With all the people in front of her and the bright flames from the firepit Raven doesn't see the fireball coming at all. She is caught fully by the blast and her feathers are still smoking after the bright burst of flame is gone. She squawks angrily and steps back 5 feet but raises her crossbow and shoots down the tunnel at the fireballing drow as soon as she can see her again.

Rolled 27 using 1d20+11.  Shoot the drow with my crossbow.
Rolled 3 using 1d8+1.  Damage with light crossbow.

As soon as Minmorc puts down the last of the salamanders Jurz calls down a lightning strike upon the drow that cast the fireball. The lightning briefly illuminates her so and it is clear she did not escape being struck.

Dregz leaps and scrambles backward just before the fireball explodes and ends up safely outside the blast radius with scroll in hand, which he promptly reads.

Moffa ducks behind the barricade but is still lightly toasted by the fireball. Sparky, her small fire elemental becomes even more animated after the fireball and races off down the tunnel when Moffa orders it to attack the drow. Then Moffa summons a howler (looking like some kind of a large, gaunt dog with a mane of long porcupine spines) which appears past the fire pit, just behind Sparky, before it howls and dashes forward toward the drow as well. Sparky is delayed slightly by the obstacle of the barricade, plunges into the fire pit and surges out the other side to reach the drow just ahead of the howler. With the howler close behind it Sparky darts to the right out of its way, burning its way into a mass of think fungus in the middle of the cave. The howler charges in and bites the drow as soon as it reaches her.

Bully managed to avoid the worst of the fireball but still got scorched. He easily scrambles over the barricade and edges past Minmorc, patting him on the hip and offering a few soothing words to help the giant orc start to recover from his awful wounds.

Raven was caught by the full force of the fireball and is seriously wounded. She responds angrily by shooting the drow with her new crossbow, somehow finding a clear shot past the howler to pierce the drow's leg.

The drow priestess, now clearly illuminated by the light from the small fire elemental, steps back from the howler, obviously afraid of the large beast. She chants a spell then calls out in the Undercommon language, [Language unknown: "Preun ce tiha wasticand! Homo n isutal sipro day ur rom fore ro. O pa earhersomsta utss trad m di."]

OOC: Main Game Map updated. Minmorc's Bless spell gives everyone +1 on saves vs fear and +1 on attack rolls.

Bulldust grins at his friends as he hastens out the door into the node.  "Gonna get da elf!"  Emerging through the narrow bit, he grows to double his size then continues to within 10' of the elf.  He twirls his chainflail menacingly.  "Hi!  I'm Bulldust."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:02, Mon 02 Nov 2020.

"Bites her Rexes! Prickles her good!" Moffdust shouts to the Howler. "An youse jus keeps burnin up dat funguses Sparkies!" she yells in ignan. "I doesn't likes it at alls." she mutters to the other goblins.

She stands at the barricade peering fiercely over the top and waiting to see what everyone else does before deciding how best to meddle.

Jurz grins across at Moffa and then wiggles his fingers towards the Drow.

Including Dregz in the question, he asks "Maybes we should go and see what Min and Bully does to her?"

Minmorc will lumber after Bully and will loop Southward to come to a halt looming over the drow, bulging muscles vibrating with rage, fangs bared and eyes wide with glaring hatred.

Raven hops up and down trying to see.

"Awk! I can't see her. She's hidden behind all that green stuff. What did she say? It must have been bad!"

Then she hurries forward to get close enough for a better view and a clear shot.

With a glance towards Moffa and Dregz, Jurz follows Raven across the barricade.  However, he foregoes any other actions to hurry past the fire pit to the end of the narrowed passage, where he stops and looks around.

OOC: Double move to T12

"I's gots ter gets where I can sees her." Moffdust tells Jurz. She says a quiet word and turns into a tiny bat, flying up to the wall high above L12 where she can look over the fire and fungus and get a glimpse of the priestess. Gesturing with her tiny hands and incantating in her tiny voice she summons Bands of Steel to restrain the priestess.

"Der drow lady duzzn't likes yer doggie at all," Dregz helpfully provides a translation of her words.  "She sez dat if youse calls him off and let 'er leave she won't kill uz all, and she'll give us dis node."

