz]

Azaria watched in horror as Iolas slipped away from the group to be a distraction. She swore in her mind, unable to get to him with the rest of the group in the way. The creature, of course, turned to follow after him, but screeched as Ora's arrow struck true. It was an awful sound, and the halfling elf felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise in protest. Lohrithe pushed everyone into the cave walls just as another spray of acid venom barely missed them. The snap of Ora's arrow echoed across the tunnel as the shaft broke, but the arrowhead stayed in the joint, angering the beast.

The assassin took the opportunity to fling both knives at once into its screaming maw. One missed, hit the armored head, and clattered uselessly to the ground. A chilling, gurgled hiss emanated from the creature and it reared, only to land on its injured leg. Lohrithe felt the ground shake when the queen stumbled, though she scrambled to get her footing right away and went for Iolas.

"So much for the face being a weak spot."

 

[SilverFlight]

"You what?!" Squeaked Crispin, as she began to count down.
"Not attacking is a very good thing! Ora, I--" but "one" came and she let fly. Crispin pressed his lips, ready to move as the arrow made contact.
Crispin dove to the other side as Lohrithe pushed others out of range. Desrick let himself be forced back, putting a protective arm around the drow as the acid shot past them harmlessly. He wasted no time, hefting the axe and aiming to strike a leg on the opposite side Iolas had. If they could unbalance the creature perhaps they could make a small path for the others to get around her.

Crispin loosed his arrow, aiming for one of the insect's solid eyes.
Pyrrhus narrowly dodged the acid. A few specs splashed onto his hooves and the fur about them, he calmly dodged to the side and unfastened the water skin from the pack across his back, pouring the contents to weaken the sting.
He swallowed, not having had to use his blades in the longest time, he drew them now, two long knives, curved, used for dancing mostly, but they were centaur blades, they could cut just as well as they looked. Pyrrhus galloped into the battle zone, rearing up he slammed all his weight forward, seeing Desrick go for another leg, he tried to use hid weight to push the creature off balance.

Zazz Flutterby LazyDaze Goonfire Lioness075 Naberius Baconhands

 

[Goonfire]

Crow had refrained from swinging the weighty Lucerne hammer until all bets were off and streams of corrosive acid were flying through the tunnel. Without a word, he ducked to the side and rushed the spider queen’s flank, bringing a strike aimed for the next intact leg. The weight of the weapon helped, as he was neither strong nor in peak condition. If they could cripple it, the monster would eventually regenerate its lost limbs—that is, if the anatomical and physiological findings at Saint Solveig held up on a larger scale. Now, his goal was to immobilize the creature by damaging all legs on one side. Heavy impact could potentially cause damage through heavy armor or a thick carapace, so this was a start.

Glancing back briefly, he made sure the others were okay. ‘It would be tragic if anyone survived the fall, only to fail here,’ he thought while back stepping to preemptively avoid any swipes from those vicious legs.

SilverFlight Zazz Flutterby LazyDaze Naberius Lioness075 Baconhands

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nickname: Lea
Race: Tabaxi - Beastwoman	Home Country: Cyndara
Occupation: Huntress / Astronomer Apprentice	Equipment: Knapsack, Bow, Quiver of Arrows (19/20), Twin Daggers, Collapsible Spyglass, Soiled Sketchbook, Charcoal Pieces

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

In the blink of an eye, chaos unfolded in the tunnel. An arrow flew true to its mark and the Queen was wounded. Several others charged forward, dealing deft and punishing blows to the Queen. It all happened so fast that Leandra took an uncertain step back, her heart pounding with adrenaline. She took note that the Queen's face was not as vulnerable as they had hoped and lowered her arrow and bow.

Leandra was not used to fighting anything like this. She had already slowed down the group in the previous fight. She felt fear creeping up, as she wondered if she should just stay out of the way this time.

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Leandra saw a chance to fire another arrow at the Queen and steeled herself to make the shot. Taking aim at one of the legs that the others attacked, she tried to slow her breathing just before she let the arrow fly. It whistled through the air, Leandra pausing to admire the make of Azaria's arrow, as it neared the Queen's injured leg.

It was in this moment that Leandra appreciated being farther back from the fight.

SilverFlight Zazz Baconhands Flutterby LazyDaze Naberius

 

[Zazz]

The bug beast was not at all happy. Desrick and Pyrrhus distracted her from the high elf, the centaur's hooves echoing about the chamber. The creature's right foreleg buckled under the weight of the orc's axe, and another bent the wrong way with a painful snap under Crow's hammer. With the strength of the centaur's blow, the queen's plated chest shattered. Lohrithe stopped to gape for just a moment; his people used these dark plates as armor.

