Maybe boosted by the recent success with the wild boar, Viklop takes point into the berry collecting operation.
He makes his way thru the fangs spilling blood in the process, but he didn’t notice the huge amount of spiders crawling towards him, fortunately enough, Damiel, Rendyl and Tegan are paying enough attention.
Round Surprise-
Ordered Initiative-
Active Effects-
Map-
--
Notes-
Action-
"Well, that is one way to take care of getting the berries" says Damiel as Viklop enters the berry patch.
Seeing spiders approach the man, and knowing that he won't be of much help going into the berry patch, Damiel yells, "spiders" to warn Viklop, and then begins to provide his serendipitous luck to the group as the spiders don't look friendly.
Rendyl cursed as he saw the spiders start to swarm towards Vik, hearing Damiel's shout of alarm as he pulled his bow off of his shoulder and made ready to help lay the arachnids low before they could cause the swordlord any serious injury.
Tegan isn't very helpful when it comes to examining the bushes. Climbing off of Milo's saddle proved to be quite the struggle. After an embarrassing amount of time, Tegan's feet are on the ground and she's observing their surroundings. She covers her pink mouth with her long, slender fingers when one of her companions tromping into the hedges. ”Oh! Please, be careful!” She grasps Milo's reign and hides her face in the mule's short mane. Tegan imagines the scraping thorns across her companions skin with every snapping twig. She finally looks up upon hearing the ranger congratulate the fighter. Tegan gazes down at her boots, her long eyelashes covering her eyes: "well, I'm glad that's do-"
Her eyes widen as she hears movement. Just in time, Tegan spots a mass of spiders closing in behind Vik.
Tegan isn't afraid of spiders, but she doesn't particularly like them either. As her move action, Tegan...
Tegan moves up two, right 1 to get within 25 feet of the spider cloud.
Maybe still suprised with the whole thing Djebelle doesn’t react in time, as the spiders move in to Viklop, crawling over the man and biting him all over.
”I’m sorry, you may feel a bit cold,” Tegan warns Vik. Tegan pulls the cool air from around her. She lets her emotions shape and condense the element to her will. Snowflakes form on her hair and in her lashes, while frost creeps up from her traveling boots and onto her skirts and apron. The frosty wind of snowflakes thickens as it swirls faster around Tegan. Tegan is almost completely concealed by the turbulent frost storm when she sends to forth towards the swarm.
Current HP: 17
Fort Save:
As calmly as he can, Vik moves out of the briar and back to open space. Once there he will begin to remove the spiders from himself (if any are left!)
If any of the spiders are left, Rendyl will pull out a torch and light it, intending on burning the remaining arachnids into oblivion. Otherwise, he takes a deep breath at the close call, thinking that perhaps he should look more carefully for spiders the next time there are tons of webs about.
Djebelle quickly hurries over to Vik, her healing magic restoring him to health.
Viklop has only manage to collect one batch of berries before the spiders showed up, maybe attracted by the blood or all the moving around their web.
Tegan attacks the spiders for no avail, while Rendyl proceeds to light a torch, in hope he’ll be able to deal with the spiders. Djebelle heal her ally, while the masked half elf, quickly gather a mix of several different alchemical products, creating an unstable substance, which he throws with a bang at the spiders.
Round Two-
Ordered Initiative-
Enemies: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Damiel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Djebelle: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Hylaen: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Rendyl: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Tegan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
Viklop: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
With Viklop walking too far away from the spiders, they move towards the closest target, the young and beautiful Tegan. Spiders crawl on the woman, biting every single piece of exposed skin they can find.
Rendyl's eyes widened in concern as the eight-legged freaks crawl all over the lovely Tegan, biting and skittering and just altogether being unpleasant. Unwilling to light up the young sorceress, he calls out "Try to get away from them, Tegan!", impatiently waiting with torch in hand.
If you young woman moved, the ranger would try to set the area around the spiders on fire, in the hopes of catching at least some of them in the burn radius.
