"Ouch!" Dinkar shouted. He swung the staff at the 'dog'. "Bad Scraps!"

Dinkar rolled 5,4,5 using 3d6.

WHACK! Dinkar hits the lumberdog so hard, one of its wooden leg pieces comes loose, falling to the ground. The lumberdog limps, now, on that leg.

It jangles angrily, but it's moving slower now... it seems to be trying to decide if it wants to counter-attack Dinkar, or go after an easier target...

Jaffa started back in surprise, but she stopped before actually taking a step. Dinkar was in trouble! And so was the wiry friend! And also the doggo that might be named Scraps! But also, Scraps had hurt both of the other two... But also also, they seemed to be friends with the wiry person?! Why would they knock them down like that?! So rude! But... if they were friends... Maybe actions could speak louder than words?

"Please hold Scraps off, Din!" Jaffa shouted as she started rushing over to her new head-shaking friend on the ground. She would make sure to help out Dinkar with that injury in a bit, but if she could get to the wiry person, she could try helping them and then maybe Scraps would know they weren't trying to hurt anyone!

"The name is Sarah, strongest kid... Uhm, well Strongest Rat in this here ground. Anyways, my quest isn't that far if the wizard's magic doodad is right? Anyways, allow me to get that coin." Sarah said, squeezing through the fissure to get that coin.

Jaffa helps the friendlier wire creature up. It seems to not be permanently damaged, but it does seem somewhat dazed, or just shaken up. It's very slow to get to its feet again.

The lumberdog still jangles a little, angry but uncertain who to attack. Jaffa is farthest from it now, so her movement doesn't single her out for a new attack-- not so far, anyway...

---

"Rat? I'm pretty sure you're a mouse..." says Tassa.

"Um, that's not the right fissure... come back... it's back this way a bit," says the hedgehog...

Raga clenches her fists, but doesn't attack Scraps.

She watches it very intently, though; she also slowly sidles in the direction of Jaffa.

Sarah pops back out of the fissure,"Ah, right, they looked the same to me. And is their really a difference between a rat and a mouse?" she said, diving in to the right fissure.

"There we go... Are you feeling okay, friend?" Jaffa gave what she hoped was a comforting pat on the back of her new wiry friend. She thought about maybe leading them toward Raga as well, but they still seemed a bit disoriented, so she didn't want to add motion to the mix yet. Hopefully, Raga could get over here without much issue! "I'm sorry your other friend knocked you over. I'm sure they were just excited!"

"Oh, sure, I'm pretty sure," says Tassa. "Mice are cuter and smaller and, um, bouncier. Rats are longer and pointier. Much more tail-y."

Sarah walks with the adventurers back the way they came-- it takes less than 5 minutes. "There, see that glint of gold in there? I could almost fit, but I'm just too big. I was afraid I'd get stuck, and Baj felt the same way. Uh, Baj is our cleric. The squirrel."

"Hello," says Baj.

There does indeed seem to be the glint of gold in there. It's a pretty small crack, though. (If you want to try to try to get back there, roll Agile. You're not sure you can fit-- but you are sure that you won't get stuck.)

---

Raga moves next to Jaffa.

Jaffa's new wire friend seems a bit unsteady on his feet-- and a bit afraid of the lumberdog.

The lumberdog backs up. That's good.

Wait, no it's not-- it's pawing the ground, like a bull getting ready to charge...

Hands still clenched, Raga also paws the ground with her feet.

"What kind of silly which can't control her pets?  I'll show her REAL magic."

Anthielle made an impressive looking gesture at the lumberdog, hoping to blind/hinder it with shadows.  Then the kids could take it down... or bypass the danger.

09:33, Today: Anthielle rolled 7 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,1,4.  charming: shadow Powerz!

"Get it, gang!"

"Hey!" Sarah waves to the squirrel and then stares at the hole,"Don't worry, I'm confident I can do this." she said and dives toward the crack, with great difficulty,"Hrngh... I'm not fat by the way, this hole is just really small."

08:16, Today: Sarah Farwing rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  Agile.

Sarah gets through the hole-- barely! With difficulty! And then she gets the gold coin, and gets it through the hole to the eager adventurers, and then she squeezes through. She almost gets stuck, but not quite.

(Choose: either take 1 non-physical hurt, or take -1 die toward your next roll (both from embarrassment.)

