Second - 13/09/2022 - A Kavel Perspective

North of Daring Heights - Return to the Community of Kobolds and Goblins

My second time in this little community and the second time the well has been at the centre of the problem. Was I going to discover the kids had been pranking the community, again?

Goran Voss, the earth genasi foreman from the Dwarven Quarter construction site was here. I knew of Goran from Mendal. Goran explained that the sewers below seemed to be blocked somehow. The water levels are dry at the bottom of the well. Ghastly creatures seem to have infested the sewers, making it impossible to remove the obstruction to the water flow.

I arrived here from the city with comrades: Felix; my Dwarven, lightning-loving, stage-performing friend - very versatile, does lightning, healing, and is very inspirational with his lute. Comrade Glade, my new Earth-Genasi Druid friend - she also does a lot of healing, and awakens plants in her spare time. Comrade Levuka was there too, my Elven druid friend - she summons creatures, and also does some healing… I was not short of healers in this party. Lastly, comrade Tayz completed the party, my Aarocokra Cleric friend who… like everyone else but me in the party could cast healing magic, and he is very proficient in that ability.
I did stop to wonder if I had accidentally joined an all Healing-Boi party, or if there were three adventuring parties that day missing a healer…

Goran mentioned that, of the workers that went to check on the state of the well, one was almost burnt with acid. I checked with Goran, but yes, it was not a case of the kids from before getting their hands on acid and thinking they had found a new way to prank the village.

Felix used a spell called Dancing Lights to light up the bottom of the well and confirm its emptiness. I informed the team there was another way down, through a secret passage in the Pitter-Patter household. Comrade Levuka, who I had not seen since she helped me track down Kruger, volunteered to use the Commune with Nature spell to see if Selune would offer some insight. I mentioned to her that I can do a non-spell version of that where a bear or pig friend helps me out with questions I have about the local environment. I didn’t realise that Sorrel’s goddess could offer the same aid as Mr. Bear, or Mr. Pig. Levuka said that different people can commune with nature in their own ways.

Levuka said that Selune helped her confirm that there was an elemental entity close-by and that mushrooms were growing below. I shared that Mr. Pig told me there was no influence from other planes quite close to us, but slightly further away, Mr. Pig mentioned influence from Banehold. I thanked Mr. Pig for his insight as he wandered off and saluted me that I was welcome.

Goran confirmed that there was 200 gold each in this for us, if we could unblock the water, and rid the problem. Comrade Felix treated us to a quick number on his lute before we got down to business, and it was just like the time he said inspiring words before another mission, because I felt a little bit taller at the end of his performance.

Felix wanted to know if Goran wanted anything we found down below. Goran said we were free to keep anything that we found. I mentioned there was good loot down there, last time I was here - I found a Horn of Blasting. The children gave me that. Children should not have Horns of Blasting.
All ready to set off, comrade Felix started walking towards the Pitter-Patter house, except he didn’t, since he was going in the wrong direction. Felix’s impulsiveness was oddly reminiscent of comrade Sterling, from what I heard from Archie, that is.


Going Underground

The kids had grown up since the many months I last saw them. The family had recently sealed the passage in their home up, when the news of the creatures spread. We were shown a secret knock to use on the boarded up passage door for when we came back.

Underground, where water levels should have been, was sludge, moss growing on the walls and mushrooms. There was a small streak of water running to the well, but nothing substantial. There was a very huge rock blocking the flow of water into the chamber we were in, which led to the well.

Us mountain folk, Felix and I could both plainly tell the obstructing rock had been brought in from elsewhere. Some of the surrounding mounds of earth down here looked dug up too.

I volunteered to move the rock. Tayz gave us all a feather before I got started, and just like with Felix’s great lute riff, I felt like I had more spring in my step. I’ve been the recipient of both comrades Felix and Tayz’s positive contributions to the party before. It’s always good stuff.

Glade gave us a bit of light. This was timely. We could now see three openings in the ground surrounding us, outside of the sludge river we stood in. The timely light, however, was not timely enough for Glade and comrade Felix to not get surprised by the gargantuan worm creatures that vaulted out of the sludge.


Attack of the Neothelids

I had faced a neothelid before with comrade Felix. He was more than welcome to launch Lighting Bolt after Lightning Bolt at these giant worms like he did last time - when he stops being surprised of course. The faster he does this, the less likely one of our comrades will discover the cramped, acidic interior of one of these worms.

