Kicking the Mantis Nest

“AIEEEE!” Wren’s scream echoed throughout the cavern. She’d been climbing up to the top of one of the ledges flanking the entrance, hoping for a better vantage point to look for potential dangers, but she’d apparently found one instead. Now she came hurtling back down the rock face. She landed hard, apparently unhurt, but flat on her back. The cause of her fright followed right behind her: a horrid creature came flying down the cliff after her. It looked like a naked woman from the waist up (save for the vulture wings growing from its back); from the waist down … well, there was no waist down – just dangling entrails where it looked as if she had been ripped in half.

The thing dove at Wren, sinking its claws deep into her flesh, and she began to bleed copiously. Another flew off the other ledge, and attacked Jax, sinking its claws into him and sending blood streaming onto the floor. A third appeared from the same ledge as the first. It flew out into the room and hovered in mid-air as it let out a blood-curdling screech. This was too much for Tomas; he dropped his bow and ran full speed for the exit. Nat and Shadow had hung back in the narrow passage, behind the dense magical fog that hid the entrance to the Red Mantis lair. The first they knew there was trouble was when Tomas came hurtling out of the fog. “Run for your lives!” he screamed. They both tried to stop him, but he jumped over one and dodged the other, then disappeared down the tunnel.

Nat gulped as he and Shadow exchanged worried looks. “That doesn’t sound good,” Nat mumbled. They could hear a commotion from beyond the fog, and something had terrified the normally stoic ranger – should they try to help any possible survivors inside, or assume that Tomas knew more than they did, and follow him? Nat took a deep breath, and stepped through the fog. When he emerged, he saw two half-women with their claws sunk into Wren and Jax, and a third preparing to attack. He recognized them: they were Manananggals, undead horrors very much like the thing that Zenobia Zenderholm had been transformed into. His fear forgotten (or at least momentarily suppressed), he fired off a round of Magic Missiles at the one attacking Wren. Shadow appeared out of the fog right behind him, and summoned Ball Lightning to harry the creatures, zapping one of them.

 The creature had its claws deep in Wren, and it was inhumanly strong; Wren knew she had little chance of breaking free. She called upon the power of Pharasma, and a wave of holy energy swept through the cavern, and all three manananggals screeched in pain. Erin followed Wren’s lead, and Channeled Iomedae’s power to blast the undead abominations. Jax was more slippery than Wren, and managed to wriggle free from his attacker’s grasp, staggering back away from it, and the edge of the pit.

That pit separated the cavern they were in from another passage leading onwards. Jax had been starting to investigate the planks that were thrown across it as a ramshackle bridge when the manananggals attacked; he’d seen that it was at least 60 feet deep, its bottom strewn with sharp rocks. Now the creature holding Wren began flapping its wings, lifting her off the ground and carrying her towards the pit, apparently intent on dropping her to her death. Jax slashed at the thing as it became airborne, drawing blood but not stopping it. Wren knew she had to do something. She still held her mace in one free hand, and she swung it up with all her might. It hit the manananggal square in the face, and the unlife went out of its eyes. For the second time in less than a minute, Wren tumbled to the ground.

The creature that had terrified Tomas now charged at Jax; she sank her fangs into his throat, and stabbed him with both of her claws, and the rogue collapsed, unconscious and bleeding heavily. The other went after Wren, but she managed to dodge her blows. Nat summoned an Elemental Wall of electricity that engulfed the one that had just taken down Jax, frying her badly. Shadow redirected his Ball Lightning and that one died from shock. Wren Channeled holy power again at the lone attacker, and Erin stepped forward to protect the cleric, stabbing it with her rapier. It clawed her back weakly, but then Nat pounded it with a volley of Magic Missiles, sending it tumbling to the ground.