The drow could see the knife in its mouth as the beast hissed. Bluish red goo oozed from the cracks in its chest; Pyrrhus's hooves had crushed its outer armor right into its flesh.

But, unfortunately, Ora's fears were true; the tunnel around them began to quake as the beast screamed. Loose rocks rattled along the ground ominously. "We need to get out of here," Lohrithe hissed, to which Azaria nodded. The halfling elf grabbed Leandra (and Meera?) By the arm and hurriedly snuck her/them past the fight to a side tunnel. A crack opened up by the drow. "Cyndabrynde, help us," he muttered, before charging forth at the monster, thick blade aimed for her chest.

 

[Flutterby]

Ora grimaced as Crispin shouted at her, but her fingers had already loosened too far to stop it. If anything, she had kept Iolas safe for half a moment. The screech rang inside her head, echoing back to dark nights in a castle with no parent to run to. The queen sprayed the cave, narrowly missing the group, and then went for Iolas again.

Pyhrrus, Desrick, Crow.. eventually everyone was pulled into the conflict she started. They looked like they might even be able to win, to get past the queen without taking damage themselves. And then she felt the earth quiver. The tunnel they were standing in wasn't stable enough to withstand the queen's struggle. They were going to be buried with her if they didn't do something.

Lohr went for the creature again. Ora nocked another arrow, and aimed for another leg.
"Just run, she can't catch us before it collapses!" She shouted over the building sounds in the cavern.
She let the arrow fly as she felt the rock lurch under her feet. And then she took the few steps to grab Crispin's arm, and gave it a desperate tug forward, toward the narrow gap between the queen and the stable area ahead.
Zazz SilverFlight

 

[Naberius]

Alistair

The situation was deteriorating quickly. On one hand, they could probably do enough damage to drive her back, if not disable or kill her. But, their time was running out. With the thrashing and reverberation, the ceiling itself was threatening to come down. He had been about to use his magics to help restrain the limbs of the massive creature, but instead he pulled back. He lowered his free hand, and raised it again slowly, causing huge tendrils of shadow to grow from all around. He used them as best he could to try and hold the ceiling from collapsing down onto their heads. He had to drop his sword and use both hands, or risk losing the struggle with the tons of solid rock above. A few of the others were heading towards an undamaged area, and the relative safety it offered. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have that choice. They would either have to move quickly and allow him his own chance to escape before the ceiling caved in, or...he wouldn't have enough time at all.

If you get me killed, I swear to whatever gods you pray to that I will haunt you for the rest of your lives, and when you die I will kick your asses!


Zazz Lioness075 SilverFlight Baconhands Goonfire LazyDaze Flutterby

 

[LazyDaze]

He had hoped to draw the beasts attention, but perhaps he did too well of a job for he was now it's target. Iolas continued to dart to and fro, as best as he could in this dank dark tunnel; however, it was extremely hard to shake a pursuer in a linear construct. Moreover, it had the advantage of sight. Had it not been for Iolas's natural fighting sense he would probably have tripped up and...well let's not think about that. Even after Ora and Azaria had injured the beast, it continued it's hellish pursuit; however, the attack helped his fighting chances as he managed to gain more space between him and the beast. "It would seem one of us has developed a one sided crush," Iolas jested as he turned to finally face the beast, his swords drawn. Nevertheless, his comrades eventually came through, as the rest of the party joined in the fight redirecting it's attention elsewhere. A sigh escaped from his lips as the tension of his shoulders faded for only a moment before he switched from the pursued to the pursuer. He prepared to deliver a strike to one of its legs only for his attack to be halted by a falling rock he managed to sense at the last minute. He leapt to his left before looking around him. The tunnel was collapsing and the others seemed to have picked up on this as well. Ora's words were the catalyst for his slow back pedaling feet as he saw everyone make a run for it. However, Alistair who was currently holding the ceiling from an even quicker collapse. Iolas dashed toward the tunnel, weaving through the battle. Having to dart through the Queen, he delivered a few strikes to her legs while dancing his way towards the tunnel the others at escaped to. He certainly didn't want to be haunted for the rest of his life and perhaps enough time would have been bought for the others. That would just make sleeping a very awkward experience.

"...And of course the tunnel begins to collapse. I think our luck might be turning for the better," Iolas said with a bit of humor in his voice despite the seriousness of the situation. However, he still had an eye on the previous tunnel. Everyone wasn't out of the woods just yet. If he had to, he would go back in although he knew their wasn't much he could do in such a situation, but hope for the best.

Zazz Flutterby Naberius SilverFlight @Spellsword_Kirov Lioness075