Unfortunately, none of you notice something lurking in the water and as you draw near a serpentine beast with transparent, scaly skin that reveals the creature's murky red-and-brown organs leaps out of the water and tries to pull 1d6 ⇒ 4 Temujin into the water!
Ruckus, Temujin, Galtar, Thomson, and Zeldones are up!
DC 15 KN (nature):
The vicious tizheruk is a foul freshwater predator that wreaks havok in the lakes and rivers it inhabits. When it swims upstream, it naturally compresses its muscles and organs, enabling it to remain in shallow water.
No special defenses; tongue can grab and pull; creatures swallowed whole still have line-of-sight because of its transparent body
The creature does not appear to have a lair nearby but is quite fleshy like a fish and could probably be cooked up if one were so inclined.
A bit further into the forest (J5) you come across a small camp: Vagrant hunters occupy this small camp. They appear very similar to one another, with thick, webbed fingers, wide mouths, and horns that protrude from their foreheads. They stand near a simple fire surrounded by a ring of stones. A charred humanoid form roasts on a spit above the fire.
After having been cooked, you aren't certain exactly what they are eating but it is definitely humanoid.
About these guys though:
DC 12 KN (nature):
While an individual hag who has coupled with a human can only hope to birth a changeling, hag covens prove far more versatile in spawning monstrous progeny. The hags in such covens occasionally use their combined witchcraft to supernaturally create abominable male children—brutish monsters born of foul sanies and unholy ablutions that are stewed for days and then allowed to ferment into living creatures. These monsters go by many names among the hags who “birth” them, but among civilized races they are known by just one word: caliban.
They have an unsettling scream and can share their deformities with their victims.
Burn: 8/15 (119 Non-lethal) | Overflow (+5): Active | DR 14/Adamantine | Kinetic Form
"Snak Pak. Stay here." Temujin whispers as he leaps from the yak's back.
"We should introduce ourselves and ensure that we are on the right path to meet our elders." the halfling states to the rest of the party. "No need to be idiotic, however. Keep weapons or spells at the ready."
The humanoid creatures look up as you approach their small clearing. They don't immediately make any hostile moves, but several of them stand up and wait for you to address them.
Human Psychic 7 | AC 16 T 12 FF 14 | HP 54/54 | F +6 R +5 W +5 | Init +6 | Perception +6
"Hello!" Ruckus tries to put on a friendly face, though he's more than a little worried about these guys. "So, we were just out for a walk and saw that you're havin a barbeque. Smells.. great. Don't suppose you know these woods well, do ya? We might be a little lost."
"We do know the woods," one of them answers. "But if you seek the Master, we will not help you to harm him. We will not harm the one who made us. He is angry with us, for we failed to make him younger. But he lets us live here, and we keep him safe. He lives in the fiend’s house a few miles away.”
Human Psychic 7 | AC 16 T 12 FF 14 | HP 54/54 | F +6 R +5 W +5 | Init +6 | Perception +6
"No thanks, we just ate somebod.. er, I mean some breakfast. Hehe. Ok... nice chat. Goodbye!" Ruckus gives his companions the let's get the hell out of here eyes.
Burn: 8/15 (119 Non-lethal) | Overflow (+5): Active | DR 14/Adamantine | Kinetic Form
"You... you... are eating a traveler?" Temujin says with fire in his eyes. He rage begins to overcome him as he the dirt and rocks near him begin to thrum. "HOW DARE YOU DO THIS!"
Can I take a surprise round action?:
Spikes of rock and earth begin to erupt from the ground at the men as Temujin's fury boils over.
Going to use my Impale ability to catch as many of the humanoids in my blast as possible.
Impale (F) Burn: 1*: You extend a long sharp spike of elemental matter along a line, impaling multiple foes. Make a single attack roll against each creature or object in a 30-foot line, starting with the closest target. If the result is a critical threat, roll to confirm only against the first target you hit. Calculate damage against each target you hit, starting from the closest. If your attack hits a target but fails to deal physical damage to that target, the spike failed to penetrate and the infused blast does not continue. An infused blast can even penetrate solid barriers, but in that case it must deal enough damage to destroy the barrier in order to continue through. When using this infusion with earth or metal blasts, you must choose to deal piercing damage.
I will roll out four attacks. Kinetic Blast-PBS/Feel the Burn (+2):1d20 + 11 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 11 + 1 + 2 = 25 Damage:3d6 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (5, 6, 6) + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 = 27
No problem, my cavalier of the First Law took offence and attacked them too. No surprise round action but we'll kick into initiative at Temujin's outburst.
As Temujin freaks out! on the beastly men, Ruckus shoots up into the air as Temujin quickly destroys two of the six caliban!
Human Magus (laughing shadow)/1 HP 16/16| AC 17 (18 with mystic armor)| Fort (E) +5| Ref (T) +7| Will (E) +5| Init Perc (E) +5/Stealth (T) +7
Zeldones barely conceals a sneer as he easily resists the effects of the scream. The mesmerist moves up and calls forth another clashing fan of colors, covering the red one and possibly the orange one. DC 16 Will save to avoid effects.
DC 12 Will save:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 DC 12 Will save:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
AC19/T13/FF17/CMD21|HP46[46]F:+6;R:+5;W:+9(+2 vs MA)|Init.+2|Perc.+13 Human Spiritualist 7
Fort:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Will 1:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 Will 2:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Thomson recoils from the abomination's touch, but manages to resists it effects. The screams, however, visibly unnerve him. Nonetheless, he continues to harverst souls with his scythe!
Tobian shrugs off the scream's effects as well. He then moves the Flaming Sphere:3d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 3, 6) + 3 = 13 into the Green enemy. Tobian then decides to summon a Servitor in the form of a hyena behind the Blue enemy and has it attack!
Burn: 8/15 (119 Non-lethal) | Overflow (+5): Active | DR 14/Adamantine | Kinetic Form
Will Save; DC 12:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 Will Save; DC 12:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Temujin's fury increases as he blithely walks forward, drawing a large clump of rock and dirt from the ground and holding it over the green caliban. Before releasing it, hoping to squash the defiler.
With a flurry of attacks from the party, the last caliban falls!
Out of combat!
---
So you guys can either keep wandering around the forest to complete your side quests first or you can go straight to the house. It's your call. You can always take the western road back to Cassomir afterwards and complete your side quests on the way back I guess.
