Tragershen can add seven of the bars into his handy haversack before reaching its arcane capacity, though if the dwarf has them all in hand he won't argue the point.
Mihai continues his manful struggle through the silt and lets the others resolve who will be burdened with what.
Balani shrugs, and starts to pack some of the bars into her handy haversack.We'd better split them up or you will never make it to the surface weighed down so.
You divide up the bars amongst yourselves, with Kragnir carrying just over half of them himself...his eyes glinting with the highest purpose given to the Dwarven race. Kragnirs weight seems too much though and it threatens to tip over the raft as he begins to try and climb back up the rope. The Mwangi guide quickly reacts and cuts it before the raft can dump its owner into the dark waters. Kragnir's yells are not heard through the water.
The dark shape appears again...this time showing itself fully in the dark waters...you all happen to be standing near Kragnir as it checks out the disturbed sediment and floats within 10 feet of the dwarf. The creature is 30 feet long...Long-necked and long-tailed, this large, predatory reptile glides through the water on four powerful flippers.
The creature is an Elasmosaurus. A powerful aquatic dinosaur. It doesn't have many abilities that you have heard of...it is just a powerful beast that has a 20ft reach due to its long neck.
You have maybe 10 minutes left on your hide from animals at this point, what do you want to do? Ignore the beast...suprise attack it? What next?
Well, whatever we are going to do, we are going to do it quickly! Once the dark shape shows itself and the group has seen it, Tragershen will cast an extended haste on the group. Unless someone is out of range, he will omit himself from the spell to be able to get it cast on everyone else.
Nim watches as the creature swims by, ready to cast should the thing become aggressive.
Balani recognizes the shape gliding by and suggests they leave quickly. We need to get up there and stabilize the raft so Kragnir can climb up
Kragnir raised his hammer, preparing to strike unless one of the others had some trick up their sleeve.
With little to add as he was not at his best submerged in the deep, Mihai positioned himself in the core of the group and readied to draw upon the art given by the Walker.
Kragnir muttered-
We're near the shore anyway. Lets just press on.
Nim swims over close to Kragnir before using a tentacle to touch his hammer while another wags back and forth, side to side, like a finger. A third tentacle gently tugs on the dwarf's arm while yet another points in the direction of the shore. Nim points at tbe others and gestures to the raft before starting to swim slowly for shore.
Balani is hesitant to leave Kragnir and Nim under water but prepares to help the others swim up to the raft and get on. She hopes Nim has another water breathing spell for Kragnir and will try to chart their progress as best she can from the raft by looking for the swirls of sediment churned up from Kragnir's movements. Her other eye will be on the lookout for the elasmosaurus.
Luck is with you today and you are able to get the polers to come to the shore. You divide the bars ebtween the haversack and the tow rafts and get back to the shanty.
The treasure consists of 3000gp in gold bars. 4 potions:
Lesser Restore
Barksin +3
Protection from evil 10 radius
Cure Moderate Wounds
The next morning you leave out trying to make good time to the area of your destination...the Expanse.
The plan at this point is to follow the Upper Korir River to the NE, probably for about a month on the shoreline. You will be charting areas that few have travelled and are hunted by the Mazali in the southern area and will travel between the Bandu hills and through the edge of the screaming jungle.
Screaming Jungle:South of Lake Ocota, across the spirithaunted
Bandu Hills, the Screaming Jungle looms like a wave of verdant terror on
the horizon.
The confounding tangle of towering trees and sentient, man-killing plants gets its name from the constant screeching of millions of monkeys
that inhabit the canopy. The cacophony can be heard several miles in all directions of the forest, and most travelers notice the screaming before the woodland itself comes into view.
Your travels go quietly as you leave the populated areas for the next several days and follow the north bank of the river. You begin to cross a shallow tributory stream when suddenly a flight of arrows streams out at you from the jungle on the opposite side...
Recognizing the spectre of the Screaming Jungle on the horizon Balani gives a warning, The wildlife is not the only thing we have to fear here. The plants themselves crave the flesh of men and plan our demise.
Knowledge (local)
"Agreed. But we at least need to go through the edge of it. We have Lake Ocota to the north, and taking the long way around the lake would set us back too much time. Hopefully the carnivorous plants will be satisfied with the plethora of monkeys they have to choose from."
They can be satisfied with the nasty end of a finely crafted hammer.