---

There is a vague cloud of inky blackness around the whole front of the lumberdog, including its glass eye.

Confused, the lumberdog steps forward-- then backward. Then over to its right, then its left. The inky cloud of darkness moves with it. It can't figure out what's going on. (All PC rolls involving the Lumberdog get +1 die (still a max of 3, though) until I say otherwise.)

"I'm not fat!" Sarah says again as she gives them their gold,"Anyways, we should do my quest now. Peromi should be really close."

I'll Take A Negative Die

Warily eying the now magicked doggo, Jaffa started waving the rest of her friends over. "Quick, we should get away before Scraps can get their bearings! Hopefully they'll calm down in a bit..."

She turned to her wiry friend, concern clear in her eyes. "Are you okay to keep going? Do you need to take a break?"

"Yeah, ow," Dinkar said, even though Jaffa wasn't talking to him. He was the one who'd been injured, after all. "I'll live."

"Ah! Sorry, Din!" Sure, she knew Dinkar was hardy, but that didn't mean he couldn't get hurt! "I'll help you and make it feel better—but we have to get away first!" Why did her friends have to get hurt so darn often?

The (friendly) wire creature bends its wire feet, and starts going on tiptoe away from the lumberdog, motioning Jaffa and her friends along. Its plan, clearly, is to sneak away in silence.

(ONE of you roll Agile (for the group) to sneak away from the currently-blinded Lumberdog-- IF you want to follow that plan.

OR, someone do something else instead.)

---

Sarah explains how her black button buckler has been enchanted to lead her to her friend.

She follows it northward, then westward, then downward...

(Hmmm... Roll Insightful, Sarah... (Which, of course, is also about to use up your new embarrasment-penalty...))

Dinkar rolled 5,1,1 using 3d6.

Sarah leads the crew in usual Sarah fashion. Completely recklessly and blind like a mole.

08:24, Today: Sarah Farwing rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  Super Negative Insight.

I'm not even sure how it can get as negative as a -1

Anthielle follows after her friends.  She can't fight this beast all on her own...

Raga follows suit, bringing up the rear.

In bringing up the rear, Raga is walking kina sideways/backwards, keeping a glaring eye on the monster.  Her fists remain balled at her side; it's as if she's really itching for a chance to punch something.

Sarah-the-mouse quietly calls out directions to her new adventuring party, based on the black button buckler's pull... forward... down... left... down... The "downs" are, increasingly, stairs, and not just vertical shafts that only a mouse could navigate... Down... down... down... straight... straight some more...

A gopher-sized door is opened-- well, really, it was already open a crack, before the party even got there...

There, across a large room (well, okay, it's not even as large as the human wizard's study, but it's a large room for a mouse, is Peromi!

And she's got a silver needle!

But she looks hurt! Barely conscious! She's lying, having trouble breathing!

Peromi reaches out to Sarah, wanting to tell her something, but she doesn't have the strength!

Sarah rushes to her...

OOPS. Sarah should have been watching the ceiling more. A huge (to a mouse) spider drops down in front of her. Seriously, this spider is bigger than Sarah-the-mouse!

"Spiders!" says the gopher, seeing four other spiders of similar size descending from the ceiling and walls. "And they've injured our new friend's friend! Now this is a holy battle! Attack!"

(WHAT WILL SARAH-THE-MOUSE DO?

--If she fights the spider in front of her, roll Forceful.
--If she just tries to get around it safely to reach Peromi, roll Agile.
--If she gives commands to her new allies, roll Insightful.
--If she just tries to shout encouragement to her new allies, roll Charming.

Or if something else, roll something else!)

---

The confused lumberdog is safely left behind, and soon the children and their wire friend reach a large cabin. I mean, large for a halfling, especially. This must be the place!

It doesn't look very spooky, really... it looks kind of homey.

"Peromi!" Sarah said, wanting to help her friend but backed away when she's suddenly facing these spiders. However, her concern for her friend trumps the fears. She pulls out a toothpick-like would she picked up during her travels and points to the spider,"Have you guys ever heard the term, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Well then, I'm here to tell you I've seen living proof of that from my friends, and from me. And I can say without a doubt that we can win this, now let's beat these spider bozos down a peg."

09:06, Today: Sarah Farwing rolled 13 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,6,6.  Encouragement.
Booyah

And I activate Who's First!