Wren hurried to Jax’s side, Channeling the power of Pharasma to heal the entire group. She then cast Cure Critical Wounds to bring the rogue back to some semblance of health. As she worked, Nat was examining the odd glowing fungus growing all over the cavern; they were all more than a little worried that it was yet another danger placed there by the Red Mantis to protect their home base, but Nat put their minds at ease. “It’s called cytillesh, but it’s commonly known as ‘brain mold’.” That made sense, given that it grew in large clumps that bore an unsettling resemblance to brains.

“Will it give you a good high?” Shadow asked with a laugh.

“Well … in a manner of speaking. Prolonged exposure can cause brain damage.” Everyone scuttled to get as far away from the stuff as possible, but Nat tried to reassure them. “No, no, no! You have to spend at least a day or more really close to the stuff. What we’re doing now is harmless.”

About this time, Tomas slunk back out of the fog, looking sheepish. As he bent to pick up his bow, Shadow began casting Detect Magic as Jax returned to his examination of the ‘bridge’ over the pit. “Hmmm … those boards are magical,” Shadow reported, “and something over by the far wall on the other side. Guess I might as well figure out what’s up with the boards.” He strode confidently forward, and started to walk over the rickety bridge when Jax yanked him back. “What’s wrong? Are they trapped?” he asked.

“Only in the sense that they’re not really there,” Jax replied. “They’re just an illusion.”

“Well how do they get across then?” Wren demanded. “There must be another way. Surely they don’t have to jump across every time.”

“I imagine that if you’re a Red Mantis Assassin, and you can’t jump across a little 15-foot pit, then you’re not qualified for the job anymore,” Tomas offered.

Bridge or no bridge, Shadow wasn’t worried. The dim light provided by the softly-glowing fungus left plenty of shadowy areas in the cavern, and he slipped into one, using his Shadow Jump spell to transport him to the opposite side of the gap. He was intent on finding out what was emitting that magical aura he’d detected. He quickly found out, as an invisible Red Mantis Assassin appeared in the spot, slashing at the sorcerer with his sawtooth sabre. Fortunately, Shadow had re-cast Displacement on himself before crossing, and the blow that should have cut him in half missed by a foot. His yelp of surprise alerted the others. Jax zapped the assassin with his Wand of Enervation, making him less skillful, but it turned out to be a wasted charge off the wand. A second later, a stream of arrows flashed across the chasm, striking the assassin in the face, and driving him back into the wall. “Damn – I wanted to keep that helmet,” Shadow said regretfully as he wiped gray matter off his robe. He stripped the body of any salvageable magic, then rolled it over the edge, into the pit.

From this side of the chasm, Shadow could see that the cavern opened into a cathedral-like space, looping to his left in a broad crescent. The ceiling rose nearly forty feet overhead, supported by several natural stone columns. The columns were caked with more of the blue glowing brain mold, and a dense infestation of the stuff grew along the left-hand wall. Near the ceiling, he could see several dark openings, like the mouths of small caves, but could see no way of reaching them other than by flight or climbing.

He returned to the edge of the pit and reported what he’d found to the others. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not sure I’m up for another fight,” Jax moaned. The poison from the catoblepas had severely weakened his constitution, and the recent blood loss had made it even worse. Wren and Tomas were also in similar shape. “Maybe we should go back, and try again tomorrow.”

“But we just got here!” Nat protested. “I’ve hardly used any spells!”

“Well I have,” Wren snapped. “I’ve used all my Lesser Restorations – I have one Restoration, which could help Jax, but I need to rest if I’m going to do anything for me or Tomas. I’ve got a Nap Stack – we could rest somewhere for a couple of hours and be good as new.”

“Well if that’s the plan, then I’ve got a Rope Trick we could hide in while we rest,” Nat replied happily (truth be told, he’d been itching for an excuse to try the new spell). “We can set it up here, above the entrance, so we can see if anyone goes in or out.”

