"Actually, the idea does have merit." Zoccola countered, not simply out of a desire to rally her friend's spirits alone.  "Creatures like Purple Worms, Bulettes, Ankhegs, and others that burrow pop their heads up out of the ground to grab their prey, then dig down into the earth nearby to escape.  They can and do slither backwards the way they came, but it's harder to do compared to just diving headlong somewhere else.  They usually only do that against stationary prey, not in a fight." she explained with a gesturing hand raised to pantomime the movements of some great beast rising up, snapping its jaws shut, and then diving back down in an arc.

"As long as we can stay out of the reach they have when they pop up, they won't be able to attack us without completely coming to the surface and making themselves more vulnerable.  And if we could lure them to come up in a spot where they don't have anywhere to escape to, or somehow alter the earth once they do pop their heads up, or anchor them in place, we could keep them there and have an easier time dealing with them.  Same goes for luring them into popping up somewhere we've got a trap set to drop on their heads."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Thu 13 Jan 2022.

Elodie nodded, eager to save her dignity.

"Indeed! Or we could threaten an area they'd sooner die than lose! Like ants in a hive, or a bear in her cave! If they have a nest, or place where they lay their eggs, we may be able to find it and threaten it...though I own I have no clue what such a place would be to a creature so foreign as a purple worm."

Tauroak took the curious toenails, his male curiosity trying to convince him to give them a quick sniff "for science", but he successfully dismissed the urge. "I've not brewed one for strength specifically, but I have worked with other similar traits. It might not help us against the worms, but the will not be they only challenge we face."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:42, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

“Good point Deuxclaw.  If not against the worms, at some point it would be handy.  I just hope we can get them at the same time.  Splitting them up would be such a pain.”  Booth commented.

“Picking the location of a battle is great and all, I’m just wondering how much of an option we are going to have.  If we take underground tunnels, it’s likely they get to choose the time and place.  Is topside even an option?  Find a nice glen and thump the ground real good to bring them along to investigate.  What else would be in play though up there.”  The planning ahead was a chore.  He preferred immediate reaction at the scene.  “At least topside you two can fly out of reach.”
This message was last edited by the player at 17:32, Thu 13 Jan 2022.

"If they have a nest, or place where they lay their eggs, we may be able to find it and threaten it...though I own I have no clue what such a place would be to a creature so foreign as a purple worm."

At that remark, Zoccola's eyes widened and her spade-like ears perked up sharply as she was struck with a realization she hadn't considered before.  "Oh.  Oh... ooooh shit."

As you sit and contemplate your upcoming battle the sun rises and lights up a mostly cloudless sky. The brisk air of morning is beginning to be warmed and the dew dries. The guest manor where you stay is well staffed and breakfast is cooking in the kitchen adjacent to the great room where you now sit.

There's a knock on the door and Nalisha's voice can be heard, "Good Morning."

Elodie had spent last night in her own bed, and consequently rose quite early. When she opened the door for Nalisha, she had her hair bound back in a simple ponytail and a cup of steaming tea in her hands.

"Ah, Miss Relcaren. How good to see you again. Can I brew you a cup of tea? I have enough water, and I can heat it up..."

"Yes that would be nice. Thank you." Nalisha bows gracefully.

"Last night you mentioned a need to look for some supplies. I thought I might help guide you through the outpost. Help you find the right little shops. I have helped supply many of them and might be able to help broker a discount."

Jurassic was impassive as he noted the arrival of Nalisha. At her offer he nodded, "What then would be the price of this valuable service?"

"Oh, be nice." Elodie tutted to Jurassic as she went off to prepare more tea. More water came out of the skin, fresh tea shaved off a block of the stuff in her things, and soon it was steeping in a small pot Elodie heated with magic.

"It's not loose-leaf, I'm afraid! The only convenient way to carry it out in the wilderness is in these compressed blocks! Looks like a brick, but tastes good enough!"

The Buymark looks at Jurassic and smiles. A life of bargaining and dealings left her not the least insulted by the remark.

"Buy me lunch." she said with a wink and a smile.

She graciously accepted the tea from Elodie, "I have acquired a fond taste for such travelling fare. Thank you."
This message was last updated by the player at 02:00, Tue 18 Jan 2022.

"If there are those here who fancy themselves monster hunters or the like, perhaps we could find some suggestions on purple worms. I don't know what all this town has to offer, but it could prove fruitful. Either way, a meal is certainly worthy of a discount."

"Of course!" Elodie replied cheerily. "So, Nalisha, what do you think? Is there anyone in town who might have had experience hunting these things? We had a thought last night that this duo might be a breeding pair, which would...well, it would change the dimensions of the problem dramatically, if left for too long."

Jurassic continued to eye the Buymark with suspicion, but at least he accepted the offer of a meal as payment. The conversation shifted to the worms again, "Indeed, if there is a clutch of eggs somewhere, we may have a much larger problem. Assuming small worms are easier to kill than large ones, a dozen or more could still pose a challenge." As he began to eat the last of his meal he made one more comment, "While Zoccola believes that proper planning will lead to victory, I know that no plan survives first contact with an enemy. All we can really do is prepare for what circumstances we can anticipate and be flexible when things we havenot thought of come to light."

