03.03b - "The Roper!, part II"

The screaming cacophony began to lessen, and a thick viscous liquid began to slowly seep down the tunnel and out of the dragon mouth. Apostrofae untied frulan’s legs so she could walk out on her own power.

"Yes.  Great job with those egg-sacks.” Blak said. “Let's go!"

A’postrofae walked over to the liquid seeping out of the tunnel, contemplating it for a second, then reached down, sticking a finger in it. Blak stared, unable to look away, as Apostrofae walked back over to Frulan and smeared a line across her face. Blak sighed in relief.

“This is going to be you in a while”, Apostrofae whispered to the prisoner. “Let’s get out of here.”

Able shifted the heavy egg stick on his shoulder. "Agreed. Let's fuckin' move. How are we getting up the shaft? Wait. I have an idea." he said, lookin gover at Apostrofae "Can you do that thing with the rats again?"

Blak smiled having a similar thought.

"We could throw each rat up the shaft to the top, and then you get back together" Able explained.

"Maybe they can more easily climb up without the throwing?" Blak asked, pulling some string and rope out of his bags, and tying the ends together.

"Oooh, a rat tow line" Able mused.

"We could tie the string to one of the rats maybe?” Blak theorized. “Then when she...reassembles, she could pull up the rope and tie it off for us. What do you think A'postrophae?" In response she collapsed into a swarm of rats at the feet of Frulan, before running from her feet clockwise around her body to her head then back down to her feet and over to Able\*

Able grumbled, disappointed about not getting to play rat toss. "I could poke the Song up the ramp and let the rats run up it? Alright, kid. Up you...all...go" Able wetly coughed up Bartholomew the bat as and sends him up into the room to check for danger. "Stop making out with the prisoner and get your asses up the shaft"

The rats made loud chittering noises in response, grabbing the string attached to the larger rope and heading up.

Able gestured to Blak. "Ladies first"

Down the tunnel in the distance ... silence. Brynne chuckled nervously. "Wonder if he's full yet."

"Gods I hope so", Able replied.

At the top of the chute, Apostrofae reverted to her normal form and tied off the rope. “All set!”

Able started to tie the egg sacks to the end of the rope. "You guys go ahead. We can pull these up with the rest of the rope. I suggest Hector up first and me last.” Able turned to guard the tunnel. "...just in case"

"My friends,” Sir Hector said “I'd just as well be the last one up and keep an eye on if our . .. 'new friend' returns. I think I can take a hit a little better than you, comrade"

Able moved to the rope. "Don't have to tell me twice" he said as he started climbing up. "Somebody hand the Song to me when I get to the top"

"Well wait a minute, Able" Blak tied Song to him with more string. "I'll need to get more back in town it seems"

Reaching the top, Able put Bartholomew on his head and took up a guard position, watching all the doors. "Next!"

"Brynne?" Blak asked.

"Don't forget to attach the bitch so we can drag her up!" Apostrofae called down

"Can ya make it up there?" Brynne asked Leosin. "as long as someone is behind me and doesn't mind a lot of groaning, I should be good ..." he replied. Brynne laughed. "Dinnae think any o' these boys are yer type. I'll try ta catch ya though if ya fall." Leosin darted a glance at Blak

"No, no, she's right" Blak said. "You're safe, I assure you.  Gamble though..." Blak winks at the master of mischievousness if he's there. After Leosin, Brynne, and Bismark go up, Blak entered the orifice

"Goooooooooood meat!" the roper bellowed.

"Guys, let's move it! We don't want to get eaten by the nice roper!" Able called down, pulling up slack rope so that pulling up the eggs will be faster. "Send up Frulan next"

"Oh right.  Forgot about that." Blak remembered, and stopped climbing to help attach the rope to Frulan. "OK.  She's tied. Pull her up.” Frulan is dragged up quickly. "Throw the rope back down and I'll tie on an egg-sack"

"Liiiiiike Foooood's Sooong?" the roper seems to inquire to Sir Hector. It took him a moment but then his eyes go wide when he realizes the roper was referring to the kobold screams. He stammered out what could possibly count as an affirmative, Gamble sticking his head in the chute, clearly wanting to be next and starts to chant, "Must go faster! Must go faster!"

