VotS: The Binary Ants

[Jim Roberts]

[Feb 6 -- The Waterworks]

> And soon afterwards, the priestess was back in the Stonebridge room
> with the Away Team, wiping her face on an offered towel.

Within several seconds, the priestess was considerably less sodden, a
feat well beyond the simple towel in her hands. And in only a minute,
not only was Laurelin completely dry, but she was looking as clean and
well turned out as if she had just stepped into her newly laundered and
pressed garments. Not only was her raiment in perfect order, even her
black, curly hair was dry and perfectly coiffed, with no trace of her
recent swim visible at all.

Their work in the Stonebridge room complete, the Away Team prepared to
continue the relatively short distance remaining northwards to where
they might – or might not – find another manifestation of Ecru, The
Spider Recluse. Just how a spider might choose to be a recluse was not
at all clear, but that was the label that the kobold Upwinders used. And
if they hurried, the medium term “buffs”, those most valuable defensive
spells and prayers, might still be operational by the time they closed
in on Ecru’s reported position.

Only now, there was no point in slowly proceeding in the almost dark,
relying on Laquendi’s improved Darkvision to probe the way ahead. Not
with Laurelin’s Celestial Brilliance now providing the equivalent of
full daylight in a full sixty feet in all directions, with usable
visible light going out twice as far. Anything the Away Team might
encounter would see them coming from a proverbial country mile, but
conversely, nothing would be sneaking unseen upon the Tall People, either.

However, in case the opportunity for scouting – or sinking a blade into
an opponent’s flank – offered itself, Laquendi still remained in the
vanguard, only a few feet behind both Laurelin and Abbot Kenobi. While
true to his word to Tramma (and presumably earlier to Mithi), Finfin
held the “tail end Charlie” position, putting himself between the Ladies
and anything that might wish to assault them from behind.

After their time spent in the Stonebridge room, returning back to the
usual Waterworks tunnel felt oddly confining and liberating at the same
time. Confining in that the tunnel was only twenty feet wide, rather
than the Stonebridge room’s sixty. The more imaginative could almost
feel the stonework pressing in from all around them.

But the tunnel simultaneously felt larger, as well as more confining.
This was no doubt due to their no longer being limited to a mere ten
foot wide bridge. Here, the Away Team could expand to use the tunnel’s
full twenty feet in width. Though that meant that there was more of a
“line” to defend; Ben and Laurelin working together, even if Laquendi
chipped in, could not hold the entire “front line” themselves, and would
have to bring in help from the rest of their team.

But that did not turn into a pressing need as the Away Team continued
their way forward. And before long, the tunnel halted its northward
progress, coming to a four way intersection where only half of the
options really lead anywhere. They had come from the south, and the path
leading westwards, according to the map, would take them to the final
reaches of The Waterworks, the access hatch to the second POW camp, and
the alternate reported position of Ecru.

North and East merely led into the usual dead ends that were common in
the Waterworks, the eastern choice leading to a typical waterfall
dumping into a cistern, and the northern choice leading into an alcove
leading to one of the many surface accessways they had to secure.
Nothing contested making certain that both ladder and its door valve
were accessible, though the ground around the northern dead end looked
rather deeply cracked in a way that would likely give a dwarven mining
engineer fits.

But they were here to secure the premises, and not comment on the
crumbling infrastructure. And after a short while both the northern and
eastern spurs off of their main path were secure, and the Away Team
began heading due west from the four way intersection. Only to find an
ant coming around a corner several feet ahead. Not an ant that you might
find sneaking under a windowsill into a kitchen, or even one of the dog
sized “giant” ants that had plagued the Wagon Train before it ever began
its crossing. This ant stood roughly the size of a Clydesdale.

And it apparently did NOT like the Brilliant Light pouring from
Laurelin’s copper piece. It was waving its antennae about in agitation,
its insect eyes staring balefully at the intruders bringing sunlight
into its domain.

Drawing his sword, Abbot Kenobi stated, “Time to go to work!” Not a
trace of regret could be heard in his voice.

