DM Carbide's Through a Cracked Mirror: The Dark Road (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

As the myriad potential Golarions collide, a small group of heroes is charged with setting things right.


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Weakly Godlike Entity

The farther north you travel, the lusher the forest on either bank becomes, as if it recovered from the firestorm more quickly than the areas you passed through in the past few days. You know that after the Isle you're supposed to follow the Sellen northwest, so you're sailing near the west bank as the river widens and the confluence nears.

It's around now that you begin to notice something out of the ordinary in the forest: some of the trees have wisps of some whitish material hanging from their lowest branches. A little while more, and you see what looks like the desiccated corpse of an akata hanging from a tree, covered with the whitish material, which you now realize is spider's web. Then hugging the bank becomes more difficult, as there are trees overhanging the water...with braided vines hanging down at an angle from their branches into the water, each ending in one of the floating mats (now tethered). Hints of movement on the vines and mats suggest the presence of large numbers of small crawling things.

What do you do?


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

Huh, look at the bank and the vines. Pretty wierd.

Perception1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami looks at the floating mats, suddenly more than a little concerned. Well, then...that answers that. As much as I enjoy the sight of an Akata dead, I do not think that these spiders are anything but predators to us. I'll look for a path through; we'd be best served to avoid them.

Perception to find a path through
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

Looking for anything useful to include a better path or visible enemies.

perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

Darc stands a moment and takes it in, "Fire, burn path, I not help." He eyes both directions and back to the boat, then searches through his backpack. With disappointment etched on his face, he brings out a flint and steel.


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

Not getting the Orc's intent, Xavier had to ask, You say we should burn the mats but you won't do it yourself? Scared of fire, or spiders?


Weakly Godlike Entity

The river is wide enough at this point that there's a couple of hundred yards of open water between the overhanging trees and spider-laden vines on either bank (yes, now that you look you can see the same thing happening on the other side), so for now burning a path isn't necessary.

Incidentally, I'm going to be on the road this evening and tomorrow, with little likelihood for an update before tomorrow night. All times as for GMT - 5.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami nods at Darc's idea, though he keeps his eyes on the path ahead. No need to stir them up yet, but that may be our best option; especially if they swarm us like those beetles did. I'll try and navigate us through, but lets keep an eye out for any that get too close. Maybe you can use your weapons to push away any mats that float too near.

Sami continues on course, making adjustments as needed to avoid the mats of arachnids.

Misc check...maybe wisdom? Wish I had prof sailing
1d20 ⇒ 5


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

Darc turns to Xavier, his eyes show disdain, "Scared, no" a venomous tone in his voice. "I, No fire magic." he says matter of factually. He closes his eyes, turns away and before opening then again breathes out loud controlled breath. He looks out down the river, aiding as he can Sami take a safe course.

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

Eretria will take her crossbow and stand at the front of the ship ready to fireit on any potential dangers. She may not be good with boats but she certainly had good aim with both magic and her crossbow.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10


Weakly Godlike Entity

It's not that hard to avoid the floating mats once you're clear of the trees. If the weather were worse, that might be an issue, but you always have the option of lowering the sail and just rowing. The current is fairly steady at this point. (When you get closer to the confluence, that will no longer be the case.)

Speaking of which, now that you're out into the middle of the channel you can see quite a ways ahead. You're still a mile or so from where the Sellen opens out into the confluence, and there's another mile or so past that to the island. You can see that the trees on the banks of the island are giants of their kind; if they grew up after the Starfall, magic of some sort must have been involved, because they look like they've been growing for centuries. The height trend you noted in the trees on the banks of the river likewise continues, and the floating mats extend farther and farther out into the channel.

The center part of the channel seems to be clear all the way up to the island itself. However, the same is not true of the passages to east and west around the island. Hanging in vast catenaries from the great trees on the island are a gigantic network of vines, some terminating in larger floating mats on the surface of the river and some plunging beneath the water. They interpenetrate similar nets of vines extending from the trees on the river banks; navigating through that while touching neither vines nor mats would tax the most skilled sailor alive, and you're all pretty sure you wouldn't be able to manage it without a great deal of luck. You're not close enough to tell if there are any spiders on this immense network, but somehow I doubt you want to get close enough to check.