I acted first, and stepped in front of the giant worm facing Felix. As I stepped in on the first worm, I quickened my breathing to battlerage, and threw a right hook to say hello. I followed up with an absolutely cracking left hook that made the gargantuan worm wobble.

Like my dwarven friend, Glade was surprised and did not react to the second worm near her and Levuka. Fortunately, Levuka casted Fairy Fire to light up our worm adversaries, which did cause a shimmer of light to shine from the second worm, making it easier to target. Levuka did a druid thing, which I’ve seen Florian perform, and changed into a creature, a giant scorpion in this case. Feris, Levuka’s summoned dog, was told to run. Oh yes, that’s right, Levuka has a familiar or something like that - just like everybody does! I have Timur now, but I wouldn’t voluntarily bring him down here. Are familiar-owners too brazen with their animals? I think so.

Tayz casted the Spiritual Guardians spell. Six luminescent, small Aarocokra’s armed with books flew around him defensively. This was quite different to Kelne and Mendal’s versions of the spell. Powerful, divine spell nevertheless. However, it seemed these bastard worms had something akin to resistance against magical spells, as they did not seem to suffer under the radiant fury of small aarocokra’s smacking them with books quite like I had witnessed the spell performing before.

Worm one chomped at my head. I got my shoulder and arms in the way, as teeth pierced my flesh a little. More annoyingly, I felt my brain undergo a psychic attack. Pissed off, I channelled my Stonehand Fighting secret anti-psychic counter, and headbutted some of the psychic pain back at the worm! This surprised worm one and helped me push its maw back so it couldn’t swallow me. Worm two, on the other hand, was enormously successful at swallowing the surprised Glade. Oh no!

A skittering noise followed the worms’ attacks, and these potatoes with multiple, tiny eyes floated from the three surrounding holes.


Target Switch

With a comrade in worm two’s body, I circled around worm one to reach the now bigger priority, and as I entered worm two’s range, I threw an overhand right, and two blistering left hooks to the worm’s midsection. From inside the worm, Glade did something as the section of the worm where she was expanded. Scorpion Levuka pinched and stung the greedy worm, while Felix - master of Lightning Bolt - let rip a gigantic bolt that hit both gargantuan worms and made the nearest potato creature explode. Tayz’s claws touched worm two inflicting magical necrotic wounds, which after the scorching damage of the Lightning Bolt, worm two was looking rough.

More spuds exploded as they entered Tayz’s Spirit Guardian aura. Green acid was released from the explosions - these were not ordinary potatoes, for sure.

Worm one engaged Tayz from behind me. I caught it moving from the corner of my eye, and managed to spin in time to deliver a left spinning kick as it moved. However, my kick was not strong enough to prevent it from swallowing comrade Tayz! Two full bellied worms! Worm one then had the audacity to breathe acid all over the rest of us. Our skins sizzled.

I shook off the pain and continued to fire back at worm two with punishing left and right hooks as if working the bag in training. Levuka, hit worse than me by the acid breath casted a powerful healing spell on her scorpion self, and I saw intense acid burns disappear before my eyes. Right before her pinchers snipped away at worm two, opening up wound after wound and making worm two collapse to the ground.

Felix did his best to pop as many of the acid-filled spuds before they got to us with his direction controlled Lightning Bolts. Alas, so many evil spuds were appearing from the three openings that not even his tremendous lightning could stop them all, nor Tayz’ Spirit Guardians. Both me and Scorpion Levuka were attacked with exploding spuds for a second round of acid attacks - and despite my thick skin, I really didn’t like the after effects I was feeling. Tayz, inside the belly of worm one, I hoped was okay. His Spirit Guardian spell was still working, as his spirit birds whacked his capturer with spiritual books.

Glade had finally emerged from worm two’s dead body, and gave many of us her druidic blessing, which in our acid burnt state was much appreciated.


Beware of Potatoes With Eyes They Come Bearing Acid and Poison

Damn it. I was feeling poisoned from the acid bath I was getting from evil potatoes exploding on me. Maybe if I could get to the rock blocking the water flow, we could make some progress on our mission, is what I thought then and there. Firstly, we had to put worm one in the ground had, so I could get on to breaking the rock obstruction! A little groggy, I wailed on worm one, while Felix put another high level Lightning Bolt in the cannon and let rip. A number of evil spuds exploded, and worm one was looking to be on its proverbial last legs.

Levuka, thinking of our potato problem, transformed back into her elf self, and magically created a defensive barrier for the incoming evil spuds coming from the west. The evil spuds were not held back for long though. The little acid bombs floated up and over the wall! A few nearby exploded over me. Charming of them, and ouch. Acid damage is not so easily ignored, even by me.