As Able untied Frulan, suddenly a cacophany of sound erupts behind them, bouncing down the tunnel towards the people in the higher room. The bat colony had been disturbed.

"Aaah shit, what now" Able asked, then stuck his head down the chute and called to Blak, "Send those eggs up last - he didn't eat them when he was in their room, surely they're safe? Tie them to the end of the rope and we can pull them up"

"MOOOOOORE SOOOONG?"

“Wait, aren’t there some dead people up here?” Apostrofae said, looking around, then wandering off looking for bodies to slide down the chute. “Able help me grab some food”

"Yep" Able said, joining her. “Maybe someone can make the fooood song with a spell”

A mass of bats create a cacophany down the tight tunnel outside the guard room - what seemed like every bat in the world was rushing by.

Amongst the noise, Able chucked a dead cultist down the chute. "Incoming! Snacks for roper friends!"

“Should we send more down?” Apostrofae asked.

"Probably" Able told her

“I mean they are just stinking the place up where they are.” Apostrofae pointed out.

"You're starting to sound like one of those soft druids" Able joked, dragging two more to the chute.

“Hey a stink is a stink.” Apostrofae told him. “We may be here a while with every bat in the entire world blocking our exit.” Just then, a kobold ran screaming past in the midst of all the bats. Apostrofae laughed quietly, seeing it. The kobold was being chased by three very aggressive young guard drakes ... The third one paused and began to investigate the tunnel down which the corpses lie. Seeing this, Apostrofae stopped laughing, and backed up into the room. “We’ve got drake trouble coming. Keep it down”, she hissed.

Down below, Blak called up the shaft. "Eggs are all tied up, but you all will have to heft em up as one.  I'll...work on Titus." Blak said, and pulled out his zither, beginning to tune it. "Music. Song. Stalagtitus, this one's for you."

> You're in for surprise
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> You're in for a shock
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> A-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaawe!
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> In an Underdark slog
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> When there's darkness and fog
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> When you least expect me
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> And you turn your back
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> I'll attack!
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> I smile when I'm sneaking
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> Through shadows by the wall
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> I laugh when I'm creeping
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> But you won't hear me at all
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> All hear my warning
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> Never turn your back
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> On the Roper!
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> You'll soon shake with fear
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> Never knowing if I'm near
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> I'm sly and I'm shameless
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> Nocturnal and nameless
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> Except for "The Roper"
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> Or if you must, "Stalagtitus"
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> \*Zither riff\*
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> Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawe-AAAAAAAAAWE-Awe-awe….
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> \*Zither chromatic scales riff with string bends\*
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> Owwww!   Owwww!
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> If you give off any heat
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> Then you'll become my meat
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> Underneath a ceiling spike
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> Where the path is damp and tight
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> I'm a nasty surprise
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> I'm a devil in disguise
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> I'm a creep sound at night
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> I'm a scream of the fright
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> All hear my warning
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> Never turn your back
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> On the Roper!   The Roper! The Roper!
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> A-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!
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The roper approached Blak, tentacles dripping blood and thrashing a bit in an excitable frenzy. As the song begans to enchant the creature the aggressive posture lessenned. Eventually the tentacles started to sway and near the end actually seem to keep time with the music.

"Taaaaaaaaaaaassssty Song . . ."

As he sang, the others scrambled up the shaft, and seeing that everyone else had made it, Blak took  a bow, gesturing toward the corpse of the cultist. "There is more meat for you right there if you are still hungry."  And with that, Blak climbed up with the others. He could hear crunching and slurping sounds occur behind him as he scurried up the tunnel.

Bismark draws his rapier and A'postrofae backed ups and to prepare for a fight with the drake.