Not having anything in his magic repertoire that would affect the swarm, Damiel keeps up the serendipitous luck for the group, and hopes that Rendyl can come up with a solution to the spiders.
Djebelle prays for a moment and her scimitar ignites into flame; stepping forward, she readies herself to attack the swarm.
Vik will also try to brush as many of the spiders off Tegan with his scabbard, stomping on them as they hit the ground.
Dropping her longspear, Tegan lifts up her arms to cover her face and lets out a feminine scream "Aaaah!"
She runs towards her companions.
The spider venom coupled with all the bugs crawling on her bared skin is too much to Tegan, which immediately doesn’t feel that good anymore. Even so, she moves away from the spiders as best as she can, trying to avoid the evil bugs.
After that, Rendyl bravely swings his lit torch around, trying to set the spiders on fire, but it’s not enough to disperse the bugs.
Hylaen hands continues to move as he creates yet another bomb, throwing that the bugs.
But that’s just enough to disperse the bugs. Not all the spiders were killed, far from it, but they scatter around, offering no more danger to the adventures.
===
With the spiders gone, collecting the berries is isn't a problem anymore.
Rendyl shook his head at the close call, alarmed that spiders of all things had nearly crippled the group. The ranger was always determined to learn from his mistakes, though, and planned to get some flasks of oil from Oleg's when they returned. "Are you both alright?" Rendyl asked both Vik and Tegan, hoping Djebelle could do something for their dozens of bite wounds.
The tall man kept a sharp eye out as Vik waded back into the bushes and harvested more berries, and after the deed was done he indicated the trail. "Shall we continue on our way, then? Mapping is tedious work, but we're doing ourselves no favors by putting it off. Besides, maybe we'll run into some more of the bandits and cull their numbers further." Speaking of the bandits brought to Rendyl's mind the last time they returned to the Outpost, of the carnage that had occurred while they were away. He could only hope Garess could keep things under control until they returned.
"A few scratches and bites is all...nothing a good rest won't fix. How are you Tegan? Are you ok to continue on?"
Speaking to Rendyl, "agreed, mapping is not that much fun, but you are correct we have to do this. Since you are best suited, with your skills, to lead us thru the lands, do you have a preference, of going east thru the open lands, or west into the woods?"
"We can just bring the berries with us, and return to Oleg later."
Rendyl shrugged at Damiel’s question. ”I don’t have a preference, really, but the grasslands will go quicker and are probably more likely to be of interest to the Swordlords. Let us head west, if no one objects.”
The group decided to continue exploring; heading west, exploring the area and mapping the area on the sword lord’s behalf.
Nothing of unusual happened while exploring, and the days are pretty much the same, with camping at sunset, hunting for food during the day. One thing that the charters might need to worry about is that the boar meat, even with Tegan’s assistance started to decay give off a bad smell. The berries, doesn’t seem that will maintain their freshness that much longer either.
However, that’s future concerns, and while exploring, a series of quick, yipping frenzied barks come from an open pit in a clearing here. The pit, an opening of 10ft square seems to be a trap, and mostly likely some sort of creature fell into it.
Curious, the ranger approached the pit, keeping an eye out for other, similar traps so that he and his companions don't fall into another one.
Assuming he made it to the side of the hole, Rendyl peered over the edge to see what could be at the bottom.
Hearing the yipping noise from the hole in the ground, Damiel carefully searches the ground carefully around the opening, and at the edge of the opening to see if there are any additional traps.
If it is clear, he lays down near the edge to look over and see what is in the hole.
Unable to assist at this point, Djebelle hangs back, out of the way - and safely far from the edges of the pit. She has a thing about heights/falling.
The brave Rendyl moved forward to check what’s trapped inside the pit, but little did he knew that he was in danger himself.
When he got closer to the pit, the edge side slipped away, almost dragging him into the hole with the frenzied creature.