What do you do?


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

So the options are to go straight ahead where the passage is clear or take a more dangerous path?


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami looks on in concern. We're supposed to continue to the northwest; sure could be troublesome with those mats. We could try and push our way through, but I fear we'd get tangled up. We could try and burn them, but we may agitate a few swarms. Maybe there's a central nest or hive of some sort on the island. Should we stop and explore it?

Is there enough of a path to get through to the island?


Weakly Godlike Entity

Yes, the way to the center of the south shore of the island is clear. For completeness' sake I should point out that you could also head back towards Cassomir with little trouble.


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

Xavier looks up at the sky. Well we need to continue on don't we? The close terrain will only make navigation harder if we use the island. Darc seems to have some woodlore and so do I. Between us we can use the sun and dead reckoning to stay on track. The river is a pretty steady landmark and easy to backtrack if we need to.
Remember, survival is one of the few things Xavier does know about


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

Darc hears Xavier use his name, he is pleased that the man did not insult him, Maybe he's learning, or maybe he's setting me up? Cautiously he nods his ascent to Xavier's words. "True, two swords."

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

"It seems like the path of least resistance is to that island but that is not the course we want... I dislike the idea of being anywhere near spiders though...." Eretria frowns as she glances towards the island.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami looks to the northwest, his expression dubious. If you can navigate us through without our getting caught up on those mats, I'm all for it. If we get caught, though...

He lets the silence speak to the implications.


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

Well, IF we get caught there's always the water, so long as the buggers don't swim. We'll use the Oars to push away from mats that get too close

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

Eretria pales at the mention of going in the water.

He seriously isn't suggesting....

"As I do not know how to swim I don't want to do something that ends up with us abandoning ship...."


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami acquiesces with a nod, though his expression still showed his doubt. He guides the boat with Xavier's and Darc's instructions, using caution to keep from getting tied up in the mats.


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

Rashun looks at the options.

survival check to try to determine least dangerous path:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14


Weakly Godlike Entity

Sami, which way are you trying to go--NW passage or to the island?

Rashun:
You're moderately sure that the island, though unknown, isn't the near-certainty of disaster that trying to navigate the vines would be. At the very least, from what you see now you could get closer to scout the area and have the current with you if you needed to flee.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

I was going to follow Xavier's suggestion that we continue on; thus - the NW passage. Unless, of course, Rashun has something different to say about it


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

If it comes to swimming we might be able to swing off the sail mast and flip the boat. That way Eretria and us can be protected from a swarm. We used to do that as kids with the little boats on the family lake. Quite a bit of fun.


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

Darc sits glumly watching out. "No swim, need safe shore." he says darkly, the weight of the danger hangs heavily on his shoulders.


Weakly Godlike Entity

Sami tries to steer for the first gap in the vines, but realizes to his distress that the mats are moving back and forth on the surface in a way that he can't predict--it's like the great kites of his homeland, the way the vine tension interacts with wind and surface currents. He quickly directs the sail to be lowered, allowing the current to carry the boat away from the edges of the vegetation barrier.

Dice rolls:
Sami WIS check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Sami WIS check to recover: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

"I think the island is safer than these vines. The current can speed our travels if we need to run from something."


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

"Yes, the island" say Darc gravely.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami nods, concerned at the unpredictable floaters. He guides the boat towards the island, using the current and their rowing to head away from the mats. So...do you want to dock, then?


Darc nods to Sami, then points a long claw-like finger at a point to the left, "There, looks safe?"