Able interposed himself between the door and the eggs. "Fucking son of a..."

"let him come into zis room and not disturb ze bats" Bismark said.

"What is coming this time?" Able asked, not paying attention to the previous warning.

"Drake", Apostrofae hissed

"How many of these gorram things are there down here??” Able spat.

Keeping her attention forward, Apostrofae told him "From what I can tell, all of them"

Bismark snuck up to the tunnel where the drake was inching closer, and poked his head around to try and distract it. The young drake was about 15 feet away with its snout down low to the ground, tracking by smell and didn’t see Bismark.

Able looked at Apostrofae. "What is it with these guys and getting all close? Sword on stick. Make sword longer"

"I like it when they do that. It takes longer to get to me." She told him matter of factly

Able pokes the air with his spear. “Make dead far away… but you do raise an excellent point"

The drake continued to sniff, moving forward, completely ignoring the whispers behind it when compared to the cacophony of bat country.

Bismark turns back to Able and whispers "ugh, fine. ve veren't planning on stealthing out of here, vere ve?"

"I wasn't, no" Able told him. "I'm more of a 'step over the still cooling corpses of our foes' kind of guy"

Bismark smiled, then grabbed his medallion, closing his eyes and muttering a few words under his breath.

Bismark opened his eyes which now looked like firey red dragon's eyes and motioned to everyone to cover their ears.the floor of the hallway the drake was in begans to shake, and bismark stepped into the hallway and spoke to the drake, his voice booming three times as loud as normal, and bouncing off the hard, echoing cave walls. "GET. ZE HELL. OUT OF MY VAY, ANIMAL."

Around the corner, Able crossed himself and then kissed the bat goodbye, just in case.

The animal yelped in shock. The hackles of the animal raised as it began to VERY slowly walk backwards, keeping a very close eye on Bismark. The snarl on it's snout reveals lots of blood from where it had been having fun eviscerating it's cruel masters. It moved about 15 feet away, cautiously, unsure of what to do.

Bismark walked forward the same 15 feet confidently. "IN THE NAME OF HELM, YOU WILL LET US PASS, BEAST"

Backing all the way to the tunnel entrance, it gave him one last snarl then turned and darted towards the cave mouth. Even the bats seem to shy away. With the drake gone, Bismark noticed the sound of the bats beginning to fade.

Bismark ran back and told the others "drake's gone, and the bats might be out now too, let's move up", making a motion to move up.

wrangling the eggs back onto the stick, Able gets himself and Theo back into carrying position. "Let's get out of here. Lead the way, Father. Hey Blak, any of your Alliance buddies have a use for these eggs? When we get back we're gonna need someplace to fence...er, unload them"

"Absolutely, Able.  My allies will definitely compensate successful adventurers such as ourselves.  Good help is hard to find! Especially, in exchange for uniques like these."

Bismark peeks out towards the main entryway to the cave, seeing corpses from the first guards the party found when they entered.

Warily they all scouted ahead as the eggs were brought forward with Blak, the last man in the room, making sure that Theo secured all the notes and maps before moving with Able and the eggs, glances back in that room and sees an inquisitive roper tentacle emerge from the chute.

He hustled the rest of the group out, to where they find the other five of Theo's men, about 50 feet from the mouth of the cave nocking more arrows into their bows. 4 of the men were on horseback, one man on the ground, holding a leg wound. A pin cushioned kobold and two dead and one dying drake lay between them and the party.

"Ho! Report!" called Theo, nodding approvingly.

One of the men, "They ran straight as us like a bat out of hell . . . which was kind of amazing because they had this giant horde of bats behind them, it was a sight to behold! Almost looked like album art from a bard's sheet music!" Approaching closer their eyes go wide at the sight of the bundles strung between theo and Able. Theo sweating profusely and Able bleeding profusely. They rush over to help.

Leosin catches up, blinking at the bright light of the mid afternoon, as Leofinas closely followed whoever is carrying the eggs.