The pit is 20ft deep and inside it, this odd creature knows as Brush Thylacine, is about the size of a large dog, but it has the slender build of a cat, heavy whiskers, and dark stripes down its back. Its long tail flips about, smacking the ground as it scans the woods. It yips and bays in a complex pattern, offering warning to anything that may cross its path.
"Poor creature...lets cut a thick branch and lay it into the pit so the beast can climb out. It looks part cat, so it should have no problem once it can sink its claws into the wood."
Looking around, Vik finds a suitable small tree or branch that he can cut down and then will place it into the pit so the animal can use it to climb out.
Rendyl almost slipped into the pit, but caught his balance at the last moment and hopped away from the edge, breathing heavily, telling Damiel and the others of the large cat's predicament. The creature below was dangerous and probably frustrated and wouldn't have taken kindly to a newcomer sharing its prison.
At Vik's suggestion the ranger nodded. Predators were a normal part of life in the wild, and killing this one could throw the ecosystem off for miles around. Still, he pulled out his bow and stepped back from the pit. He loved nature, but was not foolish...he would shoot the creature if it attacked him or his companions.
Looking at the creature, Damiel asks Rendyl "do you know what kind of animal that is? As Vik said, it looks part cat."
As the brawny members of the group chop down a tree to lower into the pit, Damiel prepares himself to slow the creature down if it starts to attack the group when it is free.
At Damiel's question, Rendyl thinks as he helped Vik get ready to help the creature escape the pit.
Thylacines are large marsupial carnivores. They typically hunt alone, only occasionally forming small packs. Thylacines hunt at night, and rest during the day in nests hidden away from the world in hollowed trees or bushes. Farmers fear the creatures, blaming all manner of problems on them. However, thylacines are quite shy and antisocial, and usually avoid human settlements. Because of their odd, almost hybrid appearance, thylacines have a far harsher reputation than they probably should, playing a sort of bogeyman role in farming communities.
Ecology:
At a distance, thylacines are sometimes mistaken for dogs or jackals, but can be easily identified by the defining stripes on their gold-hued backs. Thylacines usually have between 13 and 21 dark stripes. Their muscular jaws, filled with teeth, can gape open to an impressive 120 degrees. While thylacines may appear rather quick, they are far from proficient runners. Due to their oddly shaped legs, their run is awkward and slow. However, the animals can stand on their haunches for short periods, helping them to fend off other predators and kill larger prey. Thylacines are also capable jumpers, not dissimilar to kangaroos, and often surprise opponents with this ability.
By most standards, a thylacine’s senses aren’t impressive. They can see and hear well enough to hunt prey, but their olfactory senses, while competent, do not approach canine levels. Thylacines hunt in a manner similar to wolves, focusing on wearing down prey by chasing and harrying instead of direct attacks. Their stomachs are able to greatly distend, enabling thylacines to eat vast amounts of food in a single sitting, devouring larger animals to compensate for long periods of drought or poor hunting.
Thylacines are quite cowardly, avoiding confrontation whenever possible. If cornered, a thylacine tries to frighten off attackers with growls, hisses, and threat-yawns, in which it displays its teeth and the full extent of its wide jaws. If these threat displays are ineffective, however, a thylacine does not hesitate to attack. Their powerful jaws may not snap bones, but they can still make quick work of an unprepared traveler. In addition, thylacines are not picky eaters. If driven to starvation, they aren’t afraid to hunt humans, in which case their nocturnal hunting cycles tend to lead them to attack sleeping travelers or outlying farms.
Thylacines are fiercely independent. While wolves and other canines can be tamed and domesticated, thylacines are wild without exception. If captured, they become territorial and mark everything they can in their territories with strong-smelling odors from their scent glands.
Many a farmer has made the sad mistake of attempting to domesticate a thylacine, only to find his farm smelling atrocious and his livestock killed in the night. An adult thylacine stands 2 feet tall at the shoulder, is 4 feet long (not counting an additional 2 feet of tail), and weighs roughly 50 pounds. The larger and more aggressive brush thylacine breed can reach almost 8 feet long from nose to tail-tip, though still only weighing 100 pounds.
