The swarm roused some primal awareness in many of the adventurers. Not everything was right in this. Why were there dead bats around? They wouldn't just die off for no reason, now would they? And even then, they were in hostile territory. Anything could be out there, just looking to spill their blood. However, the enemy they were facing tonight would hardly seek to spill what could be drank. The threat was comprised of vampiric little creatures, leathery as the ones they shared the cave with but only several times uglier, stirges. And they were out on a hunt.

Their sense for blood guided them to the meatier targets, those of the adventurers. The bats had kept them alive until now. But now that they were here to provide cover, the monsters took their chance to strike. The one donning heavy plates went mostly ignored in favour of easier targets like the bare chested half-orc or the too large to effectively defend itself from them hyena. Small pincered snouts penetrated skin and began sipping away at the very essence of life at many points, the swarming bats drowning the sounds of agony those that were hurt may have proclaimed. They would have to rely on visuals, and them alone in order to communicate in the midst of this concentrated threat.

[hider=Mechanics&Rolls]
Good news: Most of the party was not surprised since the stirges that inhabited the swarm rolled poorly on initiative! Torus got [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/13149]19[/url] for his own.

I'll just save myself from the trouble of linking every single attack roll. They should all be clearly labelled [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/campaigns/57]here[/url].

Long story short, Stirges attach to targets on hit. Torus now has two on his wild shaped person having taken 13 damage to his current form, Parum ([@Ryonara]) has one with 5 damage done to her, Kyra ([@Norschtalen]) has one with 6 damage done to her and Orchid ([@Lucius Cypher]) has two with 12 damage dealt to him. The stirges that did not attach are flapping somewhere nearby. You will be able to find them with your 30 feet of movement if you would seek to strike them down. Do note that the little critters will automatically deal damage if still attached by the start of their next turn.

Next up, Kyra! [@Norschtalen]
[/hider]
[@Ryonara][@Gordian Nought][@Lucius Cypher][@Norschtalen][@The Harbinger of Ferocity]