“You got that right big guy.”  Booth gave Jurassic a nod of agreement at his analysis of a fight.

“Lets see what this place has to offer.”  The sailor was all for checking out whatever exotic shops they had here.

"I don't want to hear that from a guy who's idea for confronting an Osyluth was to try and punch it." Zoccola, who had been quiet up until that point ever since allowing herself to be consumed by her book reading, finally chimed in.  Once Elodie had raised the notion that the Purple Worms could be a breeding pair the Goblin had thrown herself into her research without a moment's breath.

Still, with Nalisha's arrival that morning, Zoccola took the chance to finally shut away her tome and notes.  There was a lot rolling around in her head that she needed time to let percolate into more useful strategy, so some distraction with shopping would do nicely to that end.

Zoccola research!  We've been speculating all the while but it's really about time a skill check was made.  ^^;  I've rolled for two different aspects to see what Zoccola can figure out about Purple Worms; Arcana for any magical/supernatural properties they're known for, and Nature for any more mundane traits and habits.  Basically just looking for information the Party can use to their advantage.

Arcana
Zoccola rolled 11 using 1d20+8

Nature
Zoccola rolled 25 using 1d20+5

Booth chuckled at Zoccola’s response.  “Hehe.  That was a good fight.  That plan worked great.  I bet that thing is in some level of the abyss being laughed at.  ‘A human punched you?’  Talk about humiliation.” 

The sailor looked around for interesting stores to check out.

"Zoccola! Let me go with!" Elodie called out, then padded after her friend, still a little steamed at Booth for his comment the night before.

OOC: Giving aid to Zoccola! Surprisingly bad on Arcana at 9, but 19 on nature!


07:16, Today: Elodie van Gryff rolled 19 using 1d20+3.

07:16, Today: Elodie van Gryff rolled 9 using 1d20+6.

As the group began to move, Tauroak naturally moved along with them. A bit of shopping, a bite to eat with their old 'friend', perhaps a spot of research, and capping it off with a fair deal of work meant that this was going to be a full day. "The more preparation we can do ahead of time, the better. But as they say, 'even the best plan only lasts until the first move is made'. There will inevitably be something that comes up for which we have not prepared."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 08:05, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

"The are no monster hunters here in The Root. At best some of the guard may have moved down the passages as reconnaissance. There is Raygren, the blacksmith, he was an adventurer for a while but returned and set up his shop here. I would say he's the best place to see about gear as he also sells provisions."

She stands and smiles at all of you. "I'll take you there if you wish."

"We'll be in your care then, Nalisha.  Better than us wandering around blind and driving our poor chaperones batty having to follow us blundering about the place." Aside from Nalisha's company, there was also the chance that her connections with the merchants in town might net them some preferable treatment, so Zoccola was all for her presence.

As the group set out into the streets, Zoccola sharply snapped her fingers and The Hound materialized alongside her in stride.  Neither broke their gait as she hopped up to sit side-saddle atop the mastiff's back, content to be carried rather that stroll on her own.  "As for preparations, we'll do what we can.  I've been digging into my research more but there's not a lot we don't already know.  Purple Worms are big, strong, venomous, and dumber than the rocks they burrow through.  Too dumb, actually.

The thing is, I dug into the thought that they might be a breeding pair, but what I could find indicates they're solitary creatures who don't nest together.  So what we're more likely dealing with isn't a pair of mates, but rather a pair of brood mothers vying for the same nesting spot to lay their eggs." the Goblin summarized her findings with a sigh.  "Which could be bad, all in all.  I don't know if those two might end up fighting over a nesting spot, but if they do they could very easily collapse the entire underground network.  So we should try and keep them apart from one another for more reasons than just not having to deal with two simultaneously.  Apparently some subterranean races know special wards to fend off Purple Worms from their territory, but I couldn't figure out any kind of spell for that myself.  And I doubt we'll be able to find anyone who might know either."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:18, Wed 26 Jan 2022.

Booth waved a hand for Nalisha to lead on.

He commented on Zoccola’s tactical statement.  “I don’t know.  Separating them removes some of our best offense.  Your lightning bolt and my brawling style for example.  Defensively, it would be easier to avoid one instead of two.  So there’s that.  If it goes for Jurassic, his shield has a good chance.  But we lose out on the benefits of fighting a group as soon as we kill one.”

Nalisha leads you out into The Root as the morning sun is rapidly changing into afternoon. There are no chaperones this time and you walk through the fort free of watchful eyes.

It has been just over a day since you arrived and the architecture of the fort continues to amazes you as the Buymark weaves through the streets leading you to the blacksmiths shop. You know you're getting close when you smell the unmistakable smell of a coal fire and hear the clanging if an anvil in the distance. You turn the corner and a large red and green building, square and practical lies before you.

Nalisha waves her hand, "Here we are, Raygren's"

Looking about as they walked he spoke quietly, "Our shadows are missing. Do you think they trust us after only a day?"

“Of course they do.”  Booth replied to Jurassic as if it was common for people to trust him after a night of drinking.

“Let’s see what he has.”  The sailor wasn’t shy about being the first one in.  That gave him first dibs on anything good he might find.