Habitat and Society:
Thylacines breed year-round, but like most marsupials, they don’t maintain strong family ties. Females keep their young in pouches. Unlike many marsupials, males also have pouches, but these are to protect their genitals, not their young. Females produce about 10 viable joeys in a given breeding season, but only about four can expect to see more than a year of life. The average thylacine lives between 4 and 10 years.
Thylacines keep dens similar to those of plains mammals such as foxes and cougars. Dens are often very hard to find, in trees, caves, or other inconvenient locations out of the way of most predators, and in natural shade. Thylacine young reside in the den for only a short period, as joeys stay in their mothers’ pouches for most of their development. During periods when a mother is incubating her young, she can be downright violent to trespassers or any other potential threats.
==//==
Rendyl addressed the others, "It's a wild animal, for sure, but no more dangerous than any other to human-kind. With that being said, it is a large predator, and depending on how long it's been down there, it could possibly attack us. Unless..." He looked back to the horses, where the boar meat was just starting to sour.
"Maybe we should throw it a few chunks of the wild boar, first, to satiate its hunger. If it's not starving it will almost certainly leave us alone." The ranger looked about to see how his companions felt about this.
"That sounds good. A satiated animal should just run away. I will however still be ready to slow it down if it attacks."
Nodding in agreement, Vik walks over to the carcass and slices off a large chunk of meat. The carefully moves to the edge of the pit, then whistling to get the creature's attention, drops the meat at the cat-dog's feet.
"there you go beastie....chew on that and leave us alone."
Feeding the wild Thylacines proved to be a good idea. It pounced on the boar meat and it seems it had not eaten anything for several days. After that, things goes smoothly. After released from the pit, it fled from the charters, not caring in the slightest to pose any sort of danger to them.
"The berries look and smell like they might not last for much longer. Let us head back to Oleg and turn them in for the reward, and a nights rest out of the wilds."
Rendyl nodded his agreement to Damiel's suggestion. Maybe he was growing soft, but the prospect of a nice bed inside sounded pretty marvelous. As did the reward offered for the berries, as the ranger didn't fancy going back to the patch and trying to procure more after the damage the spider hoard did.
”To Oleg’s Trading Post,” Tegan’s thin form struggles with the reins as she pulls herself onto Milo’s saddle. She quickly pulls at her skirts once perched. ”I’m sorry, I thought my powers would be more effective on the food. I’ll have to practice more.” The beautiful woman is silent for a lot of the ride. I wonder how sister is doing. …I should write another letter to the Mayor detailing our efforts.
The return trip to Oleg’s was peaceful as ever, with not even mama badger to disturb the nights rest. The damage from the last battle hasn’t been repaired yet, altho you notice that at least the gate is still standing. Oleg’s happily receive you back, and the first thing you notice is that the opposition doesn’t seem to be in the trading post anymore.
The owner of the trading post is happy to be the intermediate between you and the ones that requested the tasks. He sends notice to Bokkan (berries) and Vekkel (Tuskgutter), and it’ll take some days until the rewards are available for you.
Rendyl is glad to see the trading post still standing, with no evidence of any attacks in the group's absence. He had hated to leave the place relatively unguarded, but they had been tasked with exploration and charting, so it was necessary. He looked to see if Garess' garrison had been replenished, but doubted it, seeing as there were relatively few repairs made to the place.
The ranger is glad to have a place to relax (relatively, anyway), and is looking forward to a comfortable corner to rest in. His brow furrowed at the absence of the other charter, but with the shape they were in they might have decided to retreat back to Restov to regroup. He decided he'd inquire as to their whereabouts after a nice, hot meal.
Seeing that the gate is still standing, the semi-perpetual scowl is replaced by a grin for the moment. Upon learning that April and her group are not here, the scowl returns and Damiel doesn't wait to ask, "Oleg, did they other group make it back here and leave? Did they head back to Restov or somewhere else?" When Oleg takes the berries and the head from Tuskgutter, and says that he will be the go between, "ah, thank you for that. Saves us a trip or two that may not be needed."