The little goblin sounds reluctant to oblige her, being rather offended by that fireball, but will accept the will of his tribe should there be a consensus on letting her live.  Assuming she's still alive by the time anyone might pose the question.

Jurz has the right of it ... Dregz hurries after the druid and Moffa-bat, using his boots to peek over the wall before climbing over it.

OOC: Move to R14 ish  :>

Bully rushes after the howler and grows to giant size on the way, whirling his spike chain menacingly.

Moffa urges Sparky to burn more of the thick green fungus and the howler to attack the drow priestess. Sparky burns its way south as order, clearing the way for the howler to lunge forward and bite the drow, incidentally spiking her with one of the quills around its neck as well. It grips the drow in its jaws and shakes her like a rag doll.

Jurz grins at Moffa and calls down another lightning strike on the drow priestess, which strikes her directly. The howler howls horribly as the electrical discharge pulses through its jaws as well but it quickly drops the drow to the floor and takes a step back from her.

Minmorc races after Bully and swings southward around the burning pile of green fungus in the middle of the cave to close in on the drow priestess from the south.

Raven squawks and hurries forward to a better view as well. Jurz races around the other side of the firepit and actually gets ahead of Raven in this race. Moffa transforms into a little bat to fly over the barricade while Dregz follows Raven’s route, helpfully supplying a translation of the drow priestess’s offer to vacate the premises if they will call off the howler and let her go.

Of course, the howler and the lightning strike put an end to such negotiations before they even reached the ears of the rest of Team Arda-Nuff. One look at the sprawled, bloody and charred body of the drow priestess is enough to realise she is well and truly dead.

There is plenty more of that thick green fungus in the four side caves of the Decay Node, but nothing in here shows any sign of movement, apart from Team Arda-Nuff.

OOC: Main Game Map updated. Minmorc’s Bless spell gives everyone +1 on saves vs fear and +1 on attack rolls.

Minmorc will look down at the mess that was a drow and as his rage subsides points and laughs. Jabbing himself with his wand of vigor he will look around bemusedly. "So dis is da Decay node. So we takes her stuff and we takes her body ter Sarch an if we stays ere fer a while an finks really ard we get decay powers..." Minmorc will look straight at Dregz "errr.... do we want decay powers?"

Jurz is pleased that the drow is dead, and he is pleased that the 'Short-Folk' managed quite well.  "Well.  Dat did for hers!"

But it is the fungus that interests him the most.

"Nice doggie.  Leave some fer da rest ov us."  Bulldust hopes howlers know about sharing.

"I don't wand any decay stuff..." he says in reply to Min, frowning at the piles of fungus.  When Jurz looks interested in it he asks Can it really give yer a rotted winkie?"

He looks around to see if there are any more elves hidden behind the fungus, stalking around all the little caves starting with the one on the north, but making sure he doesn't step in any fungus.

What Es Sarch has told you about the Decay Node includes the following:

• It is a natural focus of the forces that cause all matter to decay over time. Some call it a Decay Node, if that means anything to you.
• Any cleric spending a number of hours there can gain access to an additional divine domain – the Decay Domain.
• Anyone who is not a cleric would also gain some affinity with that domain from spending time there; my friend called it a 'Touch of Decay', but I am unsure what that would entail.
• I understand you would need to spend at least eight hours in the Decay Node to benefit from it.
• It is possible that the weeks the priestess has already spent in the Decay Node is longer than is wise.
• Your reward would be access to the Decay Node itself, of course, as well as whatever valuable items Esmar'ra has down there with her.

You can make a knowledge (religion) skill check to remember more that you might have heard before. Even an unskilled knowledge check might reveal something if high enough.

"It don't eat der winkies, it eats der stones." Jurz replies, as he wanders over to a lump of the moss and pulls a handful off, and starts to eat it.

"So whats she's got dats any good?" He asks, walking across to the body of the drow and looking it over.  He is still chewing the moss, but stops to pick a piece of grit from between his teeth.

Bulldust frowns as he searches, trying to think.  He'll share his thoughts aloud if he thinks of anything sensible to say about decay or nodes.