Wren cast her Restoration on Jax, and the group prepared to hide out for a bit. They wanted to dump the manananggals’ bodies into the pit to hide any evidence of their battle. As Tomas bent to pick one up, he suddenly stepped back in shock. “Oh my god – I know these women! This one – she was Avanah Banzul. She was second-in-command in the Sable Company. And this one was Ulweth Wevenner, the chief hippogriff trainer!”

“So has the Sable Company thrown in with the Red Mantis?” Nat asked.

“No!” Tomas snapped. “These women would never do that. And they’d never willingly accept becoming this! Remember all those captives we freed in Deathhead Vault? I’m sure if we checked those records, we’d find that these women had been prisoners there, too. They were transformed somehow, against their will.” He looked up at Nat. “I’m betting that Zenobia creature was responsible – they look a lot like she did.”

Wren said a short prayer for the souls of the victims, then they disposed of their mutilated bodies. Nat cast his spell and they all clambered up the rope into the extra-dimensional space (some needed more than a little help, but no one was injured in the process). Once settled, Wren cast Nap Stack, and everyone got a short, but very restorative rest. Jax kept watch while they were resting, but saw no one pass below their hideout.

When they emerged, the next question was how to safely cross the pit. Jax solved that problem by casting Fly on himself and ferrying everyone across. As they moved towards the large, crescent-shaped cavern, they had to pass through an especially dense patch of the blue brain mold. “Lots of tracks here,” Tomas whispered. “Looks like there’s a lot of traffic in and out of here. On the other side, the tracks fan out in all directions – no single path.” Nat cast Message so the group could communicate, and he and Tomas both activated the See Invisibility power of their purloined Red Mantis masks.

As the others cautiously advanced into the room, Jax decided not to let his Fly spell go to waste. He flew up to the first of the openings near the ceiling and peeked inside. He found a small cave, with a bedroll and some personal belongings inside. “Looks like somebody lives up here,” he whispered back to Nat via Message. He moved on to the next opening and found the same.

Tomas had reached one of the stone columns supporting the ceiling, with Erin close behind him. From here he could see more of the cavern as it curved away. At the far end, several stone benches were arrayed like pews before a stone altar or pulpit. Behind it, a flight of wide stairs led up to an elaborately worked stone façade; on it, a looming carving of an immense mantis crouched with its arms arrayed downward like an archway over a set of double doors.

But before Tomas could report his find, a large section of the glowing cytillesh fungus along the wall to his left suddenly lurched into motion. A horse-sized monstrosity rose up out of it, a giant centipede with its scales caked with blue fungus. It snapped its mandibles angrily at Tomas, and began to scuttle forward. Nat reacted instantly, laying down an Elemental Wall of fire across it. But the Cytillipede kept coming, and as it reached Erin and Tomas the softly-glowing fungus on its body suddenly emitted a brilliant flash of light. Both fighters were stunned by the flash, and their weapons clattered to the floor from nerveless fingers. Wren, farther away, found herself confused by the flash.

Jax was still flying. He could see bits and pieces of what was happening below through the gaps between the stone columns. He assumed the others could handle a simple bug, so he kept checking the caves. He moved on to the third cave; like the others, it was a spartan bedroom, but unlike the others, this one was occupied. The occupant wore Red Mantis armor and mask, and was moving towards the entrance to see what was going on outside. Jax pulled his trusty Wand of Enervation out of his belt and made sure that whatever this guy was planning to do, he’d be somewhat less effective at doing it. He responded by zapping Jax with a pair of Empowered Scorching Rays; one missed, but the other left Jax wondering what the record was for Most Deaths In One Day.

Down on the floor, Wren was babbling incoherently, and Tomas and Erin were swaying on their feet in the face of the giant monster. To make matters worse, a pair of arrows suddenly whizzed in from somewhere at the far end of the cavern, striking Tomas. Nat flung a Lesser Orb of Light at the Cytillipede, and it bellowed with pain, but took out its anger on Erin. It snapped its mandibles closed on her, and the poison dripping from them left her dizzy and dazed, out of the action for even longer. Tomas, however, recovered from the stunning flash, but found himself without his deadly bow. Unable to recover it from underneath the Cytillipede’s dozens of feet, he drew his spear and stabbed the creature, then ducked back behind one of the columns to get cover from the sniper. With one target out of sight, the distant archer redirected his fire to the helpless Erin, feathering her instead. Off in the corner, Wren hit herself with her mace.