He looks for Svetlana, and when finding her, "how did the moon radishes work out for you and Oleg?"
Tegan’s heart starts to beat faster as Oleg’s Trading Post comes into view. The party had been away for some time, however, she’s pleased to see the door is still intact. Milo carries the beautiful woman the gate before she gently pulls back on the reins.
She pulls her boot out of the foot holster and lifts a leg over the mule’s back. She awkwardly slides down the side of the animal, which pulls her apron and skirt up to her knees. Tegan brushes at stray mule hairs while smoothing down her various skirts. ”Good job, Milo. Let’s get you a treat.” Tegan coos to her mount, stroking his muzzle. Milo’s nostrils flare and he paws at the ground with one of his front hooves.
Inside, Tegan greets the Trading Post residents: Oleg, Svetlana, and Lieutenant Kesten Garess. ”We’re back,” Tegan shares a small smile. Then, in her usual cool tone: ”We saved my sister, killed Tuskgutter, and gathered some berries… I… hope we weren’t gone for too long.” Tegan pauses to look around.
With Damiel talking to Svetlana, Tegan turns to Kesten Garess. Her long lashes focus on the Lieutenant: ”Did the bandits return while we were away? I thought my sister and her group would be here.” Tegan wraps her arms around herself and looks away as if in thought. A moment later, Tegan has regained her cool composure.
To Damiel and Tegan’s question, the response is basically the same. The other charters didn’t seem they would give up. After resting for some days, they left to explore the green belt and to solve the Kobold problem, or at least that’s what they announced.
Kesten hasn’t yet received any reinforcements from Restov, but with Jhod spiritual support, they recovered from the injuries and fear, and no other bandit attacked the place while you were away.
He looks for Svetlana, and when finding her, "how did the moon radishes work out for you and Oleg?"
”It was wonderful! I can’t thank you enough!” the woman says beaming in happiness, but soon after, her mood drops and she whispers ”It’s a shame that peace didn’t last long and…” she looks at you then clean her hands on the her clothes before saying ”but I’m glad you are here, I’ll prepare especial dinner for your and company.”
Dinner is served later than usual, and using the wild boar meat, Svetlane cooks a delicious stew with vegetables. She serves the steaming hot food with hard bread, cheese and beer or wine.
Oleg’s seems even more taciturn than usual, altho he’s grateful for all your help, you can feel that somehow, he blames the charters, both groups, for all the troubles that his dear wife had to go thru the last few days.
Tegan sits on one of the long benches after dinner and writes a letter. She unravels the bundle of parchment and pulls a sheet from the top. After examining the point of her ink pen, she dutifully dips the point into the small inkwell before writing:
Dear Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius,
My prayers have been answered! I have only good news to report. Upon our arrival at the ancient shrine, we not only quelled the beast but saved a member of the opposing party. From there, we traveled deeper into the lands to retrieve a particular plant called fangberries.
I realize it has been some time since my last letter, but know we are dutifully charting the land which is the only reason for the delay. There have been traces of bandits, but we have come to believe they are holed up somewhere like plague-ridden rats.
Tomorrow we leave Oleg’s Trading Post. My next letter will be when we return.
Cordially,
Tegan Ryker
In her usual cool tone, Tegan asks: ”Do you all have anything to add?” Tegan offers her letter to her companions. Her writing is evenly-spaced and elegant with flourishes on the hanging letters like ‘g’ and ‘y.’ Tegan presses the warm end of her sealing wax over the paper’s open.
Tegan sits composed at the table, but inside, her emotions are churning like a stormy sea. ”We still need to kill a Tatzlwyrm. Maybe we should leave for that quest next.” A snowflake condenses above Tegan and falls onto her shoulder.
With plans made, Tegan checks on Milo and prepares for bed.