"We should walk the shortest path... this is a race after all"
The shortest path is not always the quickest. Balani flatly states. but shows no hesitation in going through the jungle.
Surprise Round:
vs stealth
initiative strings:
By luck...or unluck depending upon how you view it, Mihai and Tragershen are the only ones who spot them hiding in the brush...but not until too late. You are half way across the river when whomever it is spring their trap!
Order of Combat Surprise Round:
Mazali Raiders 24
Mihai 15
Tragershen 5
3 fire at Balani
2 at Nim
2 at Kragnir
Ambush at the river Surprise Round
The river is only about 3 feet deep at its deepest. It is difficult terrain though.
Tragershen and Mihai to go in the surprise round.
Order of Combat Round 1:
Mazali Raiders 24
Nim 20
Mihai 15
Balani 13
Corbrius 11
Kragnir 9
Tragershen 5
It is time for your animal companion to appear. It has been trailing you for a few days and decides at this time to appear. It is on the north side of the river north of the Mazali. I assume it will attack them once you guys get near enough that it won't be over there by itself.
Feel free to roll it in whenever you feel is right after round 1.
In the surprise round, Tragershen casts haste on him and his allies, omitting Mihai due to the limitations on his current power levels.
On foot, you would have had to walk the horses across, I assumed you would let the colonial warriors handle that while you secured the shoreline.
Taken aback at the sudden flurry of arrows, Mihai extends the grace of his patron unto Nim.
Save your death arrows for them to get closer, we need to make them count.
The man in the center barks out something in Mwangi...and the men fire again.
3 fire at Balani
2 at Nim
2 at Kragnir
Balani is hit again twice and looks badly injured. Nim is also struck by one more arrow. The men have partial cover from the trees and bushes they are hidden in. The party is up.
Ignoring the three arrows lodged in his body, Nim charges forward and casts a spell. As he finishes a veil of obscuring mists coalesces around him, hiding him, and the party from the archer's view.
As the mists descend, Mihai closes his eyes and reaches out to his companions through their shared harrow cards and sees their wounds salved...
Balani, peppered by the arrows of the now unseen foes, welcomes the warmth of Mihai's healing boon. Silently blessing and cursing the mist that hides her target, she fires two arrows into the mist hoping to hit one of her targets. She then moves to the right attempting to put Kragnir between her and the majority of the foes. You're up my metal plated friend., she whispers in Kragnir's direction.
Aye Elf, you know the right of it. Get Kragnir going a bit faster and he'll hit these pansies like a battering ram... the irrepressible warrior muttered approvingly at Tragershen's spell, as arrows bounced harmlessly off his ridiculously bulky stoneplate armour. The river seemed to slow him far more than his armour ever could though.
Quit shootin' yer own kind, scum. Theres a nice stout Dwarf here for you to indulge yer' racism in. And he has got a nice hammer to stove yer' faces in, if ye don't stop me... the Dwarf taunted, seeking to draw fire away from Balani.
Balani scores a hit on one of the ambushers as the various spells and movements go off...
Corbrius stays back and guard the casters...delaying. He does tell the guards in the rear to watch out for any other raiders on their side of the river.
The guards take up a defensive perimeter around the animals and supplies.
The Mazali Raiders start shifting and shooting after their apparent leader barks another command.
You are correct, this is just Polyglot. It would be like the difference between Spanish dialect and the Mexican dialect so you can read the spoilers.
Shift wide and kill the foreign spell users in the back. Start with the human.
Order of Combat Round 2:
Mazali Raiders 24
Nim 20
Mihai 15
Balani 13
Corbrius 11
Kragnir 9
Tragershen 5
Two are able to shift and take a shot at Mihai.
You feel the sense of death overcome you as the arrow hits you. There is magic most foul on these arrows that hurts very badly!
Two have to double move to get there as they are also in difficult terrain.
You are not sure what the others are doing since no one can see them. The party is now up.
Corbrius comes off delay right away, bringing out a potion of CLW and pours it down Mihai's throat.
Round 1.
Tragershen follows along with the advancing force (move to K17) and asts a defensive spell for when they reach the other side.
Mirror Image, images.
I liked imageshack but I am not paying for it.
Kragnir took advantage of the mist to draw and drink a potion, swelling his size to that of an Ogre...
Alexander Kilcoyne
Lord oKOyA
