Wisp Blockade

The next morning we continued on our quest down the skylit column. Eventually we came to a bridge that couldn’t be bypassed. There were no corridors twisting off in other directions; no bridges below to climb down to;ust an overpass filled with will-o’-wisps. Half-size motes danced lazily between their larger adult counterparts. The air hummed with discharged lightning.

We huddled in the corridor as we decided what to do. “Look,” said Rhegar, “If there was any time to fight a group of wisps, this would be the place. Now on most other bridges the wisps could surround us, flank us, and start arcing lightning between themselves. But if we hold a front here in the corridor, they can’t do that. We can even send Kalena, Kyri, and Vixi out around the corner to take pot shots until the wisps get too close.” He must have caught the unsure expression on my face because he continued. “We can put it to a vote if you want, but this is just as legitimate of a plan as the one Tavia had about climbing between the bridges yesterday."

To give the rest of the girls a chance for a surprise attack on the wisps, those of us wearing heavy armor retreated a hundred yards down the corridor. It turned out to be moot, though. In the dim light Kalena tripped over a rock and clattered onto the floor. Her soft cry managed to catch the attention of the wisps and they stated across the open air.

Jumping up, Kalena ran a few steps toward the bridge and dropped a scorching burst on the closest group of wisps. A mote fizzled out of existence, but the others continued toward the brown-haired wizard. They attempted to shock her, but the lightning arced to the surrounding wisps instead. Her hair frizzed around her head and motes from the far side of the bridge flew toward our group.

Kyri and Kalena shot into the lightning storm but their attacks missed. As the motes swarmed the hall, the elf and tiefling grabbed the wizard and pulled her behind our front line. Markas threw up an eyebite against a yellowish wisp, and bits of residuum fell to the floor. Rhegar blocked the left side of the corridor while the girls slipped past. Garn stabbed at a mote over the dragonborn paladin’s shoulder, allowing me to move to the front line. Rhegar’s own swing connected with the yellow wisp and it flared red. He stepped back next to me to create an even front as an arrow from Kyri dissipated the wisp.

I hit a wisp just out of reach with a flame attack. It flared briefly but I could tell that it had absorbed some of the radiant damage. An eldritch bolt from Vixi turned the wisp into a cloud of shimmering residue. Another flaming burst from Kalena burned a lingering mote to magical ash. More motes and wisps swarmed forward. A mote zapped me with a small shock, but there wasn’t enough force behind it to knock me down. I am really glad they can’t flank us, I thought as a slingstone from Markas caused a bluish wisp to flare red and a spear thrust from Garn took out a minor mote. Rhegar let his breath roll out over the motes and the corridor sparkled with residuum and ice.

Only two wisps and a mote remained floating in the corridor. The wisps ignored my light based attack and Vixi’s curses as well. A greenish wisp dodged to avoid Kyri’s arrows and an arc of lightning coursed over my chainmail. The shock stung a bit and I could feel my hair standing on end. “It’s nothing more than a lightning bug.” Garn said as he hit the bluish wisp with the lifedrinker. The ball of lightning crumbled to dust and the dragonborn grinned at me. “Besides, think of all the residuum you and Kalena will be gathering after this.” I smiled back, his humor easing the lingering burn in my fingers and toes.

A green-fletched arrow thudded into the last lightning ball and Rhegar moved forward to vanquish the last foe. Unwilling to let the others finish it for me, I struck my quarterstaff across the mote as I whispered a healing prayer. With the last blow the wisp decided it had had enough. Zipping back down the corridor, it flew across the open air. Rhegar connected with one last swing of his spear but the wisp was too fast for the rest of us to get a shot it. It disappeared out of sight along the wall.

There was enough residuum left in the corridor for five first-level rituals. Kalena excitedly measured it into bags before handing two of the five to me. “Kalena,” I said, “You should keep them. You’ll be doing most of the ritual work for the party.” She pushed the bags back into my hands. “No, keep it. If I fall off a cliff I don’t want to be carrying all of our ritual materials. Plus, if I need extra I know where to get it from.” We hurried across the bridge to catch up to the rest of our party.

A twisting set of small twisting tunnels led off into the cliff on the other side. Kyri poked around the entrance to one and determined they were surely made by insect-like reptiles called Kruthiks. A battle in the four foot tunnels would surely be brutal and heavily weighted against us, so we looked for another path downward.