Having seen the fate of the last boar, Silt attempts to hit its friend for nonlethal damage while destructive smiting.
What exactly does he conjure? Very effective
Purpose Creche, impressed by the efficacy of Toby's glistening blasts, opts to conserve the energy pooled in his progenitor's fragment. He steps in front of the beast and delivers an overhand chop with the emerald blade, but the boar's simultaneous thrust with its wicked tusks forces him to divert the force of his blow into deflecting the piercing porcine pugilism.
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The group surrounds the remaining boar and strike it repeatedly. Thanks to Silt hitting with the butt of his spear rather than the blade, this one collapses into unconsciousness, rather than death.
The smell of melting hide fills the air.
Chomp Chomp
Karl! Shoo! Silt throws hunks of salted meat at Karl to distract him from the fresh kill. Karl skitters off only when he sees Silt's dangerous spear approaching. He clutches the dried meat in his mandibles and backs away.
Before moving on Silt would like to stabilize the living boar (per the spell), then harvest any hide or meat from the dead boar. Karl can have leftovers.
After that, continue on!
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The party continues on, Karl making his his multi-faceted eyes as large and adorable as possible to beg for some of the boar meat Silt now carries.
Purpose Creche looks up at Toby. "Well done. We're lucky to have you," he says before turning to check his pack, sheathe his sword, and retrieve one of the machetes recovered from the smithy.
He picks his way through the brambles and tall grass to watch Sil'tchaak process the fallen boar. "I know a little about processing such things. I can help."
He pays close attention as he helps Sil'tchaak separate hide and meat. "You took great care to subdue the other boar. Not kill. I'm curious why."
Once the boar is dealt with, he also offers to repair the effects of Karl's tender attentions on Sil'tchaak's pack.
Suddenly Silt calls a halt. See the pattern in the grass? A shoal of land-shrimp live here. Be ready to scatter them!
Purpose Creche pulls stoppered two vials of ruddy red liquid from his pack, keeping one for himself and giving the other to When closes their hand around the cylinder and Purpose Creche's lithe fingers, they can feel the wooden digits' subtle roughness.
"Careful. Volatile when exposed to air." He buzzes. "Maybe Silt's garland will repel them?"
Toby peers at the path ahead. "Is there any way around? Can we avoid these buggers?"
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The trail is not perfectly uniform in width, but it is consistently about 10 feet wide with some minor variances, usually where the terrain is uneven.
Close examination reveals tiny pointed impressions, like the trail was formed by hundreds of stabs from small spikes.
Whatever made the trail seems to have passed by quite some time ago. The trail veers off orthogonally to your intended path and continues as far as the eye can see, with no sign of the source.
Purpose Creche kneels by the wide trail, cocking his head and pointing out at various parts. "They seem to be rolling land-shrimp. Hundreds. See these small, pointed indentations? The way the undergrowth is flattened?" He stands and tucks the alchemist's fire into a coat pocket. "They passed some time ago. But travel in our general direction. Best be cautious."
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He stands and tucks the alchemist's fire into a coat pocket. "They passed some time ago, and further away. I've never heard of such a creature. But if something like this lives here, we'd best be cautious."
Purpose Creche grips his machete and renews clearing a trail, noting a burst of nebulously green feeling each time the blade cuts into the brush. Hmm. Smell.
Sunlight dapples the forest floor, shadows and muted patches of brightness playing across the five figures making their way north. Karl occasionally skitters over to fallen fruits. His presence disturbs clouds of insects that quickly settle back once the ankheg realizes that meat doesn't grow on trees.
At the fore, Purpose Creche hacks at encroaching evergreen shrubs. His coat and hands bear tiny scratchmarks, but he doesn't complain, or even seem to tire as he carves an irregular, jagged path from the woods.
Purpose clears a path, and the party continues along. Eventually, the group reaches a stream running southwest to the sea.
The water is so clear that you easily spot a terrible creature standing motionless at the bottom of the stream. Upon seeing you, she starts toward you. The creature looks to once have been human, though a shell perches oddly on her head like a hat.
No Surprise Round, just Regular Initiative
Toby
Cedar
gross dead person and evil shell
Silt
Purpose
"Whoa! What the heck is that thing?!" Toby shouts, pointing at the creature underwater. [b]"Stay back!" He steps closer to the water, curious, then thinks better of it and braces himself behind a tree, raising his fists to fire should the creature emerge from the water.