Rendyl looked over the letter for a moment, then nodded his affirmation. Everything seemed to be presented well in the document. When the topic turns to where to go next, Tegan's suggestion seemed as good as any, since the other charter had decided to go after the kobolds. No sense butting heads with the other group after they had grown to at least respect one another.
"Finding a tatzlwyrm seems as good an idea as any. Let's continue in the wooded areas, then, as I think they like brush, trees, and water." Taking out the map of the Greenbelt, he indicates where he would like to go next.
Looking over Tegan letter, Damiel just nods and says "well put. Short and to the point." He returns the letter to her.
"What ever the group wishes to do is fine with me. Tatzlwyrm is as good idea as any. We can also do more exploring to the west when done. I would like to clear and map the wooded areas as Rendyl suggests."
The scowl on the elf face, seems to no longer be an always thing. It is almost as if he is beginning to feel comfortable with the group and everyones role within it.
The group, some way or another, ended up staying a couple more of days in trading post. Hylaen became somewhat obsessed with repairing the fort, almost abusing of his magical powers to restore the place to what it once was.
Oleg convinced you people to stay a couple of days while the one of the local hunters went to get the rewards from your quest. Vekkel didn’t come personally, it seems the man was extremely happy to work in his headcheese, so he only sent the bow and arrows.
The bow, shows marks of constant use over the years, but even so, it’s in prime condition and better than most weapons out there. The ‘special’ arrows, is a pack of six arrows coated with a strong toxin, can induce someone to be unconscious for a shortly while.
As for Bokkan, you’ll need to go to his hut, and see which potions he has available with discount.
==//==
Although the Greenbelt is far from safe, the seclusion promised is too much to resist for some, such as local eccentric and potion-maker Bokken. His manner is that of a nervous bird or a jittery child, and his speech is swift and clipped as if he’s eager to finish every conversation he starts. Yet Bokken is no hater of gold, and his eagerness to sell the potions he makes is well known to many of the travelers in the area—he usually sells directly to Oleg, but he’s willing to sell to the PCs if they ask. He can craft any potion of a spell of 2nd level or less on the adept spell list.
He usually keeps the following at hand:
- 2 potions of cure light wounds
- 2 potions of endure elements
- 1 potion of cure moderate wounds
Adept Spell List
Adepts choose their spells from the following list:
0th Level: create water, detect magic, ghost sound, guidance, light, mending, purify food and drink, read magic, stabilize, touch of fatigue.
1st Level: bless, burning hands, cause fear, command, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, endure elements, obscuring mist, protection from chaos, protection from evil, protection from good, protection from law, sleep.
2nd Level: aid, animal trance, bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds, darkness, delay poison, enemy’s heart (ARG), invisibility, mirror image, resist energy, scorching ray, see invisibility, tremor blast, web.
==//==
As you decide to leave again to explore, Hylaen decides to stay behind, saying that for now, the fort needs additional protection against the bandits.
As you leave the trading post, the shinning sun guides your steps towards the woodland of the Narlmarchers. The first day of exploring goes without any problem, there’s no bandit, or wild animal to offer dangers to the charters.
It's night, after a full day of exploring, and you decide the to rest. A crude meal, around the fire and some of you rest, while other keep watch during the night. You decided to at the campsite adorned by rose bush, clearly well maintained, but with no trace of the gardener.
The night goes by, and in the morning as you prepare to breakfast, the first bite tells you there’s something terribly wrong. You food is terribly spicy! You do not know who made trail ration, or why the meat from yesterday’s hunt is now so spicy, but it’s something that cannot be eaten easily.
As Hylaen stays behind, Damiel thinks to himself, the only other elf, and he has to leave, however he says to Hylaen, "good fortune to you. Keep Oleg and Svetlana safe for us."
"Ugh, what the blazes happened to the food" Damiel says, as he forces it down, then takes a long drink of cool water to quench the fire in his mouth.
"Did anyone see anything last night?"