06:11, Today: Bulldust rolled 26 using 1d20+9.  Knowledge arcana decay node

Minmorc will help Jurz loot the drow. He will also drag the salamanders into the decay node where they can be looted more comfortably.

Moffdust hangs from the wall watching the goings-on. She is currently not inclined to enter the stinky rotten place. "Dats enough Rexie, youse did good. Youse can has a bites den off youse goes." The howler takes a meaty mouthful, mumbles a less-efficient howl of happiness and vanishes.

Even with the extensive knowledge bestowed upon him by his Holy Book, Dregz would be in the top ten to admit that such a thing as a Decay domain is beyond his learning.

It certainly doesn't sound sensible at all, though ... the hairy little priest has a natural aversion to losing any bits of his anatomy let alone those he is most fond of.

"Ise certainly don't," he assures Minmorc, as he ponders a moment.  "But Ise heard dat it might grow on youse."

None of you know anything about the Decay Domain, as such, but Dregz and Minmorc do know about the divine domains that they already have access to. They each have access to two domains and from what Es Sarch said it sounds like spending 8 hours in the Decay Node would allow them to add a third domain – the Decay Domain – to their list. That would allow them access to a new spell of each level that they could choose as the domain spells they pray for each day.

They also know that their existing domains each grant them an extra ability of some sort. It might just make it a bit easier for them to learn particular skills, or always walk a bit faster than they normally could, or it might be a more potent power like the feat of strength that Minmorc can use once a day. From what Es Sarch said it sounds like the power granted by the Decay Domain is called a 'Touch of Decay'. There is no sign that everything the drow priestess touched rotted or fell apart, so it is more likely to be something you can choose to use or not, and if it is powerful it is likely to be limited in how often you can use it. Es Sarch implied you don't have to be a cleric to gain that ability.

------------------------------

The salamander that Minmorc cut in half is definitely dead and is already cooling. The first one that he cut down is still too hot to touch. The third salamander fell back into the firepit. You find nothing of value on the two salamanders outside the firepit but looking more closely at the salamander in the firepit you finally notice the glint of lots of bits of shiny metal scattered across the bottom of the firepit. It is difficult to see clearly because of the flames.

---------------------------

The drow priestess is wearing a mithril chainshirt (faint magic aura), a cloak (faint magic aura), a pair of bracers (moderate magic aura), a pair of goggles with reflective gold lenses (faint magic aura) and a silvery dagger (faint magic aura) with a black leather grip and a pommel shaped like a humanoid heart and an inscription on the blade [Language unknown:  "Arturehou-orttic."]. A masterwork light steel shield lies in one of the side caves along with a purse containing 50gp in Pedestal coinage.

Moffdust stops being a bat and sits on the barricade. She calls Sparkie back to her. "Youse done a good jobs burnin up dat funguses Sparkies. Now youse goes in de nice fires and brings me all de shiny metals and jewels."

Calling out again to the party "If youse needs ter works out de magic stuffs I can helps identifies dem." She pops the monocle on her eye and casts Detect Magic.

Minmorc will listen to the musings about the decay domain. "Yer know wot, I fink I'll give decay powers a try." Unless anyone objects he'll make a moss mound for himself and get comfortable.

"I'se don't mind staying" Jurz aggrees with Min.  Then, leaving the treasure to Moffa, who seems to have it all under control, Jurz wanders around the edges of the decay node, checking quickly to make sure that there aren't any other entrances to worry about.

Casually, he takes another handful of the Moss and starts to eat it.  "Itsa gota bitsa grit  ..." he singsongs between mouthfuls.

"I'm not riskin' any ov dat decay stuff." Bulldust looks dubiously at Jurz and Min. "Ma winkie may be safe but I still wouldn't wanna let it eat ma stones."

He shrinks back to normal size as he brings in the shield and purse.  He takes an armful of magic gear over to the fire node and arranges them on the wall around Moffa.  He tests the end on the silver dagger and reads the inscription.  "What's dis s'posed ter mean Moffa?  Now it says "Dinent'ithentcom" but I fink it keeps changing every time I look at it."