(024) The Ravine Door

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:

Olaf thrusts the door wide out as he and Victor both back off in preparation to face any enemy. Light flood into the room pushes long shadows, but despite the frantic shaking sound there is no foe to be seen.

Olaf barely has time to scan the walls for a place to rest the sceptre before a horrible menace suddenly appears at the top of the doorway. It is a ghastly armoured octopus, its tentacles questing before a chitinous helmet the size of an Ogre's head. And it glides easily forward, flowing down the outside of the wall like a putrescent wave with dozens of body segments now following after the head, each driven on by a sea of a thousand clicking legs chika-chika-chika-chika!

"Gad!" spits Victor at the sight of the enormous thing.

Neither side is surprised.

What to do?

It looks like fight is what to do as Olaf and Victor don't have any place safe to run, nor is there any certainty they could outrun this monstrosity!

Olaf thrusts his sword into the face of the octopus and calls on Victor to do the same!

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf and Victor both lurch to the attack, and initiative is rolled (1d6; Olaf=3, Victor=4, Crawlie=3).

It is Victor who meets the foe first, swinging his axe bravely (1d20=7) but his heavy blow is turned aside against the thick armour plating about the hideous thing's head part with a resounding clang.

Olaf and the monstrous centipede strike out simultaneously, with the lanky young fighter lunging behind a deep stab (1d20=18) which pierces the chitinous plates just behind the horrible octopus-like head and deals (2dd=2,3) 5 hit points damage. But not before the monster surges at (1-3=Olaf, 4-5=Victor;1d6=5) Victor, engulfing him with (1d6=4) a mass of quivering, lurid pink tentacles (4d20=11,10,5,13). Perhaps due to Victor's fighting skill or else the distraction caused by Olaf's stabbing attack, only one of the awful tentacles strikes home, but Victor immediately jerks back with a gasp, a viscous pink phlegm hissing on his forearm...

(1d20=19!) Victor fights on!


Your intentions for next round?

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
Olaf strikes again with his sword shouting, "Back foul monster! Back!"

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf and Victor continue to combat the monstrous centipede.

Initiative is rolled (1d6; Olaf=6, Victor=3, Crawlie=5).

Olaf carries the attack (1d20=7) but now he is warier of the slashing and questing tentacles and the manner in which the whole worm-like body does writhe as it flows down the wall and toward them over the floor. The monster follows (1-3 Olaf, 4-6 Victor; 1d6=3) Olaf now with whipping and lashing tentacles of its bizarre mouth parts (1d6=2) but this time only two of the pink limbs come within striking range (2d20=6,16) and one of them smears Olaf's calf with its horrid venom...

(1d20=18!) Olaf feels his leg beginning to spasm awfully against the stuff, but he manages to jump back and force the cramps out before they take hold of him properly!

At the same moment Victor leaps back into the fray, drawing the monster's attention away from Olaf. This time (1d20=15) his aim is good and he makes the monster suffer for the hurt it dealt him, slicing his axe blade through chitin plates and the softer stuff beneath for (2dd=2,5) 5 hit points.

The monster hisses it's distress, but it isn't finished yet!

Next round?

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
Olaf strikes out at the monster with his sword, "Die, monster, die!"

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf and Victor fight on against the horrible thing -- they can hardly elude it now...

Initiative is rolled (1d6; Olaf=6, Victor=2, Crawlie=1).

Victor side-steps, drawing the monster on across the floor allowing Olaf to press his attack early (1d20=4) but his blade is turned against the monster's thick skull plates, and his initiative is wasted. Victor then grasps the window of opportunity caused by Olaf's distracting blow (1d20=20!) and tears a harrowing wound through a number of the creature's body segments with his woodsman's axe, dealing (3dd=5,1,5) a vulgar 10 hit points!

The monster thrashes and squeals tempestuously, for Victor has dealt a keen blow. Many of the legs in the rear sections of its horrible, bloated body seem to have stopped moving, but the head section is furiously enraged. It lashes back at Victor (1d6=5) with five tentacle attacks (5d20;9,19,12,20,9) whipping him twice across exposed flesh with its awful pink appendages, and Victor screams uncharacteristically (saving throws; 2d20=10,12) and drops his axe and then tumbles to the ground as if turned to stone!


What now?

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
Olaf has to press his attack, hoping to silence the monster, or cause it to flee before it can do more damage to Victor or to himself! Olaf yells and curses as he chops and stabs with his sword.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
Olaf defends Victor from a certain death!

Initiative is rolled (1d6; Olaf=3; Crawlie=4).

Sensing Olaf as the remaining threat, the crippled centipede writhes over Victor's paralysed form and dives for the young fighting-Man. The ghastly octopus-like head lunges at him striking with (1d6=3) three lurid pink tentacles spread in a wide trap!

Olaf staggers back (3d20=8,11,11) desperately fending off the thrashing tentacles as the main bulk of the huge thing rears up! He dive-rolls under it as it the reeling thing plummets toward him, recovering his feet just as the thing swings about to attack again, and (1d20=19!) plunges his sword into the pursuing monster's head with both hands upon the hilt (2dd=1,6) for 8 hit points!

His sword crunches through the monster's armoured skull cap and bursts right through its head, pinning the awful thing to the ground by his weight upon the sword as the madly lashing pink feeders are held just out of reach! The entire mass of its body thrashes violently for a moment, scuttling poor Victor roughly away. And then it collapses unceremoniously in a wretched, hissing heap.

At length, even the hissing whistles down to silence.

Olaf is... still alive.

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
Yay!! Olaf is lucky again...maybe I should change his name to Olaf the lucky from Sharp Eyes? Nah! He tempts fate way too much as it is. [img]images/smiley/smiley.png[/img]

[waysoftheearth]

eris wrote:
Olaf quickly moves to Victor and sees if there is anything he can do for his comrade, "Come on Victor, you can shake it off, come on!"