Before he could stride forward to do combat with the ant, however,
Finfin called forward urgently, “Abbot! Let it come to us!” The tactical
reasoning became readily apparent as the ant charged towards the Abbot.
Had Ben moved first, it would have stretched out the melee line. By
staying in place, they could be assured of the ant’s intentions… and if
hostile, both the Abbot and Laurelin could set to, close enough to
defend each other. As could Laquendi, if for some reason the silver
haired elf wished to throw herself directly into the melee, something
that by now everybody fully expected.

Even as he spoke from the tail position, Finfin reached for the magical
sheath at his side, the lizard patterned item one of the treasures
recovered and identified from their previous day’s sojourn. The blade he
drew from the scabbard was not his signature “Lizard Tongue” arming
sword, but rather, his falchion recently acquired from the dwarven
weaponsmiths of Kirgond. Just how the hefty two handed chopping blade
fit into what appeared to be an arming sword’s sheath strongly suggested
the nature of the enchantment of the item.

As feared, the ant’s intentions were not at all peaceable, or even
curious. It wanted the surface dweller threat to its underground
inhabitation removed. The Ant crashed into the Abbot, proving its
intentions beyond any doubt. And a moment later, sword blows from both
priest and priestess, a flanking dagger attack from Laquendi, and some
arrows from Lomi ended the creature’s life.

But from the northern exit from the intersection just behind them, a
pair of new ants, just as big as the recently deceased ant, swarmed up
from the cracks in the flooring. Both were chittering angrily, antennae
waving menacingly as they charged towards the rearguard of the Away
Team. Lomi pivoted in place and launched a series of arrows at one of
the insects, and a spectacular shot finished the monster.

Undeterred by the fate of its companions, the remaining ant charged the
surface intruders. Where it perforce met the elf with the falchion at
the “tail end Charlie” position. The hefty chopping blade flashed, and
the ant collapsed in pieces. Just in time for FOUR more ants to appear
from the west, moving to attack the vanguard of the Away Team. And
Laquendi, lacking an immediate target, unleashed a salvo of magic missiles.

Finfin fell back slightly, eyeing the four ants in the west and the
currently empty cracks to the north in equal concern. He did not like
how this progression was trending. From his current post, he could
contribute to the battle in the west, if the quartet of ants swept past
the vanguard and still be in position should more ants appear from the
north… but he did not like the prospect of a two front war. “Fall back
as you can!” he called out, glancing towards the ant-free south from
where they’d come into this ant infested area.

Possibly from that extra bit of “sympatico” that Tramma had been showing
to the two wizards from that morning, the silver haired bard understood
the elven officer’s urgency. Falling back towards the unthreatened
south, she began to put the warning into song, her words filled with
Bardic Magic that filled everyone’s hearts with courage. Even as the
lyrics to her impromptu verse echoed and amplified her elven friend’s
direction for everyone to fall back to the ant-free south.

The four western ants did indeed attempt to overrun the vanguard, one in
particular ignoring the priest and priestess on the melee line to charge
towards the less protected members of the Away Team. Two were dropped
immediately, and another by a combination of Lomi’s arrowfire and
Jeyshann’s claws, The fourth ant took more time to dispatch, giving Ben
a nasty ant bite as it bodily picked up the armored holy man by its
mandibles.

“You can NOT have my Bon-Bons!” the Abbot yelled, breaking the
creature’s grasp. A messy Battle of the Bon-Bons ensued, and eventually
the remaining western ant was dispatched… just in time for EIGHT more
ants to appear from the north. As the ants clambered out of the ground,
Lomi and Laquendi joined Tramma in the southern passage, behind an
impromptu melee line across the southern exit from the intersection,
formed by the Abbot, High Priestess Laurelin, Captain Finfin, and Great
Medicine Woman Jeyshann.

Looking at the numbers, Tramma began to shift her lyrics to a cautionary
note about a “power of two progression”, and the importance of
preserving “big booms” for later. However, either her words arrived too
late, or High Priestess Laurelin was not a fan of this particular tune.
No matter the reason, the elven priestess’ Cone of Cold spell quickly
and efficiently exterminated the eight newly arrived ants from the
north, even as a loud two tone chittering announced the arrival of
SIXTEEN more from the west.