Perception to see a suitable docking area 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25


Weakly Godlike Entity

As it happens, there's an actual dock--a jetty of stone, rough on one side and reasonably smooth on the other. The stones on the rough side are moss-covered.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami nods and guides the boat in, tying it off to the jetty. He stands up in the boat and scans the island for any manner of threat.

perception
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28


Weakly Godlike Entity

The island is a few miles across. From what you can see the dock area is at the base of a barren notch valley leading up towards the island's center; the forest seems to be confined to the east and west shores of the island, although you can't see much outside the notch valley. Nothing is moving in the area of the dock besides birds. And you, of course.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami looks around cautiously, his eyes trying to pick up on any potential threats, as he lends a hand to the others to get off the boat and onto dry land. Well, the valley would kind of funnel us upward towards the center of the island. We'll probably want to steer clear of those forests, unless we wish to end up like that Akata, stuck fast in a web. Shall we move on towards the center?


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

"I think the center is better."


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

Xavier hops out of the boat and moves towards the front of the marching order. I'll lead off. Give you guys time to cast spells and things if we get attacked.
He pauses to offer a hand to aid Eretria out of the boat before moving off.

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

Eretria smiles, accepting Xaviers assistance out of the boat. The last thing she wanted was to fall into the water given her skill at swimming. "Isn't anyone else concerned this is not the way to where we need to go?"


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

It is not the way we need to go?

edit:added "?"

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

Thus why I said it in character?


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

Darc looks at Eretria, his eyes search deep into Eretria's soul, "Where?" he asks a twinge of concern in his voice.


Male Human Ranger 1/Inquisitor 4 HP: 38/42

I edited my other post.

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

"...weren't we suppose to go to Kyonin? I mean... that is what we discussed before entering this world."


Male Human Warpriest 8, AC21/T10/FF21+2 if using Shield, HP74/74, F10/R4/W12, CMB+10/CMD+20, Perception +5

This is why I suggested we remain on the river. At least we can look around and find some torches or longer poles for pushing around those mats.


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami looks genuinely confused. I was under the impression that our route was impassable, thus we needed to dock and find the source of those floating mats...if we can. At least here we can get torches and long poles out of the trees.

sorry if that wasn't right...that was the meaning I took away from it.


Weakly Godlike Entity

The route as far as you can see it from the water is indeed impassable. The island at least offers a chance to go around the spider-laden vines, although transporting the boat may be a challenge.

There's a path from the dock up the bottom of the notch valley towards the island's center. Granted, the history of this place would suggest a need for docks and paths, but this particular trail is suspiciously free of debris.

You have about an hour before sundown. The bottom of the valley is already shadowed, in fact, although the east side is still brightly lit at the top. After about ten minutes of walking you leave the notch; the path levels off and begins to wind further up the hills at the center of the island. From here you can see that the great trees are, indeed, confined to the areas nearest the river to east and west. The center part of the island still blocks your view of its north shore.

From what you can see, inside the barrier of trees the majority of the island is still barren, though there are a few patches of greenery here and there. One of the patches is fairly close by, in fact, and you note that in its approximate center is a small hut.

Scarab Sages

Female Human Sorceress 6

Eretria sighs softly, they did have a bit of a point they should still try to get back on course as soon as possible. "...do you suppose anyone lives in that hut?" She asks curiously


Male Nagaji Monk / Master of Many Styles 5; HP 35/35; AC 17/16/15; saves 5/7/7; perc +12

Sami looks at the sky in concern, then glances at the hut. If someone is there, I hope that they don't mind our camping on their island; it'll be dark soon. I guess the only way to find out is to ask.. He proceeds with caution toward the hut, his eyes warily searching.

Perception
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13


Male
Spoiler:
HPs: 67/67 AC20/T14/FF16: Saves F8 (+2 trait bonus vs. poison or drugs (+4 to avoid effects of alcohol)),R9,W6: Perception+5: Init+3
Human Brawler/7

Darc hangs back, uneasy he stands, his wound seemingly reflecting his mood as it weeps a drip of yellow puss from the bandage. His eyes open wide, sharp and bright. He moves his weight from one foot to the other, his flail held, its head lays lazily on the earth. He says a prayer as his friends edge closer, his guttural voice is deep as he calls for divine protection. He watches.

Casts Resistance on himself.
Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13


Weakly Godlike Entity

Both Sami and Darc can hear what sounds like a high, quavery voice quietly singing inside the hut.

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