Immersive Ink

Willie sits down heavily & begins the laborious process of cleaning up.

"Terrible stuff! I need a pick-me-up. Is everyone alright? Maybe you should drink that potion, Tet!"

He reaches into his pack for something to nibble on & is surprised to find a turnip!

"Why, that must have rolled into my pack from Mr. Skip's cart! That seems like years and years ago!" he says to himself as he munches on the turnip meditatively.

Dougal takes a moment to examine the carapaces of the beetle carcasses. And the rest of them, as well. It seems to him that the glands that create such an interesting affect from such a creature might prove valuable to someone researching the denizens of this cavern.

While the others are getting a breather Kiplyn retrieves the dropped torch and works on re-lighting it. "This one has a little light left, we'll need it"

ehiker133 wrote:Dougal takes a moment to examine the carapaces of the beetle carcasses. And the rest of them, as well. It seems to him that the glands that create such an interesting affect from such a creature might prove valuable to someone researching the denizens of this cavern.

The beetles have a tahini-producing gland in their throats. The paste is thick, oily, and sticky. It smells exactly like toasted sesame seeds. Please be specific when describing Dougal's investigations: Which senses does he use? Is he just looking at the beetles, poking at them, or what? Does he cut one of the beetles open? Does he touch, or even dare taste the mysterious sesame substance?

mgtremaine wrote:While the others are getting a breather Kiplyn retrieves the dropped torch and works on re-lighting it. "This one has a little light left, we'll need it"

Duly noted!

Although, my observation is: The party is on track to run out of hit points long before they run out of torches!

6 torches last 1 hour each or 6 hours (36 turns) total. And lantern oil burns 4 hours (24 turns) per flask.

The party's first hour of exploration was in total darkness, so y'all lit your light sources on turn 7, which means your current flask of lantern oil will last until turn 30 and bundle of torches until turn 42.

I am assuming that the hourly refreshing of the torches happens behind the scenes as an automatic action.

Once Willie has finished his 'nip snack and is back on his feet, he will arm with his sling & take a look around the corner of the passage from which the beetles approached.

mushgnome wrote:

ehiker133 wrote:Dougal takes a moment to examine the carapaces of the beetle carcasses. And the rest of them, as well. It seems to him that the glands that create such an interesting affect from such a creature might prove valuable to someone researching the denizens of this cavern.

The beetles have a tahini-producing gland in their throats. The paste is thick, oily, and sticky. It smells exactly like toasted sesame seeds. Please be specific when describing Dougal's investigations: Which senses does he use? Is he just looking at the beetles, poking at them, or what? Does he cut one of the beetles open? Does he touch, or even dare taste the mysterious sesame substance?

Dougal cuts one of the beetles open, using his dagger. He prods around with the dagger, but does not eat any parts of the beetle. Mostly he looks with his eyes, not his hands. Although, his nose does detect the comforting scent of toasted sesame seeds and that makes him curious about the oily, sticky paste... He tries to see if he can remove a gland completely, retaining the paste within.

Tet, Willie, and Dame Simonetta don't feel any lingering aftereffects from the sesame paste. They feel like the damage they took was the result of the physical impact, and not from any poisonous or corrosive effects of the tahini.

Dougal makes a big mess unsuccessfully trying to extract a whole gland (thief skill 1d6=1, failed 'pick pockets'), but he thinks he could safely fill some kind of container, like a water/wine skin, oil flask, or holy water vial, if he wanted to.

Meanwhile Willie scouts ahead to the @ sign. The tunnel narrows a bit, goes for another 30' and then takes a turn right (east) and out of sight. Willie doesn't see or hear anything unusual. He notes that the tunnel is spotlessly clean.