With the tide of new acid-spuds on their way, we were in need of a win. This was when worm one’s belly began to be coloured in black necrotic veins, as comrade Tayz shot out of the gargantuan worm’s mouth. As worm one died from whatever necrotic spell Tayz had used, Tayz flew up as far as the underground ceiling would allow. Tayz looked heroic emerging from his vanquished foe’s mouth - even though his wings were severely burned up by stomach acid.


Smashy Smashy Rock

Worms in the ground - finally, I marched up to the huge rock obstructing the flow of water that some arsehole had placed here. I shouted to my comrades, “crack the rock?!” and heard comrade Felix respond that he wanted to use his Shatter spell on something. But, my airborne comrade, Tayz, said “yes!”

In front of the obstructing rock, I stood ready in a Southpaw stance; right leg forward, and left hand loaded in the chamber:

Stonehand Fighting Technique - Rock Cracking Punch Combo!

From my position, as I brought my chambered left fist across my body and forward, I pivoted onto the heel of my right foot and ball of my left foot, turning my torso as I did; generating rotational force. As my left fist landed on the rock, the power of my punch had nowhere to go but forward as my feet grounded the power forwards and through the rock; cracking the huge rock in the centre. I switched stance. Now in the orthodox position with my left foot forward and right fist chambered, I marked the spot I hit previously with my left hand, and rotated and drove my right fist into the same spot, cracking the huge rock in half! Another Dwarven MMA tale for my instructors, the Metal Bros!

Water started to pour out of the cracked rock more freely.

“What did you want to use the Shatter spell on, comrade?” I asked Felix.


Plugging Up the Holes

Glade casted healing magic on Tayz to rejuvenate his badly damaged wings, as Levuka dissipated her defensive evil spud barrier in favour of summoning four burly apes. On the way to join me and my split rock, one of the apes decided to slap one of the acidic potatoes nearby. The ape died in an explosion of acid. The others wisely carried on towards me, avoiding encounters with evil spuds.

Felix and Tayz cleared the path towards some of the open spud spewing holes with the Thunderstep and Spirit Guardian spells. Many spuds exploded with reduced risk to the party. But, there were so many, so my comrades still suffered some acid damage.

With the three remaining apes prepping to lift the other half of the broken rock, I gave them and Levuka a thumbs up before taking the strain of my half of the rock - water immediately started rushing in. The heavy weight of the rock half was easy for me to lift, but I had to brace myself for the unexpected (should have expected) water rush. It would be tough going carrying the boulder through the sludgy ground to the nearest spud-spewing hole - this would be a challenge for the apes, but not for me. Fortunately I can fly (/jump) like an eagle!

With the rock half balanced overhead, I squatted low, and propelled myself into the air across the sludgy terrain straight to the first of the holes some 60ft away, dropping my rock half over the opening and denying several emergent evil potatoes from greeting my comrades.

Levuka’s apes eventually got their rock half over the other hole. Good jobs by the apes.

Together, my comrades and I filled in the much larger hole with a mound of rocks and rubble. Some comrades were on spud reducing duties as we worked on hole-filling. Eventually, all spuds running amuck exploded safely, and no cavalry spuds could join the fray.

Holes plugged and water flowing; job done. We were lucky to discover some treasure down here too. Levuka found some Sending Stones. I was jealous. I pleaded to Luveka that the stones would let me communicate with my long distance girlfriend. For an exchange of my Roc feather, Levuka was happy to trade. I was very grateful and promised to assist in any future heavy lifting she required.


Back Up Top

Goran was no longer around, but Delphine Rosewalker, the mother of the adventurer-worshipping Nira was there. Alarmingly, she was not outwardly hostile to us. Last time I encountered her, and when Mendal encountered her, she was - understandably - upset that her husband had died in Port Ffirst during the invasion, in a location that us adventurers did not prioritise in the Dawnland defences. It was very surprising when Delphine gladly handed over our 200 gold reward each. Glade and I exchanged looks.

Glade asked Delphine how Nira was doing - we recently saw her in the Feythorn forest. Delphine seemed to have no idea she had a daughter. She was crying about the matter, but confused as to why she was crying. Glade and I exchanged looks again, more worrying looks than our last one.

Delphine Rosewalker’s lacking memory of a daughter was extremely concerning. I hoped Nira was okay too. This was also very concerning. I believe river-comrade Zola said she would see to the girl receiving sword training. I wonder if Zola has seen Nira recently?