Small object that could be held in one hand.

WHile briefly considering a foolhardy grab for the metal object, she feared that would expose her to the creature's attacks.

Buojrez went into full defensive retreat mode. She moved back up the trail, not trying to attack, but ready to defend. Tryibg to understand how fast the creature was, and if it would follow her back into the open sunlight.

The creature follows, relentless.  The light of the sun has no effect on it's pace or behavior.  The path back narrows as Buojrez gets closer to the clave and safety.  If she continues on this route, she will severely limit her own mobility if she is to meet it in combat.

Apart from the scratching of the creature's claws on the hardscrabble ground, the only other sound it makes is a hissing, seemingly related to the cold emanating from beast's body.  Wisps of ice fog drift behind it as it moves.

"Can't go back, can't talk to it, so violence will settle everything," Buojrez muttered.

Firmly gripping her maul she takes a swing at the creature's head.

15:29, Today: Buojrez rolled 14 using 1d20.  Attack roll, two levels of effort.

Buojrez's strike hits true and the creature ... cracks (?) in places.  It is certainly injured, but not slowed.  It lashes out at Buojrez with one of the tentacles on its massive head.  Buojrez can clearly see her breath and ice seems to be forming on some of armor.

Speed defense DC 5:15, please.

Buojrez moves with the lumbering grace of a drunk.....

20:03, Today: Buojrez rolled 3 using 1d20.  Speed Defense with two effort.

The creature strikes true with one the tentacles, cold blistering Buojrez's skin.  Some of the damage Buojrez did to it seems to be regenerating.

Buojrez paused, as if performing math in her head. Or waiting for the gods to answer a question she had posed.

She spat, tightened her grip on her maul, then took a mighty swing at the place where she had first struck the creature.


12:54, Today: Buojrez rolled 11 using 1d20.  Attack with three effort, one to hit, two for damage.

There is a squelching sound followed by a thud and then a series of splattering sounds.

Buojrez's massive swing cleaved through the body of the creature (no mean feat with a blunt weapon) before coming to rest as the maul strikes the dirt below it.  Gelatinous-crystal goo flies all over, dotting the dirt, the canyon walls, and Buojrez with shiny blue material that freezes on contact before quickly beginning to thaw and become runny.  The inert remains of the beast collapse into an oozing heap on the ground.

"VICTORY!" Buojrez shouts before moving quickly to pick up the metal item from thr ground.

She looks at it before pocketing it.

The thing, was just so....fascinating!

21:53, Today: Buojrez rolled 498 using 1d501.

21:52, Today: Buojrez rolled 2 using 1d2.

Buojrez pulls a glinting metallic pipe with valves on it out of the ground.  It's a flute of some sort, it seems, although there are buttons and dials on it that are unlike anything Buojrez has ever seen in any tavern band's instruments.

Loosely attached to the flute is a desiccated, skeletal hand.

"It's beautiful," she sighed.

She carefully wrapped the hand and put it in her pack.

As she walked she regarded the flute with a frown. She was no musician, and she did not remember any of her companions displaying any such talent. Then again, perhaps the flute could be used to signal her companions to avoid the spores.

She moved back towards the clave, stopping when she reached full sunlight to take an account of her injuries and equipment. Clearly there was more exloring to do, she just needed to catch her breath.

16:17, Today: Buojrez rolled 10 using 1d6+4.  Recovery.

"Forward," she murmured as she turned back to where the fight and find had occurred.

As she reached the remains of the creature she paused to kick a couple of pieces in different directions on the off chance that it might rise again.

Then she nocked an arrow and proceeded cautiously forward.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:22, Mon 12 July 2021.

As the way became more and more like a cave, Buojrez paused and lit a torch. Bow in the left hand, torch in the right, she continued at a slothful pace.

In the hollow left by the creature's emergence, there seem be additional glints of light, metal or perhaps crystal.  Strewn about deeper in the cave/canyon, often barely protruding from the ground, are additional crafted objects.  There doesn't seem to be a pattern, at least nothing immediately apparent, but certainly objects of value have been brought to this place over the years.  Some of the things are rotten or broken, but some may still be of use.

"Hmmmm," she murmured. Looking about, she found a crack into which she could jam the butt end of the torch. Then she set about gathering the smallest and loosest items, trying not to make too much noise.


20:50, Today: Buojrez rolled 6 using 1d20.  Scavenging, two levels of effort.

Buojrez's poking, prodding, picking, and digging in the area yields a small trove of items.  Some are found near human(oid) remains.  Others seem to be stashed in hollows or crevices, or merely protruding from the stones and rotting detritus of the cave floor.

8:29, Today: Buojrez rolled 333 using 1d400.  oddity.

08:29, Today: Buojrez rolled 236 using 1d701.  cypher.

Buojrez carefully packs up the finds. She inspects the remains to see if she can determine the cause of death, at least whether or not it was sudden or violent.

Buojrez's assessment of the remains is hampered by their age and condition.  While there are some small injuries to the bones, it is unclear if those injuries were part of what caused their death.  The scraps of fabric that may have been clothes offer no useful clues, either.

Perhaps the most interesting finds were a small blue crystal and an unusual plan.  When Buojrez first saw it, it was an herb familiar to her, a common seasoning used where she once trained.  As she watched, though, the plant contracted into itself and grew anew as a different herb, one with fragrant blossoms whose scent reminded the glaive of sweet treats from her childhood.

Buojrez shuffled items in her pack around to ensure safe passage for all, especially the plant. Clearly it was time to return to the clave. She felt overwhelmed and over extended.

As the light fades into evening, Buojrez is able to lug her treasures back to the clave and present her finds to Nalla, who has been busy scribing plans in the glaive's absence.  The amount of child-produced disorder outside of the workshop is a testament to the wright's single-minded focus (and the boredom of some certain little miscreants).

Buojrez gathered the children and teens and promised the tale of her adventure when they had finished setting everything back in order.

Eager for tales of derring do (and already impressed by how she saved them the previous day), the children quickly (if not orderly) clean up the common areas within the walls and even set out dishes for supper in the common hall.  They occasionally pepper Buojrez with questions as they pass by with loaded arms or pause in their sweeping.

"Did you fight any monsters?"

                                                       "Did you find any treasure?"

"Were you kidnapped by ultraterrestrials?"

                                "Did you rescue another weird person from the machine cave?"

"Did you hear from the others?"

She loosely tries to herd them from the most comfortable chair she could find after removing her armor and bathing. In response to their questions she curtly answers "Yes," "Yes," "No," "No," and "No."

After supper she gathers any and all interested parties and tells of her travels and travails. She goes into great detail on the numbing cold of the monster, and its terrible grasping tentacles. She pulls forth the hand she carefully packed first, letting the braver children touch it if they dared. She shows them the flute, the crystal, and the plant, warning all that they are "Dangerous and surely harmful in the wrong hands. Once the powers are known we will figure out how best to use them to protect this place."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Fri 30 July 2021.