Faerun's Heroes and The Lost Wave Echo Caves

Day 3: AM

It was a delight to meet with the lovely Quillean Alderleaf again the next morning, and little Kewp was just as keen spirited as his mother. He eagerly took the adventurers to the passage-way opening, pointing to its direction through some shrubbery. Ella playfully brushed the hair of the boy halfling, instructing him to get home safely to his mother at once. Despite the desperate disappointment on his face, he obeyed gladly, and darted off. 

The adventurers, stealthy in stance, overhead mentioning of their own names within the conversations of the humans through the branches ahead of them. They were immediately identifiable as  members of the Redband Ruffians bandits due to the common uniforms of a red sash. Ella tried to suppress the pride upon her hearing that her name is known in opposition to the enemy, but did not succeed as Erevan rolled his eyes. The bandits were mid-conversation about someone called Glasstaff and tales of drinking too much at the Sleeping Giant beer hall, when Erevan uttered some Elvish words of magic to swiftly submit one of enemy into a deep sleep. Ella snatched the other and tackled him to the ground as he alarmedly struggled an escape. Dain coerced information confirming rumours of hostages. During the interrogation, the man admitted to the reason of their presence in Phandalin to simply rob any riches in their selfish search for gold and money. Ella enthusiastically aided Erevan in gaging and tying up the bandit members  to a nearby tree trunk. Dain watched with a sigh of relief as Erevan spared the lives of the humans and turned his attention to the underground entrance, not noticing Erevan steal the shoes off both the men for the sake of plain entertainment.

The dark tunnel entrance extended approximately 100ft ahead before opening up into a cavern. There was a small bridge crossing a crevasse on the left behind two thick stone pillars reaching from floor to ceiling. An unfamiliar-shaped shadow was noticed in the light of Ella's burning torch and the group halted in their tracks, instinctively on edge.  

The creature that emerged was of a hideous complexion with knife-like spikes protruding from dirty uneven skin. It had four legs ending with aggressive claws but moved as though it had resemblance to an arachnid race. The thing's single but large eye menacingly inspected its intruders emitting a supernatural glow of emerald from the iris. 

"Seldradine!*" Arya exclaimed, "its a Nothic."

High-pitched foreboding screeches resonated from the Nothic with an ominous chill as it bore its teeth and began to advance forwards. Valiantly, Dain reciprocated its movements and engaged into a direct combat. Agile movements from the creature were quick to dodge Dain's swing as it mirrored the attack with a slash of its claws, ripping down through the layered chain armour upon the dwarf's right shoulder.

Flames were hurled from  Arya's pointing fingers and roared on their speedy travel before engulfing the creature. Erevan added to the infliction by igniting a similar spell. This caused the Nothic to squeal and scutter back and shield behind the thick pillar from whence it came.

Dain prowled around the opposite side of the pillar, taunting with his war hammer that he repeatedly shifted between his hands.  As a result, the dwarf received another blow to the vulnerable area of his armour, this time ripping through the padding beneath and grazing into his flesh. As the creature towered over Dain's comparingly petite figure, Erevan sniggered at the panting dwarf. He then shot three sharp blades of mystical air from his palm, which successfully struck one of the veiny legs.

The Nothic pounced down from the walls and presented its whole menacing being to the group only 10 metres or so away. Ella saw her opportunity, longbow already poised, one of her arrows sailed into the direct centre of the eyeball. Green slime cried from the eyelid closed around the arrow and it stumbled at the blinding impact. Advantage. Erevan lunged forwards to strike his shortsword into its chest. The creature exasperated its last breath of life as the sword was slowly retracted again, pulling slightly at the resistance of its internal organs and bones and releasing pooling slime to bleed all over the floor.