The creature emerges from the water and heads toward Toby. Toby blasts it with water, but the pummeling of the blast doesn't seem to affect the creature as much as he would expect. It continues its slow march toward the rougarou.
Toby
gross dead person and evil shell
Cedar
Silt
Purpose
The zombie has DR 5/slashing. It is not a normal zombie, and is immune to spells and affects that only target undead, such as channeled positive energy to harm undead.
The incutilis has a puppetmaster ability. It can drive its tendrils into a helpless creature's head, killing it instantly and allowing the incutilis to control the creature.
Silt 5' steps towards the zombie, and attempts to stab the shell-like thing because creatures that drive their tendrils into your brain seem like they should be at the very top of one's kill priorities. (Also destructive smite #3/5 for the day)
Purpose Creche is acutely aware of the cool spiral pendant against his chest, as well as the scent of ash and visions borrowed from practitioners past. "Not undead. The shell is an incutilis. Killed this person and is controlling their body."
He skirts circles the tree to his right. Threading the needle of Mitzi's flailing fluff and the spreading cloud of Toby-born mist, he raises the splinter. It grows warm in his hand, and a jet of brilliant energy streaks towards the aberration.
"Ew, it's in their brain?!"
Toby steps back, firing at the creepy brain-stabbing crab-thing.
Silt tries to attack the incutilis, but has difficulty targeting the creature while it clings to its host. Mitzi pops into existence and similarly struggles against the zombie. Purpose gets a steady shot and nails the incutilis directly with a strong beam of fire. Toby is too grossed out by the brain tendrils to aim.
The incutilis moves its tendrils around, directing the dead woman to avoid the flank and strike at Sil'tchaak.
Toby
gross dead person and evil shell
Cedar
Silt
Purpose
Seeing that he cannot accurately hit the scary enemy, Silt opts for the zombie, 5 foot stepping over and hoping Mitzli naturally does the same before he strikes.
As Mitzi steps into position, Silt jabs his spear into the undead creature. Although a spear is not the optimal weapon, the force of the blow is sufficient to pull the zombie apart, and she crumples to the ground. With no puppet to command, the incutilis is in a more vulnerable position, and Mitzi bites the shell firmly. Cedar's attack is thrown off by the collapsing zombie.
Toby
gross dead person and evil shell
Cedar
Silt
Purpose
Purpose Creche advances, stepping around Mitzi , and takes up position opposite Cedar. He harries the creature, waiting for an opening provided by his friend's rapier, then slices in with the machete.
Seeing the gross thing plop to the ground, Toby seizes his opportunity for a clean shot, but his aim is thrown off by its writhing.
The shell creature knows when a fight is going badly. It attempts to slip away into the water.
Toby
gross dead person and evil shell
Cedar
Silt
Purpose
If we're up, Silt will start swimming! 40' should be enough to get around to the other side of the thing and avoid an AOO from it.
He will spear it from under the waves.
… and miss again.
"Kill it! If it gets away, who knows what it will do!" Toby runs to the river bank and dives in, firing at the creature as soon as his head gets underwater.
Purpose Creche runs down the bank, dropping his machete in the grass and drawing a dagger as he does so.
With it's path to freedom blocked, it moves into Silt's space, and lashes out at the locathah with two tentacles!
If Silt doesn't take it down with the AoO, it strikes him firmly with a tentacle and begins to wrap itself around his head!
Toby
gross dead person and evil shell
Cedar
Silt
Purpose
"Ahh! Silt, look out! Get off him, you nasty thing!"
Purpose Creche will make sure Silt's alright, encouraging him to eat some rancid, odious raspberries if he's only injured by the zombie, or dig a potion of cure light wounds from his pack if the incutilis got him.
He then goes to investigate the human corpse, crouching in the damp grass next to it "Cedar, do you recognize this person?" Purpose Creche leans over the body, gently sloped face parallel to its chest. His delicate fingers dip into pockets and examine wounds.
|
When the creature goes for SIlt’s head, Mitzi yaps even louder!
And Cedar yells, ”Kill it! Cover your head!”
But once the creature’s head-grab is foiled, and Silt is able to recover, Cedar and Mitzi are filled with relief. Cedar retrieves his weapon and Mitzi returns to her plane. Cedar then goes to help Purpose Creche with the body.
”This must have been someone from the village...” Cedar says.
At a con.