Up in the air, Jax decided that perhaps it would be better if his target couldn’t see him, and cast Greater Invisibility on himself, shifting to one side as he did so. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten that this fellow was also wearing a Red Mantis mask, and had no trouble seeing invisible things. He proved that by zapping a set of Scorching Rays of electricity at Jax; fortunately, these missed, and Jax retreated into the cover of the previous cave to rethink his strategy and quaff a potion of Bull’s Strength.

Shadow could see spells flying in and out of the cave above him, but whoever was inside was too far in to target. However, about this time he saw another Red Mantis emerge from the next cave down and begin climbing down the wall, as nimbly as a spider. He probably thought he was safe due to his invisibility, but this group was becoming adept at turning the Red Mantis’ masks against them. Chuckling to himself, Shadow cast Dominate Person on the unsuspecting foe, then cursed when he had the bad manners not to fall under his control. Frustrated, he followed up with an Empowered Lightning Bolt that hit him just as he reached the floor, and sent his limp body tumbling away.

Nat flung another Orb of Light at the Cytillipede, but it didn’t bring it down. Furious, it ignored Tomas and Erin and charged the wizard. It slashed at him with its bristle-covered legs, ripping open hideous, painful wounds; for a moment Nat felt he might collapse in convulsions from the pain, but he fought it down. Tomas stepped forward and stabbed it again with his spear, ignoring the arrows that clattered off the floor at his feet. However, from his right he could see another assassin coming his way. It looked like he’d been planning to use his invisibility to sneak up on Tomas, but when he saw that Tomas was also wearing one of the bug-masks, he pulled up short, knowing surprise was lost.

Things were getting tense. Wren finally recovered her wits, and rushed to try to help her friends, sending a Prayer to Pharasma for her aid. Erin also finally recovered; her main sword was out of reach on the floor, but she had another on her belt and she drew it, and slashed at the Cytillipede, managing to scratch its armored hide. Nat was exactly where he didn’t want to be – face-to-face with a huge monster – but he decided to make lemonade from these lemons. Instead of running away, he stepped forward, and grabbed the oversized bug’s antennae in his hands. Before it could snap its mandibles closed on him, he delivered an Empowered Shocking Grasp that left the Cytillipede’s hundred legs twitching in the air.

Red Mantis Sorcerer

The fight wasn’t over. With Jax in hiding, the Red Mantis sorcerer moved to the mouth of his cave and blasted Shadow with a pair of fiery Scorching Rays. However, Jax wasn’t just cowering in his cave – he was biding his time, and now he came flying back out, straight at the Red Mantis sorcerer. He caught him by surprise, and yanked him out of the cave, sending him tumbling thirty feet to the floor below. Shadow’s hat had been badly scorched, and that infuriated him, so he retaliated by blasting the other sorcerer with a Lightning Bolt, and that was all she wrote.

With the Cytillipede dead, Tomas was able to recover his bow. The oncoming assassin saw him reaching for it, and started charging, but Tomas fired off an arrow that caught him square in the throat. He continued his charge, blood squirting from the wound, but his blow was weak and clumsy, and Tomas easily sidestepped it. Wren, angry at having been useless through so much of the fight, swung her mace two-handed and clipped the assassin on the side of the head, spinning him around before he collapsed.

Just then, another pair of arrows from the distant sniper found their mark in Tomas. That was a reminder that there were still more enemies lurking in the Red Mantis headquarters.

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The PCs earned 9,066 XP, putting them at 180,968 XP with 210,000 required for Level 13.