SESSION 347: Murder Juice Injection
Just another day dodging death in the underworld.
Day 866 Continued (Under and Somewhat Adjacent to Dry Gulch): Arriving at the observation ledge all was quiet and dark. There was a simple base supply station and four well installed hooks positioned appropriately behind the ledge. Suzie informed the gang that they overlooked a kidney-shaped cavern. To the SE side were two passages and the SW sphere was believed to be a closed system. It was decided they would go SW.
The cavern was on the warm side and somewhat moist. The ground was broken earth which either housed small puddles or the formative mushrooms of a future fungoid forest. The back side of the region housed a large pond that ended up likely being a giant mutant frog sex club. The arrival of our hobos awoke the rapacious amphibians. They are nasty and all but they is just two-foot frogs. With the challenge addressed Dolec searched the pond for loot as others chopped up frog bits for Suzie and her friends to experiment with.
The frogs, it seems, had eaten an adventurer before. Dolec pulled out the remains largely just the central core which had been protected by some quality armor. After inspecting and looting the remains the gang were pretty happy they got some good and useful stuff.
They travelled to the other side of the cavern and chose the more southern exit passage. The tunnel went for about a mile before opening into another cavern. Mushroom count was rising. There was a large nook/alcove in the chamber, it was packed with much larger mushrooms averaging more than four feet and moderately packed. It was a cultivated mushroom lure-you-to-your-doom trap. The mushrooms had caretakers a pack of voracious giant (4’) tiger beetles. They had big nasty mandibles and knew how to use them.
The beetles could also navigate the assemblage without obstacle allowing them to very quickly be all over the hobos – Biff in particular, I guess them bugs like their meat green. They got through the battle before any calamity and ended up with both long lost jewelry and a bunch of larvae that could be valuable or maybe trained.
As underworld luck would have it the battle and subsequent looting and junk attracted other life from beyond in the darkness in the larger cavern.
This being when things start getting mucked up.
The noise and light attracted a bunch of giant toads. They were both giant and brightly coloured, not a good sign. One got a bite in on Gord and he began to froth profusely from the mouth s his eyes bugged out. He was poisoned and dying a painful death. The big kids moved to quickly eviscerate the latest crop of malevolent amphibians as Katre distributed an antivenom tonic to the spasming ranger. The toads were quickly chopped up but then somebody decided that possibly harvesting the poison glands would be cool.
Once more the passage of time in the underworld is a calculated risk.
Dolec was on guard and he caught site of ants, real big ones just outside his light radius for good detail. He thought that throwing some food towards the insect(s) would be recognized as good will. Well, for lots of things that would be true but things played out differently. You see, the ants were just generally scavenging the local and had not picked up ‘smelled’ the pheromones of murder but when Dolec threw down the food it brought an ant’s curious and constantly working antennae into murder pheromone range and that set off the army’s dinner sensors.
Dolec saw his error quickly and fortunately during the processing window for the ants nervous systems to kick in. He threw down a bunch more grub before yelling to the gang to run, “Retreat! Back to the tower today is turning on us”. The ants did not follow.
Now things got messier. About three quarters of the way back to the kidney cavern our troupe were ambushed by a team of crab spiders. Dropping from the ceiling the arachnids quickly knocked out the support staff. Biff, Suzie, Kat and once more Gord were on the ground gasping for breath as the venom caused their throats to swell shut. However, once Versamage and the tank boys got down to work the spiders were not long for the world.
Now there was a problem. Four down and only two apparent remedies.
Biff and Suzie were given antivenom while Kat was given gaseous form after being put inside a well-sealed sack, BoB was then given a potion of strength so that she could evac the ranger from the underworld with her super speed. BoB’s mission was a wildcard as Gord could die at any moment. Things worked out. Katre did not die while in gaseous form, nor did she float away and BoB was able to get Gord to Carla for poison neutralization. Kat received the same when the potion eventually wore off.
Nobody like dying and near mortal events are kinda seen in the same light. Today, heck the last few hours, Gord almost died twice. He appreciated the pay and the company but he did not like the taste of his own mortality he announced his moral failure, “Thanks for everything but I got some thinking to do, maybe learn how to play guitar..”.
Team UG (you figure it out): Dolec, Chung-Li, Biff, BoB, Katre, Charles, Lady Versamage, Gord and Suzie Hotpants
ROLECALL (Bosses in Training)
Dolec Da the Hero (F7) 91867 xp +10% <120000> CRT 1d20/IV
Missing five teeth
Chung-Li the Elven Champion Sorcerer (E7) 147232 xp <250000> +10% CRT 1d8/II
The Henchmen
Biff Bartley the Half-Orc Blackguard (HO8) 132778 <MAX> +5% CRT 1d14/II
‘BOB’ the Unseen (N8) 94659 <180000> +5% CRT 1d20/II
Charles in Charge the Champion (F7) 97953 <120000> +10% CRT 1d20/IV
Franz the Grave Return (Lawful; XXXX) Sword
Critical Wound: Punctured lung (-2 CON)
Mostly DEAD. (-1 CON)
Katre Elf-Girl and Swordsman Conjuror (E4) 21011 xp <32000> +0% CRT 1d8/II
Lady Versamage Knight Errant (K6) 68215 xp <85000> +5% CRT 1d20/IV
Gord the Scout (R3) 9139 xp <10000> +10% CRT 1d14/III
Suzie Hotpants the Theurgist (MU4) 14215 xp <20000> 10% CRT 1d8/I
RESERVES (Death Recovery)
Ramrod the Cloned Thief - Recovering from death (yet again) 846 start (876)
Bimbles of the now creepy electrical eyes– Freshly not dead (881).
Raul of more facial scars (-2 CHA) – no longer mostly dead (866) Back in Action!
Herbert the Gnome - no longer dead (867)
Elapsed Campaign Time
870 – Everyone Else for reasons.
866 – Carla-Team (at Dry Gulch)
Domain Days
Gormandia: 25 (Start 838)
Bunnland:?
Join us for session Three-Hundred-and-Forty-Eight when we ask the questions:
Do we yet see the relationship between time ‘wastage’ and encounters?
Is it the underworld or is the rolls?
Will Gord come back to us?
What other mysteries are there to be discovered in this particular patch of the underworld?
Tale of the Tape
Poison is bad m’okay. A pile of narrowly avoided fatalities – Biff, Suzie, Kat and Gord x2
Gord retracted his services after two near death experiences in one day he had to to reflect on his life.
KILLS
Giant Mutant Frogs (14)
Tiger Beetles (7)
Giant Poisonous Toads (5)
Driver Ants – Lots RUN!
Crab Spiders (4)
LOOT
500 gp
3000 sp
Potion of Healing
Leather armor +1
Rope of Climbing
Jewelry (4): 1200,900,1000,800 = 3,900 gp
Harvested for bits: GM Frogs (2), Tiger Beetle larvae (5), Poisonous Toad Glands (3)
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